Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
As we continue in the midst of "Yamim Noraim", or the Days of Awe between Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets) and Yom Kippur, we've entered into a period of repentance -- and hopefully, we're seeking to 'perfect holiness' [2 Cor. 7:1] and pursuing a deeper level of dedication and consecration during this season.
In ancient times, the high priest of Israel wore a crown of pure gold on his head called a Nezer, which comes from the word “nazar”. This word "nazar" means to dedicate, consecrate and sacredly separate. The word “nazarite” comes from this root and describes someone who has taken a vow to be separated from the world.
New Covenant believers are called "a royal priesthood" [1 Peter 2:9], and we also, are called to live a holy life, dedicated to God and separated from the world in our thoughts and intentions. It's not always an easy task. Our thought life is constantly challenged from within and without. In this battle, the crown of the high priest can be a powerful symbol for us; the beauty and purity of gold standing for the beauty and purity of thinking with the mind of Messiah. Since Yeshua (Jesus) was the perfect "Nazarite", set apart in absolute purity, His thoughts were always "golden". In communion with Him by His spirit, our thought life too, can move more and more toward His perfect mind.
Philippians 4:8 says this; " Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. " This, as believers, is our mandate to "positive thinking". In this world, negativity, cynicism, and impurity abound, and it becomes easier and easier to dwell on things that are depressing and sinful, impure and evil. But these thoughts must be cut off and destroyed from our minds. Thoughts of lust, jealousy, covetousness, and self-pity will take us away from our Lord, and need to be taken captive before they get a foothold. Replace them with those of Philippians 4:8.
You have the mind of Messiah [1 Cor. 2:16] Choose to know and think with it. Crown yourself with thoughts that are pure as gold by taking control of that ceaseless flow. You'll be amazed at how your life will change under the influence of Yeshua's mind!
Make the determination this season to transform your mind on those thoughts above. In doing so, you'll find yourself changing the world around you -- for His Glory and for His Kingdom!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]So often in ministry, the Lord deals with my own spirit, saying – “You need to step back and get refocused!” And we all know how hard it is at times when we get so busy with the normal every day stresses of life tugging at our limited time.
Throughout the United States today, everyone will be celebrating the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence — a document through which leaders of the colonies in the New World broke free from the King of England.
The Hebrew expression in this verse from Isaiah is rich with meaning. The root “nus” (from the expression “raise up a standard”) is related to or sounds like numerous words which mean “sign”, “miracle”, “to drive away”, “to flee”, “cause to disappear”, “a waving flag”. This abundance of meanings in Isaiah’s poetic style reveals the multiple dimensions of God’s revelation; in this case, the way he deals with evil. The assertion in this word is that the Spirit of YHVH will be powerfully activated when evil comes.
The word contrite in Hebrew is ‘dakah’ which means one that is crushed to pieces. Paul wrote of being a ‘living sacrifice’ holy and acceptable to God. Being a living sacrifice means we often can walk off the altar. To be a continual living sacrifice we need to renew our minds day to day!
Recently, I’ve been impressed by the Lord to address the anxieties many are feeling about the future– how to be strong in the face of the intense opposition we’ll be facing as believers. One of the founders of the modern state of Israel, David Ben-Gurion once said, “Courage is a special kind of knowledge, the knowledge of how to fear what ought to be feared and how not to fear what ought not to be feared. From this knowledge comes an inner strength that inspires us to push on in the face of great difficulty. What can seem impossible is often possible with courage.”
For a season, I worked in Washington, D.C., for one of America’s largest Christian political organizations. Sometimes I saw how politics could get ugly and, more often than not, how it changed people — not for the better…but usually for the worse!
Have you ever felt uneasy, unsettled or unstable? Or maybe a better question is — who hasn’t? How do we overcome these feelings?