This post is Day 3 in a series of studies about “Renewing the Mind”, I strongly suggest you begin with the introduction to this study, please click here to read it.

Feel free to comment below with your own thoughts about each verse and how you will be acting on each thought. Also, if you haven’t yet signed up to receive the notifications of new studies, you can do that today (the form is at the bottom of the page).

Renewing the Mind – Day 3

All our lives, most of us are trained to conform; to sit still and listen, to go to school, to eat correctly, to follow the fashions, have the latest hairstyles, see the latest films, listen to the right music, study for a good job, climb the social ladder.

Romans 12:2

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, …

The Thought

Does this verse telling you not to conform, shock you, scare you, or make you breath a sigh of relief?

All our lives, most of us are trained to conform; to sit still and listen, to go to school, to eat correctly, to follow the fashions, have the latest hairstyles, see the latest films, listen to the “right” music, study for a “good” job, climb the social ladder.

If you have done all the “right” things up until now, ask yourself if you are happy with your progress, with where you are today. Does your life have meaning because of your accomplishments?

God doesn’t want us to follow the patterns of the world, but to listen to Him and His plans for each of us as individuals. In the verse for today, Paul is confirming that and saying that you do not have to conform to the world’s expectations, in fact more than that, he is telling us definitively not to. Can you think of times when you have conformed against your better judgement?

Look back at the pattern of the world over the last 6 months of covid rules and regulations. Does that encourage you to conform? Does it excite you, depress you, make you angry or make you feel rebellious?

In Romans 13:1 Paul tells us to obey those in authority because they are put there by God. Obedience is one thing, but conforming is another!

Action

Pray for forgiveness for those who encouraged you to conform to the pattern of the world. Pray (if they are still alive) for their eyes to be opened to the truth.

Praise God that it is never too late to change. Tell Him today that you want to conform to His thinking, and to accomplish His plans for your life.