Welcome to Day 6 of our Bible based, Christ focused devotional.
Purpose: With so many people suffering during these tough economic times, I wanted to create a daily devotional which would promote faith in God as a solution to overcoming anger and fear.
Each devotional will provide a daily passage of Scripture for you to reflect on throughout the day. In addition, an “Action Item” will assign a daily, simple task to help you address your fears with faith and move forward with God's plans for you.
Thank you and God bless you for reading this devotional--please share it with others!
Steve Kendall
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DAY 6: RENEWING YOUR MIND
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE FOR REFLECTION:
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. Romans 12:2 (King James Version)
OPENING PRAYER: In your opening prayer, please ask God to renew your mind and open it to a positive outlook, no matter what difficulties you may encounter today.
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ACTION ITEM--Recap:
Well, how did things go yesterday with your Action Items from Day 5?
How did it feel to give thanks to God, for an entire day, for things you take for granted?
What happened when you thanked someone out of the blue?
Did you notice any changes in your interaction with others throughout the day?
Again, I'd love to hear from you and discuss your results from the Day 5 Action Items. You can reach me by Facebook, or email: Steve@BibleStudyCafe.com
TODAY'S ACTION ITEM: I'm a real fan of today's Scripture listed above, from Romans 12:2. Specifically, I like the notion of "renewing your mind."
One way that I renew, or refresh my mind is to change the way I see and approach problems in my life.
For example, when I encounter a problem, I now pray about it first and ask, "Lord, how do you want this handled?"
I also decided to remove the word “worry” from my vocabulary and instead use the word "concern." I no longer have worries, I have concerns. Just changing one word, from worry to concern, made a big difference in my life.
Years ago I tried something similar with a group of students I was teaching.
After going over the syllabus during the first class, I asked if anyone had questions, or concerns. Several people said they were nervous about having a test every two weeks.
To address their fears, I changed the word "test" to "quiz" in the syllabus and the word "lecture" to "lesson." Some folks were still nervous about having a "quiz," but the majority of the class liked the change of just a few words in the syllabus.
1. For today's Action Item, get a piece of blank paper. Fold it down the middle.
2. On the left side, write "Concerns" at the top. Next, make a list of any "concerns" you may have in your life right now.
3. On the right side of the paper, write "Solutions" at the top. Now, write down a more positive way to express each concern listed on the left side.
Here's an example:
Concerns: 1. I'm too broke to afford _____
Solutions: 1. I don't have the money yet, to buy ___
You could also write as a solution: "I don't have the budget at this time to buy _____. The positive part is "at this time," which suggests there will be a time in the future when you can.
It may take you some time and thought to come up with a positive way to express your concerns.
The key thing is that you want to change, refresh, "renew" your thinking about concerns so that you are walking in faith, not fear. Fear, as many have said, is the opposite of faith.
And as we discussed in Day 3: Things Hoped For, without faith, it is impossible to please God.
CLOSING PRAYER: In addition to anything else you'd like to pray about, ask God to renew your mind so that you can change your thinking about the concerns of this world and focus more on serving Him and doing His will.
Until tomorrow, have a blessed day!
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Free Stuff For You! You are cordially invited to visit my ministry Web site, Bible Study Cafe.com, to download free stuff including a prayer journal.
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A True Relationship with God
If you would like a relationship with God, the only way to do
it is through His son, Jesus Christ. This is supported in the Bible:
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way,
the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by
me. --John 14:6 (King James Version)
We begin this relationship by first accepting Jesus. Click Here for more info.
