Online Reporter
Greetings, beloved nation, in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Romans 12:2 (KJV) says: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
“ The NLT version puts it this way: “Don’t copy the behaviour 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.”
Last week, we spoke about how, as believers, we are to have the mind of our Lord Jesus Christ, just as Jesus had the mind of His Father — God — the mind of the Kingdom. We also explored how the mind is a spiritual gateway that can be influenced by both God and the devil.
Paul teaches us in Romans 12:2 that Christians are not to conform to this world, but rather to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
In other words, in order to avoid conforming to the patterns and customs of the world, we must undergo transformation. And how is this transformation achieved? Through the renewal of our minds.
But what is the transformation of the mind? According to the KJV Dictionary, to transform means “to change the natural disposition and temper of man from a state of enmity to God and His law, into the image of God, or into a disposition and temper conformed to the will of God.”
As believers, we are called to be transformed through the renewal of our minds. But we may ask again: Why must our minds be renewed? What must they be renewed from? We established that the mind is a spiritual gateway — meaning that both God and the devil can influence it.
When we allow the devil to influence our minds, we become capable of great evil.
This is evident in the current state of the world: the way we mistreat others, acts of brutal murder, the rape of women and children, deliberate violence and criminality — all stem from the influence of the devil over the minds of men. Genesis 6:5 tells us: “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Because of this, God chose to destroy mankind with the flood.
Human minds had become corrupt and were being used for evil purposes. When our minds are not renewed, we conform to the world.
We desire worldly things and emulate worldly behaviour, often with devastating consequences. In Genesis 19:17, 26–28, we read how God decided to destroy Sodom due to its extreme sin and perversion.
Lot and his family were instructed to flee and not look back. However, Lot’s wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. Interestingly, at the same time, Abram (later Abraham) was on a mountain observing the destruction, but he was unharmed. Both looked, but the difference lay in intention: Lot’s wife longed for what she was leaving behind. We are not told how long she looked, but it was long enough for her heart and imagination to yearn for Sodom and thus she was judged along with the city.
Similarly, when the children of Israel left Egypt, their minds remained in Egypt. They longed for the comforts they had left behind. In Exodus 16:3 they said, “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted.”
They constantly complained to Moses, even though they had been freed from slavery. It took a day to get Israel out of Egypt, but 40 years to get Egypt out of Israel—their minds still held on to the slave mentality. They needed transformation through renewal of the mind. Our minds have incredible potential.
In Genesis 11:6, when God saw the people imagining a city and tower they wished to build, He said that nothing they imagined would be impossible for them.
This tells us that a renewed mind not only helps us avoid conforming to the world, but also empowers us to realise our God-given potential. We were created in the image of God, and we can become and achieve whatever we imagine — so long as our minds are renewed and aligned with His will.
The mind is a spiritual gateway. If we allow the devil to influence it, we risk doing great harm in our lives and to others.
But if we surrender our minds to the influence of the Holy Spirit, we can accomplish great things — for ourselves, our communities and the world.
Once again, I invite you to receive Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour. Believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and you shall be saved.
May God bless you all and may He bless our beautiful nation, Zimbabwe.
Amen.
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