"Renewal Information Enclosed"

(this is a re-posting of something I wrote two years ago. Hope you enjoy it!)

I pulled an envelope out of the mailbox the other day, with "Renewal Information Enclosed" in big letters. I opened it excitedly -- maybe it was an offer for a free vacation, or even better, a retreat where my spiritual energy could be renewed. No such luck: it was just a bill. Bummer! But did you know, you can have renewal information inside you, by the work of the Holy Spirit? Are you ready for some spiritual renewal? Let's look.

Paul tells us in Romans 5:6-10, that God has already done everything to heal our spiritual distance from him and make us his friends. He's done it himself, on his own initiative, and he won't take it back. (In fact, he can't take it back, because Jesus was God in the flesh, the God-Man, so therefore he is united with humanity and we are united with God, and that can't be un-done.) It makes sense, then, that because we are united with God through Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives in us just as he did in Jesus.

In Romans 8, Paul explains to us that the Father, our loving God, has given us his Spirit as the reality of his own mind in us. He's called the "life-giving Spirit" (v. 2), Christ living in you (v. 10), the one who has the power to put our sinful nature to death (v. 13) and the Spirit that has united with our spirit to help us call God "Daddy." So we know we are not stuck with our own strength, ideas, or solutions to life's issues!

In Romans 8:5-6, Paul writes "Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace." To have that new life and peace, not once but every single day, means we must let the Spirit renew our thinking rather than letting our fleshly desires, worries and ideas be the dominant force. It means being sensitive to, and surrendering our will to, his nudges and his messages to us, which takes attention. But guess what: by deliberately asking the Spirit to lead us and being sensitive to follow, the mind of the Father and Jesus pours new life and new love into us -- and wouldn't you call that renewal?

So you might say that each person who believes in Jesus Christ has "renewal enclosed" -- not mere information, but a new life. How about opening the envelope and letting the Spirit move you into more renewal? And if you haven't received that new life through turning to God, being baptized and receiving the Holy Spirit, why wait any longer? It's here for you and it's free!