The Promise Principle: A New Way to Encounter the Bible Sample

The Promise Principle Devotional
Day 2: The Promise Principle

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). 

To renew your mind, you must stop letting your thoughts and feelings rule your life. How does this transformation happen? It begins with a process of spiritual maturing in which you choose to allow your spirit, not your circumstances, to lead your life.

God gives you everything you need to live a godly life. He promises that you can participate in His nature rather than your own, but you must learn to respond to His promises (2 Peter 1:3–5). What are God’s promises? They are every truth and every commandment that He has revealed to you in His Word. His promises are every truth that sets you free (John 8:32) and every commandment that “is spirit and life” (John 6:63). God’s promises in Scripture are the will of the Spirit. If the Bible is God-breathed and its writers penned every word through the illumination of the Spirit, then every promise in Scripture tells you how to be Spirit-led. 

God’s promises are the weapons you fight with to take your thoughts and feelings captive (2 Corinthians 10:5). They are His fundamental method to mature your spirit so that it can lead your soul. The Word of God is a double-edged sword that can cut between soul and spirit and expose your most secret thoughts and desires (Hebrews 4:12). Learning to respond to God’s promises enables you to separate your spirit from sinful thoughts and desires so that God’s indwelling Spirit can lead you. This is the process of renewing your mind: being led by the Spirit rather than your thoughts and feelings 

This isn’t something that happens just because you are a follower of Christ. It is something that you must “take hold of … for which Christ Jesus took hold of [you]” (Philippians 3:12). To do so means learning to respond to the promises of God.

Reading
2 Peter 1:3–11