“…Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2

          The focus of this particular Scripture is the will of God. The will of God is THE most important consideration in the Bible, and should be THE most important consideration in every Christian’s life. And that is the point of this Scripture: To know God’s will and conform your life to it. Someone put the importance of God’s will for a child of God this way: “The will of God—nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else.”

          Every child of God is born again with a new heart, a new nature, and the desire to please God; and the Holy Spirit comes to live in that new person to help them do that very thing. Mark this: although a Christian is a new creature in Christ, they are still living in a fleshly body, called “the old man.” The old man has no desire to do the will of God, but just the opposite. But the Holy Spirit is continuously working to lead the new man to walk in the will of God. So, in each child of God, there is an ongoing conflict. Paul describes it:

“…The flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.” Galatians 5:17 The conflict is all about doing the will of God.

          Would you desire to have victory in this conflict; to be found walking in the center of God’s will—we come to Paul’s exhortation as to what we are to do to know what God’s good, pleasing and perfect will is. Two things, the first being a negative; something to absolutely not do: “DO NOT be conformed to this world.” The apostle John tells us this:

“…Everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” 1 John 2:16-17

Understand that the great thinkers of this world, the rich, powerful, and famous, are conformed to the pattern and spirit of this world. Regardless of how fine they look, and their smooth speeches, out of their mouths come words that reveal who they belong to. If we would know God’s will, we must turn away from their words and influence.

Before we were born again, our thinking was corrupt, dead and of this world. We are to work out a transformation of our thinking by the renewing of our mind.

If we would walk in the will of God, we will gladly seek to yield ourselves to the leading of the Holy Spirit. He will lead us to place ourselves under the authority God’s word. God chose to reveal His will for us with words. God spoke His will to the Old Testament fathers with words spoken through the prophets under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit working in them.

God has spoken His will to us in these last days through His Son Jesus Christ and His apostles with words. All of God’s words to man are recorded in the Bible for our reading and learning. In regards to the importance of God’s word for our lives, Jesus said this: “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4

          Opening your mind to God’s word will transform your thinking, and lead you to know the Father and Jesus much better, and the desire to walk in God’s will.

Brother Bill is a Bible teacher and can be contacted at bboldham@sbcglobal.net

By William Oldham

“…Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” Ephesians 6:10-13

As I typed this Scripture, four things popped out at me. First, every child of God is going to face ongoing attacks from the devil; next, in our own strength we are no match for these attacks; then, we are instructed as to how to protect ourselves from the attacks; and finally, the goal is that we may stand firm in the midst of the attacks.

The three main areas of life that the children of God find themselves in are: home, church, and business. These are the God-ordained places that we live out our lives and serve and honor God: family, Christian family, and fellow-workers. It is then no small wonder that in this very arena of life is where the devil seeks to carry out his plans to destroy the Christian.

Did not Jesus warn that a, “…A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.” Matthew 10:36 Regardless of how close family members may be, if some are born again and some are not, the devil can easily use the unbelievers to work against those who do believe. And if we’re not alert and vigilant, they can easily destroy our witness and service to the Lord.

The same truth applies to the church family. We may assume that because someone is the pastor, elder, deacon, Sunday school teacher, song leader and etc., that they are believers, but they may very well not be. Jesus gave a parable of wheat and tares growing together in a field until harvest time. He identified the wheat as the sons of the kingdom, and the tares as the sons of the evil one. Matthew 13:38 Just because someone professes to be a Christian doesn’t mean they are; Jesus warned of,  “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

In and of ourselves, we are no match for the never-ending, relentless attacks of the devil. Child of God, don’t think it strange with what you encounter that tries your soul and seeks to discourage you. The devil is at work in your home and your church, and then your workplace. But I won’t elaborate on the work place because it is mostly unbelievers who will say and do most anything contrary to your faith: consider it a mission field—Be a light for Jesus there.

In all of this, the child of God is to understand that it is in the strength of the Lord that we are able to stand: “…Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4 It is through, “Praying, with all prayer and petition at all times in the Spirit…” that the Lord steps in and fights for us. It is our daily feeding on God’s word that provides the armor we must wear at all times.

God’s word girds us up with His truth; our very lives are protected by the righteousness we have in Christ; we have none of our own. Our witness is protected by the solid truth of the eternal salvation we have in Christ. God has given us a measure of faith whereby we can quench the fiery darts of Satan. All of these are protective; the only weapon we are given is the word of God, the very same one Jesus used on the devil when He was tempted.

If we would stand firm in the evil day, we must understand this: we are soldiers of the cross, Jesus is the Captain of our salvation, and we must fight to hold Jesus Christ up to a lost and dying world.

