Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Quote of the Day

“We are not going to move this world by criticism of it nor conformity to it, but by the combustion within it of lives ignited by the Spirit of God.”
— Vance Havner

Reflection

The world isn’t neutral. It’s constantly shaping how you think.

If you don’t intentionally renew your mind, it will be conformed for you.

Scripture warns us that the patterns of this world are rooted in pride, self-interest, and rebellion against God (2 Timothy 3:1–5). Left unchecked, those patterns don’t just surround us—they slowly influence us.

That’s why Paul gives a clear command:
Don’t conform—be transformed.

Transformation begins in the mind.

When we neglect God’s Word, the world fills the gap. But when we consistently renew our minds through Scripture, prayer, and the Holy Spirit’s leading, we begin to think differently, desire differently, and ultimately live differently.

This isn’t just behavior modification—it’s spiritual renewal.

Application

If you want to walk in God’s will, start with your mind:

• Guard your inputs — Be mindful of what you watch, hear, and consume daily (1 Corinthians 15:33)
• Replace lies with truth — Take your thoughts captive and align them with Scripture (2 Corinthians 10:5)
• Stay in the Word — Let God’s truth reshape your thinking daily (Ephesians 4:23)
• Remain in prayer — Depend on God, not willpower (Philippians 4:6–7)

The battle is spiritual, not just external. And victory starts internally.

Closing Thought

When your mind is renewed, you begin to recognize and walk in “the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.”

That’s the goal. Don’t just resist the world, but live in alignment with your Maker.

Prayer

Dear God,

Thank You, Father, for another day of life and Your provisions. I can always count on You to equip me with Your full armor, offer me open lines of communication through prayer, and lead me by Your Holy Spirit. These kinds of blessings are not to be taken for granted.

Please help me avoid conformity to the world and seek to transform my mind daily. I need continuous access to Your Word to have the proper lens through which to view the world. If I were alone, I would be left solely in defeat by the snare of my own vices and sinful inclinations. Thanks to You, Father, this is not the case.

Father, I know I am imperfect and fall short of Your glory. Thank You for Your patience and for surrounding me with Godly influences. I desire for my Church, family, and even the environments I tend to frequent to put You first. There may be periods when this is out of my hands, but I know that even in those situations, You are with me.

Please help me not to underestimate the devil and his demons. I don’t want to get complacent. I want to obey You. Please help me demonstrate that I am an ambassador of Your Son and a friend of Yours. Without Your grace, I wouldn’t offer anything of eternal value, but with it, I can persevere over every obstacle.

Thank You for securing my victory through Jesus Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to Heaven. You turned what appeared like the worst day in history into the best for Your glory and my good.

Jesus Christ’s sacrifice became the vehicle by which You brought a morally bankrupt sinner like me to salvation. I am eternally grateful for that, and I ask that You help me to abide in Him, obey Your will, and rest in what He did for me now and forever.

I pray in Jesus Christ’s precious, holy, and mighty name.

Amen.

A life with eternal purpose is one composed of bringing God glory. Therefore, when we rely on Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and He saves us from the snares of certain spiritual death, we should come to the same conclusion. The conclusion should be that since God gave us the gift of eternal life, we want to open the door to blessing as many others with this gift as we possibly can. If a human being saved you from certain death, I am sure that most of us, whether Christian or not, would feel indebted to that person for a long time to come. You wouldn’t forget them for the rest of your life, and if it were within your power to reasonably do them a favor, you would do it.

In the case of God, He doesn’t need our help or requires our favor to achieve His plans. Instead, He blesses us with the privilege of coming to saving faith and then employing us as one of His children to take part in His work. As children of God, you and I should be all about our father’s business. In other words, we ought to be in the business of saving souls. Although we do not save anyone by our power, we are vessels that God can fill with the truth of the Gospel to spread the message of hope, truth, and love to a world thirsty for answers. Unfortunately, there are many spiritually bankrupt people out there, just like we were before we came to saving faith through Jesus Christ. Our job is to reach those people with the opportunity to encounter God’s Word through us and pray for them to pursue it further once we depart their presence.

