Daily Remembrances

Scripture: Romans 12:2 - …be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Do you ever find yourself mulling over some turn of events which you perceived as not in your best interest, yet it was beyond your control?  It may have been perpetrated by an individual or an organization, but you meditated on the seeming unreasonableness of it to a nearly obsessive degree?   Some thought trains in life are best dismissed quickly and decisively; otherwise, how can we expect to observe within ourselves any measurable growth in our Christian journey if we continue to be “derailed” over the same inevitable obstacles in life?  

As today’s Scripture verse suggests, growth toward spiritual maturity requires us to discipline our minds to REMEMBER some indispensable truths.  The Holy Spirit’s presence within every Christ follower stirs a desire within us to view people, events, and circumstances more consistently through our Lord’s eyes.  “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus….” (Phil. 2:5) Our Lord calls His own to “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom…” (Col. 2:16) The spiritual wells of some of us are rather bone-dry until Sunday mornings!  (No wonder our spiritual reflexes are not as consistently Christlike as they could be)!

Here are a few suggestions that may prove helpful in renewing our thought lives:  (1) Remember whose you are! Numero uno: “You must be born again.”  (Jn. 3:7) One will lack the motivation to “renew” their mind in keeping with the Word of God if their perspective and world view remain that of a “natural man,” because they have not received Christ into their heart as Savior and Lord. “…the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him…. they are spiritually discerned.”  (2) Since our trials and adversities do not cease after His Spirit indwells us, according to John 16:33, it behooves us to recall that “Thanking God in everything will help you get through anything.”  (This paraphrases 1 Thess. 5:18, “in everything give thanks).”  Finally, (3), a daily remembrance of our Lord’s sovereignty should bring to a screeching halt any and all of our murmurings and complaints about what has been allowed by the One who “..gives and takes away,” (Job 1:21),  who “….declares the end from the beginning, (Is. 46:10), and who knows the number of hairs on each head. (Luke 12:7).

Prayer:  Dear ABBA, I needn’t understand the “how” of each worked out step along the way; but I praise You, LORD, for working it all together for my good and Your glory, each and every single day!  Amen!

(by Sis. Denise Diggs)