“Renewing your mind” isn’t necessarily about reading the Bible or hearing the Bible preached.

I could read about David slaying Philistines all day, and that isn’t going to renew my mind to do anything healthy.

I could hear about God’s love from a preacher or a recording, but hearing “about” God doesn’t necessarily help me to hear “from” God.

Having a daily Bible reading plan is not a bad thing, but don’t fool yourself into thinking that it is renewing your mind.

We can learn a lot from this is in reading about Job.

Here is a man that heard a lot “about” God and look where that got him.

He made all kinds of assumptions about God and said things about God that weren’t true.

He later admitted in Job 42:5 –

“I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.”

We’ve all been like Job in this respect. We’ve all had that time when we thought God was the bad guy.

We’ve all had that time when we felt God was against us.

We’ve all had that time when we felt like we were more destined for Hell than for God’s glory.

Well, I have had those times.

It is when we renew our mind in hearing from God that we truly begin to change.

It is when we hear from God that we realize that God loves us unconditionally and that we are forgiven unequivocally.

Don’t get caught up in merely memorizing scripture and pouring over Bible verses and say that your mind is being renewed.

Your mind may have more Bible verses memorized than the average person, but what did God say to you personally?

What is the revelation of Him that you received today?

Unless we hear from God, we are not really renewing our minds.

God is not found in any book.

He is not limited to the pages of any book.

His Word is not the scriptures of the Bible being spoken.

Romans 10:17 tells us, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”, but whoever interprets that to mean “Faith comes by hearing the Bible” is not getting built up in their faith and they aren’t necessarily hearing the “Word of God”. Jesus alone is the “Word of God”.

His Word is His Spirit actively speaking to us, through us and through others.

You can hear a Word from God in a Bible scripture, or through a song or a sermon.

You can hear a Word from God in the words and actions of others.

You can hear a Word from God in almost anything you encounter in everyday living because His Spirit is dynamically revealing things to us all the time if we would just listen.

We need to renew our minds daily, and all it takes is an open mind and an open heart.

God is always speaking.

Are we listening?