“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing…

“Do not conform 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.” Romans 12:2 🐛🦋
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as christians, we are called to stand out from the crowd. I know we hear this all the time at church, but it can look different for everyone. it can be forgiving someone for the unforgivable. it can mean being the only friend to stay, when someone makes a mistake or is going through a rough season. it can look like having patience with a coworker or classmate. this also includes things such as avoiding gossiping & cussing. it applies completely to our actions.
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what we renew ourselves with, affects the fruit we bear. since we aren’t called to conform to this world, how can we look any different if we feed our souls the same worldly food?
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this looks slightly different for each christian, depending on the convictions & temptations of each. things we should be monitoring are the type of music we listen to, the movies & shows we watch, and things we read. when we renew our minds with music and shows that speak of worldly things, it can lead our thoughts astray, setting us on a road to struggle with temptation & sin.
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to combat this, first & foremost we need to be putting on the armor of God daily. every single piece of it. “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians‬ ‭6:14-17‬ ‭🗡 don’t get me wrong, I don’t complete this every day, which is one of many reasons why I need Jesus.
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overall, we need to be renewing our minds with life-giving spiritual food & be aware of anything else we are taking in. that way, we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds, for His Kingdom. 💛
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art inspo: @mysword.biblejournal 🙂