Are You in Alignment?

 

By Andrea Merrell

Present your bodies a living sacrifice …

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Romans 12:2 NKJV

 

The car was so far out of alignment that it constantly pulled to one side, making it hard to stay on the road. It finally became undriveable and had to be put in the repair shop.

We can be just like that car, out of kilter, pulling one way or another, making it hard to stay on that straight and narrow path.

What do we do when this happens?

Romans tells us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices and to be transformed by renewing our minds. But how do we do that? The Message translation makes it clear and plain:

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

The key is fixing our attention on the Lord. Hiding His Word in our hearts. Putting on the mind of Christ. Bringing our thoughts, words, and actions into agreement with His.

Romans 8:6 says that “to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (KJV). It’s a matter of allowing the Spirit of God to control our thought life and bring our soul into agreement with our spirit. 

That's how we stay in perfect alignment.

   

Photo by Edz Norton on Unsplash

             

Know When It's Time to Reboot

By Andrea Merrell 

And do not be conformed to this world,

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,

that you may prove what is that good and acceptable

and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2

My computer does the craziest things. Sometimes when I type a period, it spits out five or six. At other times, the screen will freeze, wacky pop-up messages will appear, or my printer will jam and fail to print.

That’s when it’s time to reboot.

It seems to work much the same in my everyday life. Sometimes when I intend to be positive and constructive, my words come out negative and snarky. At other times, my mind wanders, my routine gets off track, and my life gets totally out of kilter.

Just like my computer, that’s when it’s time to reboot.

The Bible gives us a lot of instructions about how we should conduct ourselves, but we have to choose to follow those instructions.

They say a mind is a terrible thing to waste. The biggest waste comes when we fail to renew our mind. When we begin to think like God thinks and our words and actions line up with His Word, our values and belief system change. Everything falls into proper perspective, opening the windows of heaven for God to bless us as He desires to do.

When my computer acts up, I can keep on fighting with it—which only leads to frustration—or I can do what’s necessary to fix it.

When my carnal nature acts up, I can keep on making excuses for my thoughts, words, and behavior—which only leads to feelings of guilt and condemnation—or I can do what the Word tells me to do. Always a win-win situation.

If you’re struggling in your spiritual walk, don’t get discouraged. It happens to everyone. Maybe you just need to reboot.

(Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and TAW4.)

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If you’re struggling in your spiritual walk, don’t get discouraged. It happens to everyone. Maybe you just need to reboot. via @AndreaMerrell (Click totweet.)

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