Transformed – teen devotion – January 27, 2019
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. 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.
Romans 12:1-2
Fresh start – #4 Be Transformed
There can be a ton of pressure to change and improve your life in a new year. There is pressure to improve your skills on the court or in the classroom. There is the constant challenge to maintain healthy, happy relationships with your parents or your friends. There may even be pressure to change your appearance or health.
There is just as much pressure to change and to improve in your spiritual life. There is pressure to grow in your relationship with God. There is pressure to get rid of certain sins and live a God-pleasing life.
Notice two words Paul uses in our reading that relieve the pressure—be transformed. Paul doesn’t say, “Transform yourself,” like Bumblebee when he morphs from car to robot in the “Transformers” movie. Rather than saying, “Change yourself,” Paul says in the strongest possible way, “Be transformed.”
The pressure of making a change is no longer on us. The power for making a change is no longer on us either. It is God who changes our wants. Driving this radical change is God’s divine mercy and pity for our pitiful state of being. He does it through Holy Spirit when you spend time in his Word. It is God who will change your actions. Again, he does this by his Spirit and his Word. God will transform and change you.
The pressure is officially off to change yourself. It was transferred to the cross. It was placed upon Jesus Christ. He earned our salvation and gives it to us as a gift. He transforms us so that our priorities and habits, even our lives, change for his glory.
Today, empowered by God’s mercy, we CAN have a new attitude, created and shaped by God! We CAN make right decisions and be certain what God’s will is, what is good, pleasing, and perfect (verse 2b). Live today in him! Live life for him!
Prayer: Lord God, change me by your Spirit and your Word so that my life is good and pleasing in your sight. Transform me to desire what you want and to think of your will. I ask this according to your mercy Amen.
