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| Refresh! |
Email Melanie at melanie@nakedandunashamed.org
REFRESH!!!
Romans 12: 2 "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind"
The word "renew" is sometimes translated as refresh or even at times "update." I love the Amplified
Bible, which is translated from the Greek, the language in which the New Testament was written. This
version gives a much richer meaning to the Word of God than I'd settled for with my very limited
experience and the culture
To tell you the truth, if I have a difficult time using a word or phrase in everyday language...or in casual
conversation at the kitchen table, then chances are, it's not going to have much relevance to me
spiritually. All that to say, even though I've heard "refresh" used in reference to retreats and church
services...as in someone being "refreshed" in the Lord, it was a little disconnected to me, to be
honest...in that I mean if I wouldn't necessarily use that word in a sentence at home with my family,
then I wouldn't find it very comfortable to use even when it came to spiritual things, since I see it all as
one.
That is...until I looked at my computer screen. Aha! There it was, next to the address bar at the top was
an icon with little green arrows. One click of the "refresh" button renews and updates all the
information on the computer. If I don't "refresh" for awhile, guess what? I'm responding to and reacting
from "old" information. When I do refresh, my computer is brought up to date with the "truth" of the
continuing real-time of cyberspace. When I think of "refreshing" my mind...I am bringing it up to date
with the reality of Who I now am; a child of God, and a new creation in Christ. Reminding me to react
and respond from the truth instead of "old" information or my old thinking.
So, with that, let's go back to Roman's 12:2, Paul tells us to be transformed...how??? He's spent the
entire first part of the book telling the believers in Rome, as well as believers today that spiritually,
we've been reconciled to God through Christ. It's done! However, he recognizes that in order for there
to be true change, in other words, in order for a person to "be" what they "are" in Christ, there is first a
necessity to think differently. He understands that each unique human being comes with thoughts and
perceptions ingrained deeply from all sorts of influences. This is revolutionary, because what Paul is
essentially saying is - everything you've learned about God, life, love, your self, others...in fact, the
world...has been upside down. It's been wrong!
He's saying that if you are a believer, that is, if you have crossed over from death to life by recognizing
Christ as Savior, there is a not only a possibility, but a high probability that we could still be "thinking"
wrongly. In fact the bible is not just a book of moral values...it's an account of an event! And everything it
teaches us is in relation to or in light of that Event! As new believers, we tend to do the opposite; we
filter the magnificence of that event through our understanding and so try to make it's principles work in
the world that we know. The very first step to know is recognize our unknowing!
The 66 books of the Old and New Testament are not some disjointed books of different thoughts and
ideas, but...one continuing incredible account of our Creator, our beginning, the rejection of Him and
its consequences to His fierce love, His will and determination to carry out the mystery planned before
creation to reconcile us back to Himself, and the unbelievable price He would pay.
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| So where do we begin to "REFRESH?" Of course, the Beginning is a great place to begin! You may have heard the creation story a million times, but unless you understand its relevance, you will never realize why Christ came and what that has to do with you. In fact, you will never really begin to understand life, your self and the world around you unless you know what happened in the beginning. Most important, you will never really understand how very precious you are to the One Who made you until you begin to realize what He was willing to do to in your behalf! We've Come a Long Way, Baby! - The Beginning THE "FALL" Un-Lifed! Naked & Ashamed |