Good morning and welcome to Daily Devo, the best way to start your day in the Word of
God.
My name is Whitney Meade, and thank you for joining me for today's devotional!
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Let's get into the Word of God together.
Romans 12:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies
as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and
perfect will.
Let's read that one more time, this time in the New Living Translation, or the NLT:
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because
of all he has done for you.
Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable.
This is truly the way to worship him.
2 Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new
person by changing the way you think.
Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
When we want to make a change in our lives, we need to take the first step.
If you're going to get healthy, you should start going to the gym or eat more nutritionally-dense
food.
If you want to learn something new, you might pick up a book from the library or Google
it on your computer.
But what about when we need a total system reboot?
Changing our habits is a tall order - but it's a step so many of us need when we first
come to Christ.
If we don't, we will get down the road in our walk with God and realize that the old
patterns aren't serving us well.
Discipleship is a journey, not a destination.
We never stop growing in Christ until He calls us home.
Romans is such a powerful book of the Bible - aren't they all?
- but Romans, in particular, is like an arrow aimed straight to your heart.
It gets to.
The.
Point.
And in Romans 12, we learn a crucial part about enacting heavenly change into our lives
- renewing our minds, or as the NLT version puts it, changing the way we think.
If you've followed me for many years, you know I struggled with postpartum depression
after my daughter was born.
I learned so many life-changing things during my Christian therapy sessions.
One of the most pivotal lessons was that some of my thought patterns were quite destructive
and contributed to my depression.
Yes, there was absolutely a chemical and hormonal imbalance in my brain that caused the depression,
but there was also a stack of situational issues that exacerbated the disease.
I had to identify the truth about my situation: I was agreeing with satan's lies.
These were planted deep into my head and heart by the enemy and his demons throughout my
entire lifetime.
They affected my patterns of thought.
I was innocent to the agreement - I didn't even know I was doing it until my therapist
pointed it out to me.
Once the truth was revealed, there was no turning back.
I had to repent.
I had to change.
I had to alter my thought patterns, what I believed about myself and motherhood, and
about who I really am at my core: Worthy.
Valued.
And Loved.
Notice that those things all deal with what's up here, and in here.
It wasn't deep breathing or getting a massage that made me feel better (not that those are
bad things!)
The root change started with my mind and my thoughts.
I wish I had time to sit down with you and talk to you about the soundtrack you play
in your head every day.
I wish I could help you identify the truth in your situation and what agreements you've
unknowingly made with satan and his tricky words.
But my friend, you don't need me.
You can do this by yourself in prayer and Bible study with God.
And perhaps, you need a Christian counselor too.
Here's the boiled-down Truth: The first step to renewing your mind is to identify the truth
about your situation.
What lies are you believing?
I challenge you to search that out today.
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Have a blessed day, and I'll see you soon!