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Renewed in the Spirit of Your Mind – Love Beyond Measure · Still, Here

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: This is still here.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: A quiet moment to remember what is true.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Listen to these words from the book of Ephesians chapter 4 verses 17 through 24.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: That you may put away as concerning your former way of life the old man
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: That you may be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man Who in
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Twenty-five days ago you may have entered this journey carrying a collection of small rulers.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: You measured whether you were spiritual enough,
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: useful enough, strong enough, close enough to God, or worthy enough to belong.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: You may have compared your gifts with someone else's or searched for
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: the standard you were supposed to reach.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Paul now speaks of putting away the old self and being renewed in the spirit of the mind.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: The small ruler says, I change by trying harder to stop being the old me.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: It would be easy to turn Paul's words into another behavior project.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: Identify everything wrong with yourself,
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: create a better version, and work harder until you become it.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: But renewal is deeper than behavior modification.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: Behavior modification begins with an external standard and tries to force life
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: into conformity with it.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Inner renewal changes the way we perceive, desire, interpret, and respond.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Old patterns become easier to recognize without shame because they no longer have to define us.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: The old self is more than a collection of bad habits.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: It also includes an old way of measuring life,
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: proving,
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: comparing, protecting, dominating, seeking external validation, enforcing strength.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: The renewed mind begins laying those rulers down.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: We become less anxious about matching an external image of spirituality
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: and more willing to let the Spirit reveal the life of Christ through
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: the person God actually created.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Think of a light bulb.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: The bulb does not create the energy.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: It receives energy in according to the way it was made.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: That energy becomes visible as light.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: In a similar way, the new self is not a spiritual personality you manufacture.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: God's life moves through God's workmanship.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Your personality is not erased.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Your story is not discarded.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: Your gifts do not need to imitate someone else's gifts.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Grace flows through the life you have actually been given.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: You may already notice renewal in small ways.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: You look for God in an ordinary moment instead of assuming He is absent.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: You recognize an old fear without immediately obeying it.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: You are less threatened by another person's gift.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: You become curious about what grace is doing rather than anxious about
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: the standard you have not reached.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: You may ask for help sooner,
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: speak more gently to yourself,
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: or notice that love has become possible in a place
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: where resentment once felt automatic.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: These changes may seem small.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: Do not measure them.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: Receive them.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: They are signs that renewal is already taking form.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Paul's language is active.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Be renewed.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: There is something you consent to, but there is also something being done within you.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: You do not have to manufacture the new self by force.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: You can remain open to the spirit who is already reshaping the way you see.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Perhaps one ruler is ready to be laid down today.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: You do not need it to tell you who you are or whether grace is working.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: The new self is the life of Christ becoming increasingly visible
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: through God's workmanship in you.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: You are already thinking differently.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Grace is already renewing you from within.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Take a moment for this prayer of presence.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Spirit of God, renew the way I see.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: I release the old need to measure myself against others or search for
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: an external standard that will finally make me enough.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Let your life move freely through the person you created me to be.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: Help me notice the newness already taking form and teach me to receive it
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: without measuring whether it seems impressive.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: And as the day continues around you, carry this prayer with you.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: I release the old measure.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: God renews me within.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: I release the old measure.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: God renews me within.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: I release the old measure.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: God renews me within.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: If you would like to go deeper,
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: the written reflections and other resources are available
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: at powerloveandmiracles.com.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, stay steady, stay open, stay present.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: You are still here.