Ron Hutchcraft Ministries - Your Total Upgrade - #5744

Thursday, January 15, 2009

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Okay, it's no secret. I am technically challenged. When it comes to computers, I know just the basics. But even I know enough to appreciate some things God provided for our ministry, like some new computers that work much faster than our old ones. And we were able to upgrade some of our software. And the new software has capabilities that make a lot of things possible that weren't possible before. When it comes to the computers that make such a difference in our lives, a software upgrade can take you to a whole new level.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Total Upgrade."

Long before computers and software and hardware, God has been in the business of upgrading the central processing system of people's lives. It's called your mind. He talks about it in our word for today from the Word of God in the familiar and defining words of Romans 12:1-2 . "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. 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."

God calls us here to surrender ourselves completely to the One who gave Himself completely for us. That commitment is going to mean marching to the beat of a different drummer from the one we have marched to all our lives. Without surrendering to Jesus, we follow "the pattern of this world," basing our choices and our values on what our culture says, what our family says, what our environment says, or what our feelings tell us. But God wants to "transform" us liberate us from being puppets of our culture, our surroundings, and our background.

We're not just talking about keeping a few rules or some superficial transformation on the outside. God doesn't just shave caterpillars, He transforms them into butterflies - substantial transformation, not just superficial change. God literally wants to upgrade your whole outlook on life by a process He calls "the renewing of your mind."

In a way, it's like upgrading your computer or your software. Now that Christ is in your life, He wants to install some new attitudes about who you are, who He is, who you can be because you belong to Jesus. He wants to enable you to see your family as He sees them, the problem people in your life as He sees them, and the events of your life as He sees them. This is the exciting process that takes you from the old you to being what the Bible calls "a new creation in Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:17 ). If you'll work with Him on this "computer upgrade" in your mind, you'll find yourself instinctively choosing His will each day, which puts you right in the middle of the plans for which you were created.

Pretty exciting, isn't it? How does it happen? By immersing yourself in God's way of thinking. It's called the Bible! If you want your mind renewed, you need to be in His Word every opportunity you get. You need to make opportunities to be in His Word! And make your time with Him in His book the non-negotiable of your personal schedule. Each new day is a new challenge to live His way and to think His way. So each new day, you need to begin by installing His software, by bathing your mind with His thoughts and His perspective.

Commit yourself to the aggressive study of God's words in the Bible. Examine every situation, every relationship, and every decision in light of what God says. Day-by-day, you will experience that awesome miracle that God describes as "the renewing of your mind."