Get Your Pretense On!

Chapter 4: Put Off, Renew, Put On • 95

In the Appendix Thirty-three Blessings in Christ , I list for you several dozen things that happen in the life, status, and position of every new believer the moment they accept Christ as Lord and Savior. These things are true regardless of how you may feel about them, how your kids are acting, what your job is like, or the kind of health issues you currently face. These truths are independently and objectively accurate, and not one molecule of their truthfulness is dependent on how you feel, how things look, what you’ve done, or what’s going on. God’s Word does not need your affirmation to be true; you need simply to affirm the truth and unchanging Word of God in order to be transformed! Paul testified of this truth to the Romans: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12.1-2). You will be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Start today, start right now. Commit yourself to changing your identity by affirming God’s truth and rejecting the lies of your past. Learning to integrate these truths into your self-talk, with gratitude, enthusiasm, and praise, can literally change your entire outlook, personality, and identity. Rather than being affected by things as they occur, you can transcend those things by forming the habit of affirming the truth. My colleague and friend, Don Allsman, has written a companion volume to mine called Think Again . His work outlines the practical how-tos in establishing new patterns of thinking, speaking, and living to make God’s truth come alive in your life.