WHAT IS YOUR SOURCE?

TRANSFORMATION!
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

According to Paul, we are to be TRANSFORMED by the renewing of our minds!

You know how it works. The team is getting killed - then the head coach makes his fiery half-time speech and inspires the team to a come-back victory. You thought your bank account was empty and you realize you were looking in the wrong place and you actually have a lot more than you thought! You are going through a rough time but a friend's encouragement lifts you! A thought came into your mind which transformed your thinking for the better!

This also works in a negative sense. We can also become discouraged by negative input.

The bottom line is that whatever we feed on is going to effect us. It will transform us into the image of God's Son Jesus Christ or it will conform us to the thinking of the world.

THE WORD OF GOD!
God's written Word is the main source of transformation for the Christian!

It has a power beyond human inspiration and can impart God's nature into our thinking in a unique way! Someone said that the Bible is the only book we can read where the Author is always present!

Jesus spoke of the power of His Words:

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
John 6:63

ALTERNATIVE SOURCES!
In today's world, we have many alternatives to God's Word to choose from. The author Richard Wurman once wrote that "A weekday edition of The New York Times contains more information than the average person in 17th-century England was likely to come across in a lifetime."

What is your source? How much time and energy do you devote to the input alternative sources compared to God's Word?

Paul gave the reason for a renewed mind:

...that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
ROMANS 12:2

Absorbing the Word of God renews our minds and transforms us into His image! Alternate sources conform us to the inferior thinking of the unbelieving world!

Some may keep their radio tuned to their favorite "talk" station. All day long, they are absorbing the opinions of the hosts and guests into their minds!

Others watch the conservative news channel - still others, the liberal news channel. Is it any wonder, we are having so much trouble finding and proving the good, acceptable and perfect will of God? No wonder there are so many opinions floating around the Church of Jesus Christ!

If we "Google" a current popular issue, we will come up with a huge number of dogmatic opinions. Where did all these people get their facts? From studying the Word of God? On the contrary, anyone can post his or her opinion! Not only do they not need to be avid students of the Bible, it is not even necessary that they had ever read a Bible or even went to church once!

Do not think that misinformation comes only from listening to discussions or reading about issues. It perhaps most often comes from more subtle sources such as music, TV movies, video games, etc.

There is no way that you can allow all of these thoughts into your mind and not have it affect you! What are the messages or suggestions that you are allowing to be implanted into your mind?

Only the Word of God has the pure thoughts of God that will allow us to correctly understand Him and His Ways!

The Word Greek word "transformed" is the same one used of Jesus when He went up on the mountain and was "transfigured" before Peter, James and John! His clothing turned bright white and His face shone like the sun!

Do you want to be transformed into the likeness of God? It can only come by doing two things:

1. Limit the input of ungodly messages, concepts and suggestions that you allow to come into 
    your mind!
    - How do I know what to limit? The more you know the Word of God, the better you will get at
      discerning false information!

2. Renew your mind by diligent reading, study and meditation in God's Word seeking God's   
    approval instead of man's! 

15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
16 But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.
2 Timothy 2:15-16

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