Transformed Devotional - Christ in You

Opening Prayer:
Pray that God would transform your mind today. Ask him to teach you how to live today through the Word of God - the Bible

Read:
1 Corinthians 2:16
We have the mind of Christ.

Thought:
How can the Bible tell me that I can have the mind of Christ as a believer in Jesus?  How can I understand what it means to have a mind that is from God?

1. Understand God loves you and has a plan for your life.
2. Understand that this plan is to help you, not to harm you and to give you a hope and a future.
3. Understand that when you accept God's plan for your life and believe in Jesus Christ, then He will actually help you with your plans
4. Understand that the only way to truly grow in your knowledge of the mind of Christ is to read the Bible and study it so you know the Lord better each day
5. Understand that your faith in Christ will grow as you trust Him with your life, learn from Him and follow Him with any and all decisions you have in life

So how can you have the mind of Christ?  Trust Him with your life today.

• Read Jeremiah 29:11
• Read John 3:16
• Read Romans 10:9-10

Response:
What did you hear as you read this short devotional?
What do you think about what you read?
What will you do in response to reading this devotional? Talk with God - share with him what you learned from this devotional.

Transformed Devotional - How to Change?

Opening Prayer:
Pray that God would transform your mind today. Ask him to change your character to be like God's character.

Read:
Romans 12:2
Do not conform 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.

Thought:
What does it mean to CONFORM - to blend in, to fit into a mold, to look like something else. What does it mean to TRANSFORM - to change from one physical state into another, to change from the inside, which changes your outside.

When this verse speaks of renewing your mind by being transformed, it is literally saying that we are to change from how we were INTO something new and different.  If we conform, we do not change - we simply look the same.

So, if we desire to see true change in our lives as we seek God, then there must be a point of TRANSFORMATION - where you change from the inside out and it makes you look, act, think and live different than you did before knowing God.  God is the one that does the transforming - not you.  We can try to live a good life, act right in situations and strive to look good on the outside, but eventually, we will conform to the world around us. 

Want to change?  Then seek God and ask Him to change you from the inside out!  Ask God to TRANSFORM your life and make you new!  If you do this, the promise from God is that you will be able to discover God's will for your life!  How exciting is that! 

Response:
What did you hear as you read this short devotional?
What do you think about what you read?
What will you do in response to reading this devotional? Talk with God - share with him what you learned from this devotional.

Transformed Devotional - Worry

Opening Prayer:
Pray that God would transform your mind today. Ask him to give you the strength to give you peace in your life today.

Read: 
Philippians 4:6-7 
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Thought:
There is a premise and a promise in this verse.  If we present our request to God (worry, anxiety, distress, circumstances, hardships and more) WITH THANKSGIVING, then there is a promise for us who believe.  The promise is that the PEACE of God will guard your heart and minds in Christ Jesus.  Isn't that amazingly beautiful.

I do not know about you, but my mind can really bring me down.  My thoughts and what I worry about can really stress me out and put me in a place that I do not like to be.  But listen to this verse.  If I replace that worry and anxiety with thankfulness and gratefulness, then God steps in and gives me a peace I could never experience on my own.

Are you in that place today?  Do you need peace?  Do you need to trust God with your life and the stress of today?  Then simply pray to God and thank him for life and begin to look at the things what He has done for you and be thankful and watch God transform your thoughts to Him.

Response:
What did you hear as you read this short devotional?
What do you think about what you read?
What will you do in response to reading this devotional? Talk with God - share with him what you learned from this devotional.

Transformed Devotional - Fix My Mind

Opening Prayer:  

Pray that God would transform your mind today.  Ask him to give you the strength to fix your mind on God

Read:

2 Corinthians 10:5

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

 

Thought:

There is a battle that is waging in your mind at this very moment.  Your mind is being bombarded with thoughts of the day that is in front of you.  You have work, plans, schedules, meeting, responsibilities and more.  Mentally, you are preparing for want is to come.

How do you approach a day like today?  How do you get through a day like this?  I suggest you get through a day like this by asking God to lead you and guide you.  If we approach a day like this without seeking God first, then we will struggle to keep our focus on him and the plans he has for you today.  Matthew 6:33 says, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you."  It all begins with God!

