Renewed
This last Sunday was a very cool day for me. One of my very good friends, Josh Kellso, had the opportunity to preach at East Valley Bible Church Tempe, so I decided to go and sit in the front row to cheer him on; and, he did an awesome job. The reason why it was great was not simply because he is a fantastic speaker with an amazing heart for God, but because I left being confronted by Scripture, my insufficiency, and my need to be renewed in the Word of God. As soon as I knew that he was going to speak on Romans 12:1-2 I shamefully thought, “oh, nothing new here, I’ve heard this message at least a dozen times . . . I’ve even preached this message to my junior high ministry once . . . nope, I just want to sit and wave the flag for my friend.” Wow was I ever wrong. God’s Word hit me between the eyes as I sat listening to my friend preach, I was left feeling the desperate need to “renew” my mind through scripture. So, did I leave the service and go do that? NOPE, but I went off to my service at EVBC Gilbert and was able to catch the last half hour of worship music . . . after that did I renew my mind? NOPE, I went off to hang with some friends and eat dinner . . . wait, after that did I renew my mind? NOPE, I drove home . . . how bout after that, did I renew my mind? NOPE AGAIN! I had an opportunity, but I told myself instead of searching the Scriptures to renew my mind I would just try to pray and meditate as I laid on my bed . . . did it happen? NOPE, I fell asleep waking up to find that good intentions don’t equal good results. After that did I renew my mind? NOPE, I woke up an hour earlier than I normally do, but I still didn’t renew my mind. I ended up dozing off a little longer, taking a longer shower, and just barely getting to work on time . . . after that did I renew my mind? NOPE! I told myself at lunch that I would try to get in the Word, but I was too frazzled by the hectic morning that I couldn’t concentrate. So after that did I renew my mind? NOPE, I came home and checked my email. WOW, what a wretched man that I am, who will rescue me from this body of death? Praise be to God! FINALLY, having completely felt empty by my meaningless pursuits, I finally read my two chapters in the Bible to catch up for my daily reading plan. Was I renewed? NOPE. I had prayed, I had read, but I had not communed with God or renewed my mind. Why is renewing one’s mind so difficult? I have so many distractions. Still feeling that lacking of joy, I remembered that my sister Amy had blogged about such a topic a few weeks ago. I went to her blog to re-read her great post called “The dangerous duty of delight.” Leaving encouraged, I reminded myself of scripture that I have memorized before and saught to rekindle my love for Jesus. I read Psalm 1 twice, Psalm 42 once, quoted Psalm 119 with a few helps, and read my favorite chapter in the Bible Psalm 103 twice. FINALLY, I feel renewed by Scripture.
I think it was the heart of David that re-captivated my mind and renewed it with truth.
A few verses that were super-encouraging to me tonight are:
Psalm 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man . . . [whose] delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
Psalm 42:11 “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”
Psalm 103:11 “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him . . .”
Psalm 119: 74 “Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in your word.”
Romans 12:2 “. . . be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Colossians 1:6-7 “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”
Wow, what a glorious Word we have to be daily renewed by; I pray that this next verse would be my heart: “I will delight in your statutes, I will not forget your word (Psalm 119:16).” Thanks Josh for reminding me to be renewed by Scripture and thanks Amy for reminding me that Joy is only a result of truly valuing Christ . . . I desperately want to be a living sacrifice of worship.
I think it was the heart of David that re-captivated my mind and renewed it with truth.
A few verses that were super-encouraging to me tonight are:
Psalm 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man . . . [whose] delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
Psalm 42:11 “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”
Psalm 103:11 “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him . . .”
Psalm 119: 74 “Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in your word.”
Romans 12:2 “. . . be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Colossians 1:6-7 “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”
Wow, what a glorious Word we have to be daily renewed by; I pray that this next verse would be my heart: “I will delight in your statutes, I will not forget your word (Psalm 119:16).” Thanks Josh for reminding me to be renewed by Scripture and thanks Amy for reminding me that Joy is only a result of truly valuing Christ . . . I desperately want to be a living sacrifice of worship.
posted by Brent Klontz at 8:16 PM
6 Comments:
Hey Brent,
Nice to see a blog from you ")
It's awesome that we all continue the cycle of encouraging each other. Really, we are all going through the same walk, and often the same struggles...and God gave us the body to get us through. I hope things will go well for you and I know how easy it is to have "good intentions" but to get seriously distracted by life. So funny that we are so busy living that we forget to LIVE. I will pray for you and see you later.
Brent -
First, thanks for your honesty. I find myself not renewing my mind far too often.
Second, I completely understand what you mean when you talk about distractions. I allow myself to pay attention to distractions all day long. How rare it is that I give attention to my Lord.
But, you are right when you say that we need to read the Scriptures, to pray, and to meditate on God's truth. God is ready and willing to give us peace if we would just take it.
Thanks for the thoughts,
The Rusted One
Thanks Brently! Your conviction was convicting to me. ;) (!) Funny how God works...
Life is constantly distracting - and it's definitely going "against the flow" to stop and take a moment to do something as strange and counter-culture as renewing our minds with God's Word. Sometimes that's the last thing my sinful heart wants to do - even when I know it's what I need most. Thank the Lord that He does not treat us as our sins deserve - and that He gives us His word to renew ourselves with!!!
Thanks for the encouragement, brother.
I found myself nodding in acknowledgement when reading the part about having read and prayed but still not being renewed. I do that so often- I try to renew my own mind rather than asking God to do it, or I expect that if I just go through the motions then it'll just happen. But does it work like that? NOPE! :)
Hi Brent,
It is really interesting to read your blog. I knew you when you were just a little tyke (and always so polite). You are an honor to your family and it blesses me to see how much you love the Lord.
Please give your whole family my love,
Jenefer Igarashi
Thanks for commenting Jenefer; I actually still think I have that Newsboys cd "Take me to your Leader" that you gave me years and years ago. It's great to hear from you and God bless! Brent
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