Give Me More of You, Lord…
Part III of a three part series

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

This is the third month we have been exploring the topic “Give me more of you, Lord.” If you have followed along, you will have learned how to recognize false fill-ups or sappy substitutes (anything that comes between you and a deeper more abiding relationship with Christ), and hopefully last month you discovered how to release those people, places, things, activities, and sour emotions that have been weighing you down.
In other words, you are no longer carting around a huge bag-of-burdens. Instead, you’ve allowed Christ to lighten your load. Now, if you are like most of the human race, you may have added some new items to your bag-of-burdens since last month, or possibly you snatched back something you previously released. If so, again recognize anything (or anyone) you are carting around and release it/them to the Lord…again. We serve a God who has a fresh “batch” of mercy ready for us everyday, if only we will repent and turn to Him. Don’t be shy! Do not let the devil tell you that you have approached the Throne of Grace one time too many. Our Heavenly Father accepts us broken and bruised, down and dirty. He will wash us clean once again, if we let Him. Ask!

This month is the ideal time to experience the renewing touch of God. After all, this is the time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior and the New Year celebration ushers in a sense of new beginnings and fresh starts. Once we have recognized and released our sinful substitutes and sour emotions, we are wide open to experience God’s renewing and revitalizing touch. He will fill up our hungry hearts with His love. His love brings us much needed hope, encouragement, and renewal for our bodies, minds, and spirits.

Be reminded; God Himself completes the actual “renewing” that takes place in our hearts and minds. He is as a Potter is to his clay, the Painter to his tapestry, or the designer to his unique building project. As you enter this season, remember our Heavenly Father is the ultimate Designer and Creator. He will take our current “structure” and design a whole new creation. Just as a building designer pours over his blueprints and computer software, our Lord is hard at work on our hearts and our minds. Consider a designer who specializes in the restoration of older homes. He looks at the house as it stands, but his thoughts and plans are immediately focused on the new creation he is working on. Depending on the state of the property he may have a great deal of removal and demolition work. Somewhat like what we have done in our own “recognizing and releasing” processes. The designer identifies those parts of the house that need to be released, and then he has the space he needs to recreate and restore the home to his newly created, design specifications. When the project is complete, and he surveys his workmanship…it doesn’t even look like the old building he started with.

This is a new home. The old has passed away.

Now granted, we are living, breathing creations. We don’t willingly stand still while our Heavenly Father prunes and pulls us in the right direction. A house doesn’t feel the “pains” of restoration does it? But when we’re in the renewal process it can hurt just like an infected tooth hurts when it’s pulled. Only much later does the actual relief come.

Initially we may feel rather uncomfortable as God removes an old, ungodly thought or behavior from our lives. Even though that object of our attention, or our affection, may have been causing us pain or heartache, we still may find great discomfort in letting it go. We can participate in the renewal process by following some basic guidelines.

First, understand your belief system may be skewed. If you believe five plus five equals 11 all your later calculations will be incorrect. You may believe strongly in your mathematic abilities, but the truth remains – you are wrong. When God renews our minds, he replaces our old false beliefs with His truth. We can help by looking for what we really believe about something. What we really believe, not what we say we believe!

Then we can begin to identify our on false beliefs and turn to the Book of Right Beliefs—The Holy Bible—for instructions and guidelines we can count on. God clearly tells us what to believe.
Next we must learn on a deeper level what God’s Word says. Reading God’s Word out loud or writing it in a journal or notebook can be extremely energizing. As we study the truth, our old, misguided beliefs are replaced by God’s truth. The Holy Spirit will give us understanding and wisdom if we ask.
Finally, we begin to walk in our new beliefs as our minds are renewed. Sure you might feel like you’re wearing a new, slightly uncomfortable pair of shoes, but just keep walking. Soon you will adjust to doing things differently and eventually you will believe what God believes and your life’s equation will begin to add up…to the right answer.

What a relief to recognize, release, and experience the renewal that Christ brings. He came as a baby over 2000 years ago to begin the ultimate restoration process -- the process that would ultimately restore His people to Himself.

Is it time for you to let the best Carpenter ever to walk the earth rebuild your life? If so, why not celebrate this Holiday Season by saying the following prayer.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for coming to earth to save me. Without Your incredible gift this Christmas, I would be lost, forever. But in You all things are possible. Please come into my mind and remove any thoughts and beliefs that are false, and that are not based on Your truth. Please replace them with more of You and Your perfect truth. Today, I chose to submit to Your restoration process. Renew my mind, mold my heart, and make me more and more like You, Jesus. May my life bring glory to Your Name and Your Kingdom now and forever. In Jesus’ Holy name, amen.

Scriptures to consider:
Psalm 51:10 (Darby Bible): Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Isaiah 40:30 (Darby Bible): Even the youths shall faint and shall tire, and the young men shall stumble and fall, but they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength: they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not tire; they shall walk; and not faint.