Are you desiring to have peace in your day today?  Then fix your mind on God.  If you are struggling to make it through your day today, then fix your mind on God.  If your thoughts are taking you captive and you realize you need to make a change and be restored, then fix your mind on God.

 

Response:

What did you hear as you read this short devotional?

What do you think about what you read?

What will you do in response to reading this devotional?

Talk with God - share with him what you learned from this devotional.

Transformed Devotional Day 12

Turn to Jesus. 

Opening Prayer:  

Pray that God would transform your mind today.  Ask him to give you strength to turn to him in times of need. 

Read:

2 Timothy 1:7

God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

 

Thought:

Do you feel powerless today? Do you feel that the mountains your face today are impossible? Then I have an encouraging word for you today.

If we trust God with our lives, we see that he has given us a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. On the other hand God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. You see the difference?  Without God in our lives, we have to rely on our own strength and in our own power to get through difficult situations.

We all struggle at times to keep going in life. Having the power to set goals, be self-discipline, and stand up in adversity can be very difficult if we rely on our own strength. It is only when we rely on God's strength and his ability through us that we are able to face our fears with power and confidence because our strength is from the Lord, not ourselves!

What are you going through today? Does the future scare you? Is there something that you're really uncertain about? Turn to Jesus and ask him to give you the power to have faith! Ask him to give you the courage to face the day! Ask him to give you the boldness to face your fears!  Remember. Turn to God. 

 

Response:

What did you hear as you read this short devotional?

What do you think about what you read?

What will you do in response to reading this devotional?

Talk with God - share with him what you learned from this devotional.

Transformed Devotional Day 11 - Strength in Surrendering

Opening Prayer:  

Pray that God would transform your mind today.  Ask him to show you areas of your life that need to be surrendered in order to experience physical health.

Read:

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

 

Thought:

Are you ready to throw in the towel today?  Are you tapped out and have nothing left to give?  Does the task you face today seem impossible?  How will you respond to these situations?  Will you retreat?  Will you give up? Or will you surrender!

Surrender, you might suggest, seems like an act of weakness.  It is unless you understand God's plan for your life.  As we trust God with our lives and put our faith in Him, we become less and He becomes more.  In our times of weakness, Christ is made strong.  Read the verse again from today, which says, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."  When life seems impossible, that is the perfect opportunity for God to show us His power as he works in and through you to give you strength that you never knew was there.  Yes, it is called surrender.

 

When we surrender our lives to the Lord:

• Your faith will propel you past discouragement
• Your strength will be be renewed
• The impossible circumstances will become possible 
• Your plans will be God's plans
• Your hopeless situation is renewed with strength and encouragement from God

Move past discouragement and trust God by faith and watch Him give you the strength you need for the day.  God has a plan for you today - plans to prosper you and not to harm you.  God plans for you is filled with hope and a future.  (Jeremiah 29:11)  Step into a new life today.  Put your faith in Christ and His strength as you surrender all of who you are to Him today.

 

Response:

What did you hear as you read this short devotional?

What do you think about what you read?

What will you do in response to reading this devotional?

Talk with God - share with him what you learned from this devotional.

Transformed Devotional Day 10 - Renew Your Strength

Opening Prayer:
Pray that God would transform your mind today.  Ask him to renew your strength through Christ.

Read:

Isaiah 40:29-31

²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

 

Thought:

Are you tired today?  As you read this short devotional, are you simply struggling to face the day that is in front of you?  Is life so overwhelming that you just feel like giving up?  Are you too weary to face the opportunities that are ahead of you in life?

If we are honest with ourselves, all of us have felt this way sometime in our lives.  If this is you today, then God has a promise for you that you need to hear.  Read this passage from the Bible and count how many times God's promise of renewal for your life is stated.

 

³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

Four times God states that he will do something for you.  Not hopes to do, or might do, but will do!  Thank you Lord for your promise.  Please realize the PREMISE in this verse that leads to the PROMISE.  The PREMISE - those who HOPE in the Lord:  the PROMISE - will renew their strength, soar on wings like eagles, run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint.

My encouragement for you today is that you would set your focus and HOPE in the Lord today.  Trust in the Lord.  Give the Lord your day today, whatever struggles you are facing, simply trust and hope in the Lord and claim His promises for your life.

