"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 12:2 (NIV)Charles Spurgeon: -- "The renewal of our minds is not a mere alteration of our opinions but a radical transformation of our entire mental framework. It is not enough to put new wine into old bottles; the bottles themselves must be made new. The mind that was once the workshop of Satan must become the temple of the Holy Ghost. This renewing is the work of the Spirit, but we are called to present ourselves as candidates for that work."
Blaise Pascal: -- "It is the heart which perceives God and not the reason. That is what faith is: God perceived by the heart, not by the reason. The last proceeding of reason is to recognize that there is an infinity of things which are beyond it. It is but feeble if it does not see so far as to know this."
-- *Pensées*
Justin Martyr: -- "We have received by tradition that God does not need the material offerings which men can give, seeing He Himself is the provider of all things. And we have been taught, and are convinced, and believe, that He accepts only those who imitate the excellences which reside in Him -- temperance and justice, and philanthropy, and as many virtues as are peculiar to a God who is called by no proper name."
-- *First Apology*, Chapter 10
William Gurnall: -- "That you may not lose the ground you have got, you must resolve to hold it by constant vigilance. The Christian is never out of the enemy's reach. Satan will renew his assault; therefore you must renew your armor and stand upon your guard. He who thinks he has no need to watch has already given the enemy an advantage."
-- *The Christian in Complete Armour*
If the renewing of your mind is the hinge of transformation, what one thought-pattern are you letting the Spirit work on right now -- and what are you doing to cooperate?
Marcus Aurelius: -- "When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: the people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly. They are like this because they cannot tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own -- not of the same blood and birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine. And so none of them can hurt me. No one can fix on me what is ugly."
-- *Meditations*, Book II
Patchy rain nearby | 45°F | Humidity: 89% | Wind: SW 12 mph -- St. Clair, MI