The Christian Transformation from the Old Man of the World to the New Man in Christ!

03 May 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Romans 12: 2a.       And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,

Oh, this first lazy-day Saturday in May is a somewhat damp and cloudy one, but it’s oh so good for lazing around! (smile) And besides, that wonderful season of spring is in the air. The season of rebirth, of renewal, of all things being made new, and once again the trees are budding green leaves and flowers are sprouting in the gardens. What can be nicer eh, especially in this Easter Season, one of resurrection, of salvation and of eternal life! That means it’s a great day to be alive, so let’s give thanks to our wonderful God for that li’l fact nuh, by offering up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer.  

As one voice, in all sincerity and truth: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ And as always, if our prayer was sincere, we can soon expect to receive a calming presence from our heavenly Father, for desiring to be with Him in greater intimacy is His favourite desire, and He cannot help but grant our wish. 

And just as spring is a time of renewal and rebirth for Mother Nature, I believe it can also be a time of renewal and rebirth for us, a time to strengthen our faith, to renew our belief in Christ Jesus, a time to reignite the passion in our souls, having recently suffered through His sacrificial death on our behalf, and then witnessed His miraculous and amazing resurrection. That’s certainly a time to renew our passion for Christ. so let’s begin with this foundational scripture from Bruh Paul to the Romans. 

‘I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable (rational) service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.’ (Rom. 12:1-2) Yes friends, in honour of all that God has done for us, justifying, sanctifying, and making us righteous, among other things, then we need to show some appreciation and respect by living lives that honour Him. And according to the scholars: ‘This shows that the Christian life begins with total commitment and irrevocable presentation.’  

Now, the first step in this renewal of our minds is to stop being conformed to the ways of the world, which are mostly opposite and opposed to those of Christ. As per the scholars, we are to ‘resist being poured into the mold of the present thinking, value systems, and conduct of this world.’ And John, in his first epistle, tells it perfectly: ‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him.’ (1 John 1:15) It could not be more explicit than that! 

Then, we are to transform our minds, transition them to a new way of thinking, that supplied by Christ and His values. And I like how this commentary explains the process of transforming our minds. ‘Renewing your mind, often used in a spiritual context, involves actively changing your thought patterns to align with truth and God’s will. This process can be achieved through reading scripture, embracing biblical principles, and setting aside time for reflection and prayer. Practicing new habits, engaging in creative activities, and even taking a break from routine can also contribute to a renewed perspective.’ 

Yes, it’s not easy, especially if you were deeply involved in the ways of the world, and it does take time, but with a sincere heart and the help of the Holy Spirit, that transformation can be accomplished. And Bruh Paul, as is his habit, gives us some practical advice per transforming our minds, in his letter to the Ephesians. Having talked about the Gentiles being alienated from Christ, with their vanity, ignorance, blindness of heart, uncleanness, lasciviousness and greed, (Eph. 4:17-19) he then writes: 

‘But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation (conduct) the old man, which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 

Neither give place (an opportunity) to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to hm that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying (educational), that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day or redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph. 4:20-32) 

And that’s the practical manner in which we go about transforming our minds and putting on the new man in Christ! And yes, it’s a lot to learn and do, but that’s why we’ve been given the Holy Spirit as our guide and helper. And please remember that nothing happens overnight, but it takes sincere effort and perseverance on our part. If we do our part, the Lord will surely do His. So on this damp and cloudy first lazy-day Saturday in May, let’s do like Mother Nature does in springtime, and get to renewing our minds and bodies in the new man that resembles Christ Jesus! Much LOVE!

…you cannot be in Christ…or He in you…unless your mind’s been transformed…and you’re a new man…  

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit 5 October 2015 Ephesians 4:30

05 Oct 2015 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 Ephesians 4:30.   And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

Arise! Arise my people! Arise and let us go forth into the wicked, godless world that surrounds us. It’s Monday morning, that means it’s the beginning of a new workweek and our free paper has been burnt. Glory Hallelujah! (smile) 

And with the burning of our free paper we have to get ourselves together and go out and work so that we can eat, buy clothes and have a roof over our heads. And while we are earning a living, we must also be furthering the kingdom of God through our witness, both spoken word and physical behaviour. That is the task that is set before us this chilly Monday morning in early October. 

