Living Free - Mar. 14, 2012
New Thoughts
Today's Scripture
"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. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:2 NLT
Thoughts for Today
The New Testament ties our ability to make personal change to a change in our thought life. This change is described as the renewing of our minds.
Those who have been trapped in sexual sin have valued things that are against God's will, maybe for years. They have engaged in sinful behavior like having immoral sexual relations or fantasized about such things. They have allowed pornography and other sexual sins to encourage them to place great value on sexual fulfillment. They have raised up their sexual fulfillment as an idol. These thoughts and desires have been "burned" into their neural pathways. Now they may sin out of habit and without much forethought.
Consider this …
If you find yourself in this kind of trap, it should be clear that to change your behavior, God must first change your values. In order to change your values, He must change your mind and heart. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in you. Today's scripture tells us that when we let God transform us into a new person by renewing our minds, we will learn to know His will for us--and His will is good and pleasing and perfect.
So first, you must get your mind off the world's standards. "What I'm doing isn't so bad. Lots of other people do it. It's just a normal way of life these days." And then get your mind on what God has to say about it. Read those scriptures you have been avoiding. Ask God to change the way you think.
Father, help me turn my eyes away from the world's standards and back to You. Help me stop being ruled by my sinful desires and commit my ways to You. Forgive me for my sin. Change the way I think so I can know your will for me. In Jesus' name …
These thoughts were drawn from …
Crossroads: Choosing the Road to Sexual Purity by David E. Longacre. Crossroads deals with choosing the road to sexual purity and is suggested for use in support groups and Christian counseling.
- Describes the sexual addiction process
- Shows how the sin of proximity often precedes sexual sins
- Shows the way out of sexual addiction
- Presents biblical insights to help a person break free and stay free
- Gives practical actions for renewing the mind
- Serves as a powerful evangelistic tool by providing a way to minister to people's felt needs and then pointing them to Christ
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