{"id":1819,"date":"2011-10-03T20:28:48","date_gmt":"2011-10-04T01:28:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/member\/?p=1819"},"modified":"2011-10-31T18:35:54","modified_gmt":"2011-10-31T23:35:54","slug":"twrac-038-10311-brainwashed-from-the-inside-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/member\/applications\/twrac-038-10311-brainwashed-from-the-inside-out","title":{"rendered":"TWRAC 038 (10\/3\/11): Brainwashed from the Inside Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

This Week’s Recovery Application Plan<\/h2>\n

Please refer to TWIRL 038<\/span><\/a><\/span> before continuing with this application challenge.<\/h5>\n

Brainwashed from the Inside Out<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God\u2019s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God\u2014this is your true and proper worship.\u00a02<\/sup>\u00a0Do 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\u2019s will is\u2014his good, pleasing and perfect will.<\/strong> Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBe transformed by the renewing of your minds\u201d (Romans 12:2). The word \u201cbe\u201d is a passive verb, meaning that it is not something we do but rather something that is done to us when we act sacrificially with our bodies committed to God\u2019s way of behavior. Then what God does is completely transform our character and our thinking by rearranging the way our brain works, restoring it to what He created in the first place. The promise is of this transformation is that when we live according to our new God-given desires and objectives, both our behavior and\u00a0what we think about and feel\u00a0is healthy again. We are better having become well. We then prove in this new life that God\u2019s plan for us is perfect and beautiful.\u00a0This is how we can know and experience God\u2019s will for us.<\/span><\/p>\n

When<\/strong>\u00a0we offer our bodies, meaning our physical strength to God as a living sacrifice, no longer committing our bodies to addictive patterns of behavior;<\/span><\/p>\n

Then<\/strong>\u00a0God completely transforms (metamorphoo) our hearts and our souls by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2).\u00a0Then<\/strong>\u00a0we can love God with our whole being, and our neighbor as ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

When<\/strong>\u00a0we commit to change externally from the outside in, changing what we do (Romans 12:1-2a),<\/span><\/p>\n

Then<\/strong>\u00a0God changes us internally from the inside out, changing who we are and what we think (Romans 12:2).<\/span><\/p>\n

When<\/strong>\u00a0we delight in the Lord in our action,<\/span><\/p>\n

Then<\/strong>\u00a0God gives us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4) by changing what we want according to his will and purpose.<\/span><\/p>\n

When<\/strong>\u00a0we rejoice, celebrating our recovery in relationship with Christ, offering praise and presenting prayer requests with our mouths, as well as showing considerate acts of service with our physical ability;<\/span><\/p>\n

Then<\/strong>\u00a0God replaces our anxiety with peace to our souls, guarding (covering) our hearts and our minds by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, empowering us to do anything (Philippians 4:4-7, 13).<\/span><\/p>\n

When<\/strong>\u00a0we commit to doing the will of God,<\/span><\/p>\n

Then<\/strong>\u00a0God changes our intentions and motives, according to His will (Philippians 2:13).<\/span><\/p>\n

When<\/strong>\u00a0we take responsibility for our behavior, repenting of our guilt (godly sorrow),<\/span><\/p>\n

Then<\/strong>\u00a0God mercifully removes our shame (worldly sorrow) and pain (2 Corinthians 7:10).<\/span><\/p>\n

When<\/strong>\u00a0we seek to know and see Jesus through prayer and a lifestyle committed to his will,<\/span><\/p>\n

Then<\/strong>\u00a0Jesus Christ will turn our sorrow into joy (John 16:20-22).<\/span><\/p>\n

When<\/strong>\u00a0we are committed to action according to the will of God, as his will takes over in us converting our intentions into doing what he intends we do,<\/span><\/p>\n

Then<\/strong>\u00a0we can ask him for anything and he promises to grant our requests (John 15:7).<\/span><\/p>\n

When<\/strong>\u00a0we commit to behaving according to\u00a0the will of God, imitating the model of recovery set for us by the life of His Son Jesus,<\/span><\/p>\n

Then<\/strong>\u00a0we have joy overflowing as true friends of God (John 15:9-16).<\/span><\/p>\n

These promises from the Bible reveal a when-then relationship. When we are committed to turning away from the things of our addictive flesh\u2014outside-in change, then God is faithful to transforming us from the inside out. The original Greek translation for the word \u2018transform\u2019 is metamorphoo, meaning to metamorph from one thing into another; like a caterpillar changing into a butterfly. As God transforms our character into a new person by changing how we think, it is like starting a new life. We not only do what is healthy, mature, responsible, and godly, we want to willfully do that which pleases God. Whenever we do what pleases God it is always to our benefit, never to our detriment. That doesn\u2019t mean we never have problems again. It means that we have his powerful support to manage and resolve problems and conflicts. When we commit our will to do the will of God, doing recovery God\u2019s way, we do much better.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is entirely possible with God\u2019s help that when we pray with our mouths, and read the Bible, God\u2019s written word, with our eyes, that our minds will be changed. We read in Romans 12:2 that the perfect will of God for you and for me is realized as we come to trust him completely and commit to our recovery his way. This is God\u2019s way of challenging us to prove that his will for us is ideal. What an opportunity we have to experience all that God has and wants for us. Our lives make sense again as we commit to the sensible will of God and experience what God has for us in every facet of our livelihood.<\/span><\/p>\n