Of course, I am not making light of the calling to feed the children, clothe the poor, and contribute to the supply of shelter to those who cannot help themselves. These aspects of Christian missions are integral parts of our faith and are part of our calling. However, if we were to isolate our mission into one overarching goal, it would be to bring as many people to Jesus Christ as possible before it is too late (Matthew 28:16-20, Proverbs 11:30). Thankfully, these are not mutually exclusive pursuits either. We do not have to choose to feed the poor but refrain from reaching out to those we encounter with God’s Word. Therefore, your purpose as a Christian may feel more heavily weighted to one area in which God placed an aspiration in your heart to meet needs. This “why” or purpose will become more clearly defined and possibly even change as the seasons pass along throughout your life. However, sprinkling some level of evangelism efforts into your walk as a believer will never go to waste.

How do we recognize where our focus should reside? To answer this question accurately, we should pray for help identifying it. As far as evangelism is concerned, the Holy Spirit will often lead us during these divine appointments and help us to share the Gospel with those we encounter. We need to be open and willing vessels for God to utilize (2 Timothy 2:20-21). Granted, if you have done this almost any reasonable number of times, you will quickly notice that not everyone is receptive. However, even those who seem least compelled may slowly soften their hearts towards God’s calling upon their life. The beauty of the situation is there is no pressure on us. As long as we are faithfully delivering God’s message to them and praying for their salvation, that is the end of our responsibility. 

We can tell them that they have a fallen nature that makes them susceptible to sin and that Jesus Christ died for those sins (Romans 6:10-11). Our sins were imputed upon Him, and His righteousness was imputed upon us at the cross (Suggested reading: “Why Does Christ’s righteousness need to be imputed to us?“). Without Him having done this for them, they would be doomed to spend eternity in hell. They need to understand that they need a Savior because of their sin and that it is pivotal for them to repent from their sins and believe that He not only died but also resurrected three days later. Jesus Christ was, is, and always will be victorious over sin and death on our behalf when we could never be without Him. Later, He ascended into Heaven to be at God’s right hand. At this time, He still lovingly intercedes on our behalf from the right hand of God the Father. Thankfully, if we come to saving faith, Jesus Christ fully justifies us through the sequence above, once and for all. They, too, can take comfort in that reality and embrace God’s gift to them by taking that step of faith that God has compelled them to make. They must understand that it isn’t by their works or effort that they are saved, but rather the gift of God by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone, that saves them (Ephesians 2:8-9).

How we share a message like this may differ from person to person. A few other variables to consider are:

• How much time you will spend with the person.
• How close you are to them.
• Whether they have come across the Bible before.

I suggest having a short <5minute variation of explaining the Gospel in case the situation calls for brevity, but otherwise, I try to be thorough. The more limited the time frame, the more I would suggest plugging them into a resource to help them explore more for themselves (i.e., Gospel tract, Bible, website, Youtube, Christian podcast, etc.) My strategy might be to relay this information matter-of-factly and then invite someone to read the Gospel or perhaps attend my local Church. Someone else may prefer to hand the person a Gospel tract with a similar explanation of the core elements of the Gospel and lead by example. Still, others might not feel comfortable engaging strangers but take it upon themselves to share their testimony with their closest family and friends before they take a step of faith to share the good news with a stranger. 

No matter what, the bottom line is that this should be a critical part of what you and I stand for and aim to do as believers. We need to remind ourselves that one soul is worth more than all the money this world has to offer combined. It needs to be engrained in our minds that there is a beautiful significance to all the things we do for God’s glory that yield eternal value rather than just temporary value here on earth.

I want to encourage you to take inventory of your life this Christmas. Go ahead and enjoy your quality time with loved ones, but perhaps ask God if there is someone in your family you have not reached with God’s Word who may still need to hear it. Thank God for the food, shelter, and even presents many of us are blessed to give and receive, but always remember that these are trivial compared to the magnitude of God’s gifts to us. Just because we have not seen the culmination of what the heavenly treasure we are storing signifies doesn’t mean we cannot start appreciating it in faith. Above all, keep the emphasis on Jesus Christ whenever possible. It is God who woke you up to enjoy these beautiful celebrations. It is God who opened the door for you to have eternal security already and store up heavenly treasures through obedience to His commands. Finally, it is God who deserves all the glory and acknowledgment. It shouldn’t be shifted away from Him and turned to the fleeting pleasures of this earth. May God bless you and yours this holiday season. Remember His Son Jesus Christ will always be the rightful focus of Christmas and every day for eternity.