A Prayer to Renew Your Mind – Your Daily Prayer – April 9

A Prayer to Renew Your Mind
By Remi Roy
“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.” Romans 12:2
What changes when we surrender our hearts to Jesus? Certainly, not our outward appearance, our income or the people in our families or at work. On the outside, we look the same. So, what changes?

The more we give in to the flesh the more our lives stay the same. The more we yield to the Spirit the more we begin to look like Christ. It is important to note that we cannot and do not change our ways first before we come to Christ. Hard as we try we do not have the power to do that and if God required that no one would be saved.
Paul, however, instructs us to renew our minds.
“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.” Romans 12:2
Paul knew that it takes a sincere desire to want to obey God to resist the lure of the world, hence his admonition to not copy the ways of the world. The same temptations we experienced in the past will come our way as new creations in Jesus Christ. We will face the same hardships, deal with the same emotions and circumstances. What makes the difference is our sincere desire to please God. Our desire, fueled by God’s grace and love makes real change possible.

Philippians 2:13 says, ‘For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.’
But how do we carry out Paul’s instruction to renew our minds in the practical sense?
It’s all in the Word. God’s Word empowers us and enables us to go all the way in our pursuit of Him.
Our job is to study and apply the Word. It is our weapon against everything that comes against us; whether sickness, fear or evil thoughts. God’s Word is the standard by which we measure our lives and conform to His will.

Lord, help us to study and apply your Word to our lives each day. Help us make this a discipline of the mind and heart, empowered by Your Spirit, transforming us each day more and more into your likeness. Help us have self-awareness of when we’re falling into temptation and turn quickly back to you. Thank you for your tender mercy and love, ever leading us onward. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen!

Love People from the Heart
by Rick Warren — April 10, 2019

“It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart” (Philippians 1:7 NIV).

I’ve discovered that if people are not on my heart, they’re on my nerves. If you don’t have your kids in your heart, they get on your nerves. If you don’t have your spouse in your heart, guess who gets on your nerves?

The reason so many marriages struggle is that mates are reacting to each other from their mind rather than their heart. When your wife says, “I feel depressed,” listen to her; it’s legitimate. When your husband says, “I don’t feel this is the right thing to do; we ought to do it this other way,” listen to him.
Heart love begins with understanding why someone feels the way they do. Ask questions and then listen. Hear the hurt, look for the problems, know what makes your mate tick. You need to understand the moods of the people closest to you, why they act the way they do. If you care, you’ll be aware.
How do you love people that you find unlovable, even when you do understand them and their moods? “God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:8 NIV). In Greek, the word affection is the word for intestines. In Greek society, the Greeks thought that the seat of the emotions was in your stomach, your liver, your internal organs.
Paul was saying, “I’ve got a gut feeling of love for you.” That is not a natural kind of love. It is a supernatural kind of love. That’s why Paul said it’s not from himself, but it’s the affection of Christ Jesus. Human love wears out and dries up and dies on the vine. The only kind of love that lasts in spite of heartache and difficulty in tough circumstances is God’s love—the affection of Jesus Christ.
So how do you get this kind of gut love? “God has poured out his love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God’s gift to us” (Romans 5:5 GNT). God’s love is not something you work up. It is something that is poured into you by the Holy Spirit as you let him live in you day by day.
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick
Talk It Over

What does loving the unlovable look like? When have you seen that kind of love displayed?
What are ways you can listen better to hear the hurt, understand problems, or know what makes your spouse (or close family members) tick?
What are ways you can listen better to hear the hurt and understand problems other people in your life may be experiencing?

Give hope, prayer, and encouragement below. Post a comment & talk about it.