The Renewing of Our Minds
Jim Sullivan

Every individual is naturally self-centered. As a result we naturally gravitate toward what is naturally comfortable.  This is what the apostle Paul calls ‘the carnal mind’. It is the mind that naturally leads us toward thinking from an earthly perspective instead of a spiritual one. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Paul says that we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we can understand and show what is the good, acceptable and perfect will of God.  Jesus spoke of this transformation when he said to Nicodemus that in order to see the kingdom of heaven one needs to be born again.  As disciples of Christ we are all going through this transformation and it’s always difficult to look past what comes naturally to all of us, but we are not alone. Not only do we have each other to lean upon but we have countless examples of transformation in the lives of the faithful.  In these classes we are going to look at both the transformation process as well as some marvelous examples of transformation in the accounts of several faithful followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. These will include, LORD willing, some hard learners like Nicodemus and Peter; some you might not think about in the context of transformation like the prophet Isaiah and John the Baptist, and one we’ll simply refer to here as ‘The Kid’.  All these faithful men struggled to overcome what came naturally to them, one still does, but they can all serve as examples of perseverance in the midst of personal struggle, so that we can find peace and perseverance in our own struggles as well. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace” says the prophet Isaiah “whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”