Let God Transform You

Let God Transform You

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Romans 12:2

As followers of Christ we live between two realities. One reality is our natural life which has been fractured by sin. The other reality is our new life in Christ: “anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our human nature drives us to meet our needs for love, acceptance and self-worth through our own strength and abilities. Against this exercise of self-effort, Jesus calls out to us, “Friends, let me show you a better way to live.” Life betwixt and between these two realities can be exhausting, which is one reason the Apostle Paul challenged us to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12b NRSV).

Over and against the truth of who I am in Christ, which for me is characterized by a great optimistic hope for life together in the Kingdom of God, my fractured human reality causes me to suffer with cascading negative thoughts about my own life within the Kingdom. Together with the Apostle Paul I call out to God, “Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” (Romans 7:24b). And, together with Paul, I celebrate the answer to my question, “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:25a).

It is true that we are transformed by renewing our minds, by learning to know ourselves the way God knows us. Learning to live this new way of life in Christ (Romans 7:6) can be a struggle, but we are reminded by Jesus that “he will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle” (Matthew 12:20). However, neither will he lower the bar. He is determined that we will learn to live just like he did, as the beloved child of God, with whom God is delighted and upon whom His favor rests.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.