ListenDaily - 25 November 2008; An Old Thanksgiving Tradition

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With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD:
He is good; His love to Israel endures forever." Ezra 3:11

Depending upon which set of historians you might choose to debate, the Thanksgiving holiday is between 387 and 443 years old, and took place either at the Plymouth Plantation or in St. Augustine.

To borrow a well-worn phrase from my kids..."whatever".

We may have named a day for it, but we did not invent the giving of thanks. God commanded thanks in the Law; not because He needs our gratitude, but because we need to be grateful. Our whole lives can be changed if our hearts become grateful, first through practice, possibly, but then through actual change.

And so the tradition of a nation giving thanks goes back, past 1621, past 1565. Let us look at today's verse, which predates Christ by some four centuries. With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD: He is good; His love to Israel endures forever. So, you might ask, what does Israel and God's love for it, have to do with us? We are the Nation of Israel! I do not want to get bogged down in semantics (or Semitics) here, but one needs just Read Romans 11 to understand that we Gentiles, through Christ, are grafted into His chosen people.

And so, His love to us endures forever.

Therefore, we should sing to the Lord, with praise and thanksgiving.

What a tradition!
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Questions:
1. How do you show thanks to God?
2. How often?
3. How about right now?

INTERESTING THOUGHTS:

"Instead of complaining that God had hidden himself,
you will give Him thanks for having revealed so much of Himself."

Blaise Pascal

Pastor Jim Dorton

http://pastorjimdorton.blogspot.com/

Wyoming UMC112 Broad StreetWyoming, De 19934(302) 697-6651jdorton@yahoo.com

ListenDaily - 24 November 2008; "How to"

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That day David first committed to Asaph and his associates this psalm of thanks to the LORD; Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;

Make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; Tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; Let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and his strength; Seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, His miracles, and the judgments He pronounced. 1 Chronicles 16:7-12

In this week that we focus on giving thanks, I think this passage is a good "how to" on giving thanks to God. We thank Him by: Making Him known; singing to Him; seeing glory in Him; rejoicing; looking to His strength, seeking His face; and remembering Him. Do you want to show thanks to God? Pick one of those items and do it, do it now as you are reading this.
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Questions:
1. How do you show thanks to God
2. How often?
3. Are any of David's list helpful?

INTERESTING THOUGHTS: "How little chance the Holy Ghost has nowadays. The churches and missionary societies have so bound Him in red tape that they practically ask Him to sit in a corner while they do the work themselves." C.T. Studd

ListenDaily - 21 November 2008; Decisions

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Do not conform any longer 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

...be transformed by the renewing of your mind...

Change your shape - by restoring your mind to a prior state. The ending to this portion of study is to emphasize the importance of our decision to renew. God is there to help you, and wants so much for your mind to be renewed! He sent His Son to break the world's pattern and sent His Holy Spirit to comfort, encourage, and strengthen you to be able.

But you must make the choice.

At this point, I am going to turn this over to my good friend Randy, who has stated this as well as I ever could, in an email earlier this week.

"Jim, I cannot read Romans 12:1-2 without hearing Romans 7:25 and 8:5-17. It is tempting to take the passive voice ("be transformed by the renewing of your mind") as something that God alone does in us. Of course, every good thing that occurs in us is the work of God's hand, lest we boast in any way. Yet the reality is that we must be 100% engaged in the mind-renewal business!

Romans 8:5 says: "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is live and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God."
The key to enabling God's mind-renewal is for use to set our minds on the things of the Spirit. This is subtle, and it is tempting to confuse the work of God with the decision of a man. It is always and only the work of God in us that changes us; but the trigger for God's power is our alignment with the Spirit. And even the power to pull the trigger is not something we can brag about.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. (Eph 2:8)
It is an incredible mystery, indeed a paradox, that our transcendent, holy, omnipotent God loves us so much that he grants us the capacity to choose Him. Yet that is exactly what we are called to do as Christians. Therefore, the key question is this - how can we set or minds on the things of the Spirit? The answer is obvious - through intentional engagement in prayer, Scripture reading, Scripture study, meditation, serious dialog with our fellow Christians, and service. Anyone who says they don't know God's will for them can start right there. Thank you, Jim, for being used by God to "spur us on toward love and good deeds" (Heb 10:24). Randy "

AMEN!
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Questions:
1. Do you recall making an intentional decision to follow Christ?
2. Do you recall making an intentional decision to renew your mind?
3. Is it time to renew the decision to renew?

INTERESTING THOUGHTS:
"How little chance the Holy Ghost has nowadays. The churches and missionary societies have so
bound Him in red tape that they practically ask Him to sit in a corner while they do the work themselves."
C.T. Studd

ListenDaily - 20 November 2008; What does it look like?

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ListenDaily - 20 November 2008; What does it look like?

Do not conform any longer 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

...be transformed by the renewing of your mind... Renew has a variety of related definitions, but the one that I think applies here is "to restore to a prior state".

Change your shape - by restoring your mind to a prior state. The "prior state" would not be some time earlier in your own life but, I think, to the state in which God created man's mind to be. What might that look like?

