Don’t Be Conformed by David Jeremiah

Don’t Be Conformed    And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.  Romans 12:2    We’ve all used the phrase “cookie cutter” to describe things other than cookies: cookie-cutter houses, cookie-cutter apartments, cookie-cutter customer service solutions, and cookie-cutter haircuts on new military recruits. In other words, the design is set and applied in every instance so the results are according to the design—like when star-shaped cookies all look the same.

Recommended Reading: Psalm 119:11

The English Bible translator J. B. Phillips used the cookie-cutter idea in his paraphrase of Romans 12:2: “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.” The world (empowered by the devil) wants to conform every person into a godless image. Instead, we are to renew our mind with God’s Word daily so we can resist the pressures of sin, the world, and the devil.  The truth of the Bible is our protection. It defends us against being made into a cookie-cutter image of the world.     The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation. D. L. Moody