Response:

What did you hear as you read this short devotional?

What do you think about what you read?

What will you do in response to reading this devotional?

Talk with God - share with him what you learned from this devotional.

Transformed Devotional Day 9

DAY 9 Devotional:

Opening Prayer:
Pray that God would transform your mind today.  Ask him to be your strength in times of weakness.

Read:

2 Corinthians 12:9 

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

 

Thought:

"My power is made perfect in my weakness."  Did you ever think that when you are weak you are the most powerful?  Maybe in the eyes of our culture and our surroundings we don't, but when you look at Christ being made perfect in you through your weakness, it makes sense.

You are not your own as a believer in Christ.  You were bought with a price.  When Christ lives in you, all your weaknesses (your flaws, shortcomings, imperfections and more) are made strong through Christ.

Why?  Because God has a plan for your life and He desires to use you - yes you!  With all of your weaknesses, His plans are great for you.  God desires to accomplish His plans through you.  We need to allow our weaknesses to become who we are and accept them as a part of God's plan for our lives.

 

When we rely on Christ, we can make it through times of weakness.  When things are out of our control and we do not know what to do, God's perfect power is there for you.  When life throws you a curve ball and you see no way out.  God's power is made perfect for you in your weakness.

 

So, rest in Christ today and the grace he extends to those who trust in God.  Thank Him for extending grace to you and meeting you today at your point of weakness.

 

Response:

What did you hear as you read this short devotional?

What do you think about what you read?

What will you do in response to reading this devotional?

Talk with God - share with him what you learned from this devotional.

Transformed Devotional Day 8

SESSION 2
https://vimeo.com/channels/ccbctransformed

DAY 8 Devotional:

Opening Prayer:
Pray that God would transform your mind today.  Ask him to evaluate your physical health and see what areas of your life you are going to give over to the Lord today.

 

Read:

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; but were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Thought:

We live in a culture that is very self seeking.  It is all about getting ahead and being the best and doing it all for the glory of ME!  It is very easy to get caught up in this culture because so much media and advertising flood our minds with this thought.  Our culture tells is basically that your body belongs to you.

Here is a radical thought that is totally counter-cultural:  Our bodies are not our own.  We do not own our bodies.  Our bodies belong to God!  This will force us to look at our bodies and how we treat our bodies much differently.  We steward our bodies because they are the living active temple of the Holy Spirit living inside of us as believers.

When we glorify our bodies for our self, we become self-worshippers.  When we glorify God with our bodies, we offer our lives up to God and do what Romans 12:2 says, which is to offer our bodies up to God as a living sacrifice - holy and pleasing to Him.  This is your spiritual act of worship.

Response:

What did you hear as you read this short devotional?

What do you think about what you read?

What will you do in response to reading this devotional?

Talk with God - share with him what you learned from this devotional.

Transformed Devotional Day 5

Opening Prayer:

Pray that God would transform your mind today.  Ask him to give you strength to overcome any temptation you might face today.

 

Read

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Thought:

Simple thought today - difficult application.

All of us - every single one of us - will be tempted today.  In our world, there is sin - and sin will distract and pull us away from the Lord.  Satan will use any and every tool he can by tempting you to make decisions that are contrary to God's plan for your life.

Here is the beautiful thing about temptation - WE DO NOT HAVE TO GIVE IN TO IT!!  Many times, we simply forget that God has given us a way out when we are tempted by sin.  It is so much easier to give in, right.  Falling into temptation might make you feel better, or might make you look "cool" around your friend, or temptation might be so overwhelming that you have given up to following God.

Whatever the situation might be, God has given you an escape route.  God will provide you a way out.  What is this way out?

• See God FIRST - Matt 6:33  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 
• Read the Bible
• Memorize a verse to help you when you are tempted.
• Trust God that He will be with you in and through any temptation you might face today

When you are tempted today, stop and look around, and ask God for the escape route is and CHOOSE TO FOLLOW HIM!

Response:

What did you hear as you read this short devotional?

What do you think about what you read?

What will you do in response to reading this devotional?

Talk with God - share with him what you learned from this devotional.

