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Renewed minds come from soaking in the Scriptures |
| Posted by Mark Hood on 18th June, 2009 |
“…I appeal to you brothers and sisters, …be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-what is good and acceptable and perfect…” (Romans 12:2)
The work and fruit of conversion in the life of a person is a work of God’s from beginning to end. He it is who gives us his Spirit; He it is who gives us the ability to repent and believe in Christ; He it is who brings forth in us the fruit of his Spirit; He it is who enables us to ‘love God and love our neighbour’.
Though all these things be true, yet as disciples of Christ we are urged to ‘be transformed by the renewing of our minds’ – so that we might comprehend God’s good news for us in Christ, so we can understand the world as God has made it, and so we can live as God has planned.
So how are our minds to be renewed? Two obvious suggestions come to mind: (1) Soaking in the Scriptures; (2) Carefully considering the writings of saints as they explain the Bible to us. This week I’ll exaplain the first. Later I’ll return to the second.
In the Bible we meet Jesus Christ, living and clothed in all his promises for the world and for us. We meet a God who, from the creation of the world, and until its new creation, demonstrates remarkable patience towards his world – ‘not wanting any to perish, but all to reach repentance’. Through hearing God’s word we receive the promises of God given to us through Christ and in the power of his Spirit so that we actually can repent, believe, trust, hope, obey and wait until his return. In short we read of ‘the gospel of the glory of Christ’. Therefore, take up and read!
There are many ways to read through the Bible:
One way is to use the Australian Lectionary, which works through most parts of the Bible over three years. Another way to read through the entire Bible in one year is the M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan, which you can download here from www.mountzion.org.
Using M’Cheyne’s plan will mean you read four chapters of different sections of the Bible each day and will result in covering the Old Testament once, and the Psalms and New Testament twice in a year. M’Cheyne’s headings “Family” and “Secret” show how this Scottish minister anticipated his scheme be used. ‘Family’ are the two chapters he recommended you read around the dinner table to your family; ‘Secret’ (Matt 6:6), those chapters you read privately.
Do you as a family or house group read through the Bible? Let me encourage you to!
M’Cheyne advised, As “you read your Bible….do try and understand it, and still more to feel it…Turn the Bible into prayer. So if you are reading Psalm 1, spread the Bible on the chair before you, and kneel and pray, ‘O Lord, give me the blessedness of the man’; ‘let me not stand in the counsel of the wicked’. This is the best way of knowing the meaning of the Bible, and of learning to pray.”
(Of course if four chapters per day is too much, then aim for two chapters, and cover the whole Bible in two years – still an excellent thing!)
‘God has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom the universe was made’. So let’s turn our hearts to listen! For here is the chief way of seeking the renewal of our minds.
in Christ, Mark
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