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If you have been following this series, you will have a list compiled beginning with something(s) that may be an idol in your life and followed by your character defects. This article will help you begin to remove and replace your list with one more reflective of God’s will for you.The Romans 12:2 Bible verse tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. To be transformed is to undergo a metamorphosis, a marked or complete change of character, appearance, or condition. To be renewed is to be renovated. In a house renovation a person takes pictures of the project and then sets out remove walls and windows. Deteriorated parts of the house are torn out and replaced with new. General cleaning and repairs take place. When the renovation is complete, the homeowner stands at a distance with their “before” pictures and marvels at the transformation that has taken place. This is what we want to accomplish in rebuilding our belief system. The goal is to have a complete change of character, appearance or condition. You may look the same physically, but you will not be the same person in action, thought or behavior. You will not think the way you once did and as a result you will not behave the way you once did. Your new behavior will reflect your new way of thinking.
The words “divine power” in the 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 Bible verse refer to the weapons God has given us to tear down strongholds in our life. Strongholds are fortifications of error or vise, like ingrained habits of addictive behavior and the character defects and beliefs that rive them. What is this divine power? In Ephesians 6:17, we are instructed to take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. When this Biblical letter was written, a literal sword bearer had the power over life and death. The executioner and the soldier in authority had that power. Spiritually, bearing the sword of God’s Word offers you a life-and-death power over your emotions, mind and behavior. We can shape our life with it and can maintain our new life course with it. We witness David using this power for his life at Psalm 119:10-11, “I seek You with all my heart, do not let me stray from Your commands. I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” To take up the sword is to contemplate, memorize and apply God’s Word to your life. The power to rebuild and transform a human life is found in God’s Word. It is living and active, it penetrates deep within and rebuilds from the inside. His word is the divine power, a power that can raise the dead. (Ephesians 2:18-21).
Our next step is to take our list and find the Word of God that speaks to each thought or behavior. I’ll mention two of mine for this article. My first item on the list was Porn as an idol. One word of God that spoke to that was Luke 16:13, “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You can not serve both God and money.” Or both God and porn, or God and anything else.
One of my character defects was anger. One of the Scripture verses I put beside that was Ecclesiastes 7:8-9, “The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit for anger resides in the lap of fools.”
I put these verses and many others that applied to my list in a verse pack. I read them every day. I memorized them and contemplated their meaning for my life at every opportunity and especially when the character defects surfaced that I wanted to replace. I was replacing the beliefs and thoughts in my mind with God’s thinking. It came hard, but with persistence in practice, a new thought, a new behavior -- and over time -- a new person created to be in the character of God is emerging. It will happen for you too.
Our defect list can be overwhelming, especially if we think we have to do it all at once, in the next week or two. That’s “magic wand thinking.” I believe God performs miracles, but when it comes to shaping our character to be like His, one step at a time, we need to learn to yield our will to Him by choice. Take it slow; God will take you at a pace for you. He will be your best guide and will reveal what you can handle. This is a lifelong process. Just start and practice, practice, practice. There is no greater life available and freedom found on earth than for the person who has put God first and foremost in their life and is being transformed into His likeness. My next article will help us establish boundaries and discipline to maintain our new life course.
Lynn Fredrick is the author of Stand Firm -- From the Darkness of Pornography and Sexual Sin into the Light of God’s Grace. Available at www.amazon.com or
www.LynnFredrick.com