Transformed Devotional Day 4

Opening Prayer:

Pray that God would transform your mind today.  Ask him to forgive you of your sins and cleanse you from all of your unrighteousness. (Romans 3:23)

Read:
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!

Thought:

Have you ever viewed you life as if all you have ever done is on a black board?  All of the sin in your life is written on it, then Jesus comes into the room and says, "We are going to erase all of this!  We are going to take away all of the things that have kept you away from me away and you are going to have a fresh new start!"

Reality with sin - it damages your dignity.  When we sin, we break God's principles for our life.  It splits your soul!  Once it piles up, then we feel hopeless and feel like God would never forgive you - but he does!

Jesus is in the restoring dignity business!  That is why he came from heaven to earth.  Truly, it does not matter who you have been in the past or what you might have done in the past - what matters is what direction you are taking today!  When you trust Christ, He will give you a brand new identity and make all things new!  Think about it!

Response:

What did you hear as you read this short devotional?

What do you think about what you read?

What will you do in response to reading this devotional?

Talk with God - share with him what you learned from this devotional.

Transformed Devotional Day 3

Opening Prayer:
Pray that God would transform your mind today.  Ask him to give you strength to face any challenge you are facing today.

Read:

1 John 4:4
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Thought:

Jesus walked the face of the earth as a human being - God in the flesh.  When Jesus returned to God in heaven, He left His spirit to dwell inside of us - those who chose to participate, accept and have a relationship with Christ.  When you know Jesus as your Lord, then God's spirit lives inside of you.

Why is this important for us to understand?

• Because God's Spirit helps us learn how to live and apply God's truth. (John 14:26)
• Because God's Spirit builds character in each one of us during difficult times. (Romans 5:3-5)
• Because God's Spirit helps us be more like Jesus. (Galatians 5:22-23)
• Because God's Spirit empowers us to Share the Good News of Jesus. (Acts 1:8)
• Because God's Spirit equips us for ministry. (1 Corinthians 12:4-6)

When we are IN CHRIST and filled with the Spirit of God, He in return will give us His power, peace, presence and purpose for life!  Pretty cool idea that we can walk through life with God, not separate from God.  Think about that!

Response:

What did you hear as you read this short devotional?

What do you think about what you read?

What will you do in response to reading this devotional?

Talk with God - share with him what you learned from this devotional.

Transformed Devotional Day 2

Opening Prayer:
Pray that God would transform your mind today.  Ask him to give you strength to be spiritually disciplined in your day today.

 

Read:
John 1:12-13
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Thought:

Everyone of us are God's Children.  Premise - when we are in Christ and believe in Jesus - Promise - we are brought near to God the Father.  We become part of the family - fully loved and fully accepted by Him.

What does that mean for us who believe?

• We get to share in the same love, same relationship and same closeness that Jesus shared with God. - Read Romans 8:15
• We can address God as "Abba Father", which means "Daddy"
• We have direct access to God - we can talk to Him, share with Him and ask Him anything.  God has granted us FULL ACCESS to His love!

Here is the beautiful thing - God is not forcing himself on you today.  He is inviting you today to participate in His life of love.  It is a choice for you to make - either participate or not.  If you choose to participate, then the creator of the universe will transform your day into the likeness of Himself and His love.

Response:

What did you hear as you read this short devotional?

What do you think about what you read?

What will you do in response to reading this devotional?

Talk with God - share with him what you learned from this devotional.

Transformed Devotional - Day 1

Prayer:
Pray that God would transform your mind today.

Read:
John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Thought:

This verse is Christianity in a nutshell.  It gives us 4 points to learn from:

1.  God is passionate about you!  God loves you!

2.  God shows his love for us by sending his son, Jesus, as a love gift for you and me

3.  God gives us a proposal - whosoever believes - You can choose to believe or not.  We do not have to earn this love - we simply have to believe

4.  If you choose to believe - then you gain the promise of eternal life.  What a deal!

If you have not accepted God's proposal believing in Jesus Christ, do it today!  If you believe, then live today in the light of this verse!

Response:

What did you hear as you read this short devotional?

What do you think about what you read?

What will you do in response to reading this devotional?

Talk with God - share with him what you learned from this devotional.