Consider these (not an exhaustive list) examples. It would be focused on God; Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' Matthew 22:37 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Mark 8:33

It would be understanding of the Scriptures: Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. Luke 24:45

It would not be divisive, but unifying and helpful: All the believers were one in heart and mind. Acts 4:32 Make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. Romans 14:13 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. 1 Corinthians 1:10

It would understand the relationship between God, man, and sin: So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Romans 7:25 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. Romans 8:5 The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Romans 8:7 But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16It would full of life and peace: The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. Romans 8:6 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

It will pray: I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. 1 Corinthians 14:15

It will have God's Law: "This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." Hebrews 10:16

Change your shape - by restoring your mind to a prior state.

Tomorrow: Renewing your mind...God's help; your decision

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Questions:

1. Do any of these attributes cause a reaction in your mind?

2. How do you get your mind to be renewed?

3. Are there areas in your life not yet transformed?

INTERESTING THOUGHTS:

"Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity is a greater.
Possession pampers the mind; privation trains and strengthens it."William Hazlitt

"A state of mind that sees God in everything is
evidence of growth in grace and a thankful heart."Charles Finney

"The Gospel that represents Jesus Christ,
not as a system of truth to be received, into the mind,
as I should receive a system of philosophy, or astronomy,
but it represents Him as a real, living, mighty Savior, able to save me now."Catherine Booth

"When a man has quietly made up his mind
that there is nothing he cannot endure, his fears leave him."
Grove Patterson

"If we have not quiet in our minds,
outward comfort will do no more for us than
a glass slipper on a gouty foot."John Bunyan
"The mind of him that worketh ill is not always corrupt;
but the mind of him that defendeth evil is ever corrupt."Lancelot Andrewes

ListenDaily - 19 November 2008; Resisting Change

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Do not conform any longer 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

...be transformed...

"Transform"..."trans" = to change, "form" = shape. "Transform" = to change shape. But how?

Before we move forward to "mind renewal", I would like to look back to the "patterns of this world". For transformation to take place, for our shape to change, for our minds to be renewed, we must understand the power of the patterns. One perspective of breaking the pattern is that of a new believer who gives up their lives of sin to accept a new life in Christ. This is certainly a valid perspective. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4: You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Paul speaks here in the past tense, to believers who were taught this truth. However, he goes on, to admonish them for current actions: ...put off falsehood ...in your anger do not sin...do not give the devil a foothold...steal no longer...do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths...do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God...get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. He is speaking to people who have proclaimed belief in Christ, and yet have are still conformed to the pattern.

It's tough! "Old habits die hard', 'old dogs - new tricks' all those old sayings are true. But we must look at ourselves and ask; "Am I a different person with Jesus in my life? In what way am I different? How could I be in relationship with the Most High God and not be different?"

Patterns are hard to break. But I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! (Phil.4:13)

Tomorrow: Breaking the pattern, part III.

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Questions:1. What patterns do you seem to be stuck in?
2. Are you a completely different person than you would be without Jesus?
3. Are there areas in your life not yet transformed?

INTERESTING THOUGHTS:

"Lord, when we are wrong, make us willing to change.

And when we are right, make us easy to live with."

Peter Marshall

"Will power does not change men.

Time does not change men.

Christ does."

Henry Drummond

ListenDaily - 18 November 2008; Changing your shape

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not conform any longer 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


...be transformed... "Transform"..."trans" = to change, "form" = shape. "Transform" = to change shape.


...be transformed...

God is telling us here that we need to change our shape, change our structure, change what we look like. Man was created in God's image, but through sin in the world we stopped looking like God.

In order to come back into harmony with Him, we must regain His image.Christ is our example, born without sin; He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. (Col. 1:15) As Adam was created in the image of God, so may we, through Jesus - the firstborn of the new man, regain His image when we have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. (Col. 3:9-10)

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed...

Tomorrow: Breaking the pattern, part II.

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Questions:
1. What patterns do you see in your life?
2. Are you being transformed?
3. Where are you in that process?

INTERESTING THOUGHT:
"Do not grudge the Hand that is moulding the still too shapeless image within you.
It is growing more beautiful, though you see it not, and every touch of temptation may add to its perfection."
Henry Drummond

ListenDaily - 17 November 2008; Thinking about thinking

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You can look up this, or any other passage here: http://www.biblegateway.com/

Do not conform any longer 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

I was blessed and impressed by all the responses, emails, and comments last week. They got me thinking about thinking. The Scriptures tell us not to lean on our own understanding, leaning on God instead (Prov. 3:5). We are also told that wise people are confounded by simple things (1 Cor. 1:27). But these are not warnings against thinking, but instead reminders to right thought, to filter our thoughts through the true wisdom of God.

Which brings us back to today's verse. Let us look at the first phrase: do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world...

If we God tells us to stop doing something, the inference is that it is something we are doing. If we have never responded to this verse, we should consider what it might be saying to us.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world...

Is there a worldly pattern to which you find yourself conforming, that harms your relationship with God? Is there a worldly pattern concerning your family, work, or church life that is different than what God is calling you to? Can you assume that if it is not a Godly pattern, that it must be a worldly one?

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world...

Tomorrow: Breaking the pattern.
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Questions:
1. What patterns do you see in your life?
2. How were they created?
3. Can you assume that if it is not a Godly pattern, that it must be a worldly one?

INTERESTING THOUGHT:

"They gave our Master a crown of thorns,
why do we hope for a crown of roses?"

Martin Luther