Now let’s stop the foolish complaining, and throw of the miserableness, and simply do what we need to do; go out and join Jesus in battle; go out and do good like Jesus did. And since not all of us are quite awake and with it as yet, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to get our motors running and our adrenalin pumping. 

Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. 

We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. 

But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. 

Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ 

Ah Friends, that rendition of our famous Battle Hymn was not very moving or enlivening at all! You could see that our choirmaster, Jesus wasn’t too thrilled, because there was no enthusiasm, no brashness, no get up and go, no joie de vivre, nothing to truly light one’s fire. But hopefully we’re up and about now, our motors are running, or rather sputtering, until we imbibe that first jolt of our morning caffeine. (smile) 

Oh my brethren, if we are in such a sad state, then how can we go out into the cruel and evil world and adhere to Bruh Paul’s admonition in our Bit eh? ‘And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.’ It’s very difficult to do under the best of circumstances, much less when we are somewhat under the weather, not at our finest.

That’s why we keep encouraging us to make Sunday a warm up day for Monday, so we can go back to work rejuvenated and refreshed – emotionally, spiritually and physically, and truly live the new life in Christ. 

And what is this new life in Christ, you ask? Well Bruh Paul spells it out thus for the Ephesians and also for us. ‘That ye put off concerning the former conversation (conduct) the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.’ (Eph.4:22-24)  

And what does all of that mean? Here are some explanations from the scholars. ‘4:22-24. Christianity taught the addressees to (1) put off…the old man, to renounce their pre-conversion life and sins; (2) be renewed in…your mind, to be constantly changed, being brought more and more into line with God’s own viewpoint; and (3) put on the new man, that is, to assume a new nature (character) and conduct (life) at conversion.’ 

Yes Friends, when we come to walk seriously with Jesus, we need to throw out all the old, sinful trash that was in our lives before; stop going to certain places and doing certain things with certain people, which will prevent us from being all that Jesus expects us to be. 

We’ve just got to scrap our old way of life and become a new person in Christ. Now that doesn’t happen overnight, or come easily, for there will be tests and trials and tribulations still in our lives, ostensibly to test our faith. So please understand that becoming a new person in Jesus is not all wine, roses and song. (smile) 

But with the Holy Spirit of God living within you and leading and guiding you, it is indeed possible for you to slowly move from glory to glory, and thus understand what the new man is all about. Again, it all depends on the individual’s willingness to learn; to read and study God’s Word and to put that word into practice. 

Unfortunately, that character trait seems to be sadly lacking in us Christians today. We talk about God, intimating that we’ve put on the new man, but in reality we live like the world, like we used to live before, with the old ways taking precedence over the new ways of God. 

Now that obviously grieves the Holy Spirit; in fact the entire God-head, the Holy Trinity which also includes the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ. 

It’s just like our earthly bosses are displeased when we claim to do what we ought, but have actually done the opposite. And there can be serious repercussions for such lies and deceit. Likewise, there are repercussions when we are not obedient to God’s will. 

So Friends, let’s all wake up and smell the coffee, (smile) and get ourselves together this Monday morning, so that we won’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God. Now that is true wisdom! Much LOVE!

…like Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) says…the best way to live this life…is to simply obey God…and leave all the consequences to him…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 11 March 2014 Romans 12:9

11 Mar 2014 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Romans 12:9.    Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good.
 
Oh Friends, oh Friends, it’s time to rise and shine and give thanks to our great and merciful God for bringing us safely through the dark night of our senses, and graciously illuminating our day, brightening our spirits with the everlasting LIGHT of His wonderful Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Wow!
 
