Romans 12: 1 – 2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer 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.

The whole point of the Christian life is to become more like Jesus. So how do we become the radical kind of person Jesus was? We have to get to know him and the only way to do that is by studying the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation – he is in there. Open up your mind and heart to the leading of the Holy Spirit, he will teach you. Much of the Old Testament centers on God the Father and his dealings with men and women but those dealings are equally radical and so the more you delve in you begin to understand that doing God’s will was the pre-eminent purpose of life for those he called. It was God’s desire to lead and guide individuals into relationship with himself.

When you study the New Testament, the book of John especially, you begin to see that the life of Jesus was all about doing his Father’s will. “You mean I have to begin to think and talk and walk like Jesus?”  Precisely! Not in the sense of mimicking the physical motions but in realigning your priorities as he did. Paul, in the verses quoted above from  his letter to the Romans, helps us to understand that this realignment includes both the body and the mind. The point is that the life you live as a believer will often run counter to what is popular and you will have to stand your ground. It is the result of a mind in the process of being transformed by the Holy Spirit.

The challenges for each of us come in every-day life – different arenas: marriages, workplace, parenting, friendships, school, sports, you name it. A phrase much bandied about nowadays is “What would Jesus do?” That simplifies it but in essence that is the crux of the whole matter. You can no longer have a knee jerk reaction to your issues and you can’t live your life in the public square by asking guidance from your friends, neighbors or social media. You must start asking: “Father, what do you want me to do? How do I resolve this issue in a way that pleases you?” Practice listening for his response. It will come and as time proceeds, the transformation will amaze even you. In my book “Listening to God will transform you” I give glimpses into how the Holy Spirit worked in my own life in various circumstances to bring about conformity with God’s will.