Brother Bill is a Bible teacher and can be contacted at bboldham@sbcglobal.net

“…We fix out eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18

“By faith Moses left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw Him Who is invisible.” Hebrews 11:27

“…Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus…” Hebrews 12:2

One of the names of Jesus is Wonderful Counselor. Here we have Jesus, through His Holy Spirit, counseling His church as to what they are to have the eyes of their hearts fixed on. They are to be fixed on Him, the Head and the Savior of the body of Christ. We are members of His body: He feeds and cares for us; His word is what we live by.

Moses is given to us as an example of what we are speaking of here. He was raised up in the king of Egypt’s household. It could be said of Moses that, “He had it made.” He would have grown up, surrounded by and having access to, the greatest riches in Egypt; he would have experienced a lavish, luxurious lifestyle. Moses could have had anything his heart desired, and yet, he willingly turned his back on it. Who would do that?

Moses did because, “He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward…He persevered because he saw Him Who is invisible.” Hebrews 11:26

Faith was Moses’ eyesight, he believed in the I AM, and chose Him as his portion in this life; we fix our eyes on Christ by trusting and obeying His word.

Jacob’s son Joseph is an example of the reward that comes from having your eyes fixed on God. This young man was sold into slavery by his brothers and carried off into a foreign country. He found himself isolated in a land where he knew no one; and was sold as a slave. The man who purchased Joseph soon realized he was highly favored by his God, and put him in charge of everything he owned, except his wife.

Joseph would have been in his early 20’s and is described as, “handsome and well built.” The wife fixed her eyes on Joseph and tried to seduce him several times—quite a temptation for any young man, But he “refused to go to bed with her or even be with her,” Listen to his answer to the woman:

“No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” Genesis 39:9

Here was a young man, all alone in a strange land and a slave, being sorely tempted; but in that darkness, faith in his invisible God was his guiding light. Because of his faithfulness to God, God raised Joseph up to become lord over Egypt under the king.

We, who claim to be the children of God, have a much greater light than Moses or Joseph. Jesus Christ is the light of the world. When a person is born again Christ takes up residence in that person, and the light of His life begins to shine out from them. So we may say with the apostle Paul:

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Galatians 2:20

Moses gave up the treasures of the world and Joseph gave up the pleasures of the world, because their eyes were fixed on their and our invisible God. God help us who have a much greater light, to separate ourselves from the love of the treasures and pleasures of this world, and fix our eyes on Jesus.

“Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him…” 1 Peter 1:8

Brother Bill is a Bible teacher and can be contacted at bboldham@sbcglobal.net

“It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” Matthew 4:4

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

You would think that these words from Jesus and His apostle Paul would be enough to cause Christians to read the Bible regularly throughout their lifetime. There are many other texts that emphasize the importance of feeding on God’s word, and how spiritually profitable it is to do so.

Life is compared to a road which we must all travel until we reach the end. Regardless of what former travelers may have experienced on their journey, and recorded their experiences for those who would follow, we still must find our own way. Left to ourselves, we walk blindly in the dark, for we can’t see where we are or where we are going.

But God made us, and He loves us. The Lord desires to lead us through our pilgrimage here on earth and bring us safely to the eternal home He has prepared for us. Jesus Christ is God’s only road to His everlasting mansions in glory. The only way you can be on this road is for God Himself to place you on it. You can’t buy your way on it, and you can’t work your way on it; you must be in Christ Jesus: He is the Way.

For most folks, there is a distance of a good many years between the time they are placed on the road, and the time they reach the end. During that time, along with many joys and times of happiness, they also face many obstacles, trials, difficulties, temptations, troubles and sorrows. The road of life is the same for all folks; the great difference lies in walking it alone, or having the God of the highway walking with you all the way.

God’s ever-present presence with His children is the guarantee that they’ll make it safely home. His ever fresh supply of mercy and grace is the guarantee that they can face whatever comes their way with confidence and assurance that God will see them through it. At the end of the day they can truly confess from their hearts: Great is His faithfulness!

But how can a child of God know this? Our feelings can rise one day, and bottom out the next. We can know great joy, and then sorrow falls across our path. We can feel like a victorious Christian one day, and the very next day question if we are saved. Our love and concern for others comes and goes. Is this not true of all of us? How can we keep a steady and consistent pace on the road to heaven while battling all these things?

God’s word is the answer. Jesus and Paul’s words tell us this. They are not speaking of an intellectual knowledge of the Bible. They are teaching and directing God’s children to do the one thing that will keep their hearts and minds on solid ground, and keep them in the will of God. And that is, by continuously feeding and feasting on the goodness and love of God in Christ Jesus.

Genesis to Revelation is God’s revelation of Himself and His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. The Bible is the inspired and infallible word of God. God is the Author Who breathed into men, what He wanted us to know. The Bible was written by God for us to read.

“…Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” Romans 15:4

Do you want a good and prosperous life as you travel down its weary road? Do you want to arrive at heaven’s gate in good shape? Make it your main business to daily feast on God’s word, believe it and live it.

Brother Bill is a Bible teacher and can be contacted at bboldham@sbcglobal.net