And on top of that, the weatherman’s promising a temperature today of plus 11 degrees Celsius, with bright sunshine! Mama Mia! What a magnanimous and magnificent God we serve and worship my people!
 
And all God’s people gave a loud and rejoicing shout of ‘Praise the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! Praise Him with singing and loud shouts of joy, for He is indeed worthy to be praised! Amen!’ 
 
Yes mih people, our majestic God certainly deserves all the praise we shower on Him – and even more. Unfortunately though, since all of His human creation don’t believe in and worship Him, He is being short-changed in His praise and thanksgiving.
 
And though the Lord LOVES to hear and receive praise and thanksgiving, please remember that He DOESN’T NEED IT, but WE NEED the mercies, the grace, the goodness, the LOVING-kindness, and forgiveness that flow from such praising and thankful behaviour. 
 
It’s a good time to remember that the Lord made us to be in relationship with Him, but if we choose not to, though He will be disappointed, it won’t destroy Him. However, WE WILL BE DESTROYED if we don’t form that personal relationship and then keep it going.
 
That’s just to remind us that God isn’t there to be our servant and to bend and bow to our every petty and selfish whim. But rather, HE IS OUR MASTER, OUR CREATOR, AND WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BOW TO HIM AND FOLLOW HIS DICTATES.
 
Just thought I’d throw that in there because many supposed Christians only turn to God in desperation for some worldly thing or purpose, and expect Him to deliver or answer them right away. Nuff said on that for now though.
 
Let’s turn to our Bit: ‘Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good.’
 
Words of absolute truth my brethren! Without TRUE LOVE and a sincere purpose to do good, the whole edifice of Christianity, of Christ’s church crumbles, because those are the mainstays of its foundation.
 
Now yesterday we looked at scriptures that dealt with the first half of our Bit; having a true heart of LOVE, and not one of hypocrisy, like the Pharisees of old had.
 
Today, we’ll check out scriptures that deal with the second half of our Bit; of clinging to good and forsaking evil. 

And we’ll begin with some awesome words of truth from Bruh David, as he asks in Psalm 15: ‘Lord, who shall abide (sojourn) in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy Hill?
 
He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up (receives) a reproach against his neighbour. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned (despised); but he honoureth them that fear the Lord.
 
He that sweareth to this own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.’ (Ps.15:1-5)
 
Oh Friends, I’m chuckling here because I never intended to quote the whole psalm, but after reading it through, I found that there was no right place to stop until the very end. For it all deals with goodness and truth; the necessities of character of one who hopes to dwell on God’s holy hill, in His holy sanctuary, to be welcomed into His presence.
 
Yes my fellow believers, if we hope to dwell with the Lord, goodness and truth must be firmly embedded in our spirits, our character, and our earthly behaviour, per the Lord’s commandments.
 
Meanwhile, the prophet Zechariah, in promising the restoration of Israel declares: ‘These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgement of truth and peace (for justice, truth and peace) in your gates.
 
And let none of you imagine (think) evil in your hearts against your neighbour; and LOVE no false oath: for all these are things I hate, saith the Lord.’ (Zech.7:16-17)
 
Oh Friends, that spells it right out in perfect simplicity! There’s nothing there that the least of us cannot understand. And we couldn’t write on truth and goodness without quoting these famous words of Bruh Paul to the church at Ephesus:
 
‘And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.’ (Eph.4:23-25)
 
Ah mih people, more clarification on our earthly status! We are all brothers and sisters in Christ, and as such ought not to lie to each other, but to speak the truth at all times, because that is what our God and our Christian faith are all about.
 
And we’ll end today with some more treasured words from Bruh Paul to the Ephesians. ‘Peace be to the brethren, and LOVE with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all them that LOVE our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.’ (Eph.6:23-24)
 
Oh Friends, I couldn’t say it any better, so please receive that blessing as though it was just spoken over us all. Much LOVE my Christian brethren!
 
…one cannot be a true believer in Jesus Christ…unless one sincerely walks in…LOVE…TRUTH…and GOODNESS…