If therefore you were raised together with the Messiah, you are seeking the higher things, where the Messiah is seated at the right hand of God: you must continually have in mind the higher things, not the things upon the earth (Colossians 3:1-2 ONM)
I like the way the One New Man Bible puts it, we have to be changed from the inside as a new creation “….and stop being conformed to this age, but you must from the inside continually be changed into another form, by the renovation of your mind, to prove what is the good and pleasing and perfect will of God for you” (Romans 12:2 ONM, emphasis mine). When something is renovated, all the old construction is torn down and rebuilt. First of all, renovated minds are now seeing from God’s perspective—no longer our own, and renewed minds now live from heaven to earth as stated in Colossians.
Basically, this is why people have difficulty; they switch it around, bringing their earthly affections to the heavenly. A true turn around can only be accomplished through the inner man, not outer.
We’ve already started the process when we repented of our sins. Repent means to change one’s mind or the way you think. I think the reason we have such a hard time with transforming and renewing our mind, is because we have reduced the translation down to, just don’t think about it anymore ,just stop doing the wrong things or just use some self-control of which none of these methods work because this causes us to transform with our own natural ability in the flesh. From God’s perspective, true change can only be accomplished on a spiritual level, not natural. We can never put any stock into our feelings and emotions unless it is of a spiritual discernment. That’s why, before He left, Jesus said He was sending us a helper—the Holy Spirit—because we can’t accomplish it on our own. We will fail every single time we try.
(Excerpt taken from Chapter 2: “Soul Ties”)
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