January 19, 2008
Facing New Year with a New Mind
by Joseph Glenn C. Austero Jr.
Often times, we consider new years as another used to be. There are some instances that new years resolutions only last for the 1st to the 3rd month of the year. Then we are faced with ourselves just thinking about the failings that we have done because we have not met the standards that we set forth for our selves. But, going back to the case of new years and another-used-to-be’s, what is really the problem? Is God not sensitive enough in meeting the needs of His people, or is He just in the position of setting for us the only things worth to us and to the things we do and how we will be able to respond to it?
New years should not be regarded as the only avenue when we can reset our goals or refocus our vision rather it must also be regarded as an opportunity that God gives each of us to experience His goodness and His greatness to our lives regardless of what we do for Him because what is important is what God is doing in our lives.
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is –His good, pleasing and perfect will.” Our battle as believers do no longer resides or is happening in the physical. Jesus has overcame that already. Our battle resides in our mind. What we hear and let pass our mind, feeds our emotions and our emotions sets our decision to become our actions, that in constancy become our habit that shapes to become our character which determines our destination. When our mind always think about negative things, this will result to negative emotions, negative decision, negative actions, negative habits, negative character and negative destination. The passage in Romans speaks about refocusing our mind to those things that are Bible based and heavenward.
To conform means to “shape up our lives.” Romans 12 clearly state that we have to cease from shaping up our lives to the pattern, which is the mentality, the perspective and orientation, of this world. It does not only speak about the system of this world but also on the negative results and impressions of the ungodly system of this world.
Our perspective matters a lot that how we perceive things, issues and situations laid in front of us can determine what result it will give us. The identity that God gave us the moment we receive salvation and took effect into our lives is our guarantee that we are recipients of all the promises He has stored for us. We are called to renew how we see our situations, our relationships, our job, our status and everything in us in a way that is according to the Word of God. Jesus said in Mathew 11, if you feel weary come to me and I will give you rest. So why is it that we can not even free our lives from the heavy toil we are experiencing when in fact Jesus, with an open arm welcomes us and asks us to lay unto his feet all our concerns in this life and offers us his light and easy yoke? He too said in chapter 6, that we should not be worried about tomorrow for it will deal for itself when it comes. But why are we so busy enough and disturbed by too many things to the point that we forget to lift our eyes to the Lord and thank Him for small and big things He constantly doing in our lives?
We can see here that before we change any part of our lives, we have to first willingly be able to let the Holy Spirit take over the transformation in our lives by deciding that we renew our mind. We begin to forget what is behind and start stepping one foot step of faith forward to the glory and praise to the Lord. We start focusing our eyes not on our situations or on our futures but on the one true God that has the control of the both.
The year 2008 is a year of increase for us Christians. It is a year when God will allow us experience the fullness of blessings. But it can only happen if we begin to allow ourselves renew our mind. The only challenge to us is to forget about the issues of our lives and practically and totally forget about ourselves and begin to set our eyes on Lord, Jesus Christ, the author and the finisher of our faith.
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