“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). 

“Every area of our life not glistening with hope means we are believing a lie and that area is a stronghold of the devil in our life.” When I first heard this Francis Frangipane quote, I became discouraged. I realized I had good Biblical doctrine but bad life beliefs. My life was changed when I realized every belief or conclusion not having hope was under the influence of a lie. 

The five-month Transformational Mind Renewal Course (TMRC) will start again in September. By investing three to five hours a week, participants will be immersed in some of the best mind renewal material on the planet causing their personal victory and influence to increase. It is also the prerequisite for those who want to apply to be an Igniting Hope Belief Trainer.

The course focuses on the five steps of radical mind renewal. Month one emphasizes that our hope level is the indicator of whether we are believing lies or truth. Month two helps give revelation on the lies creating the lack of hope and the potential sources of those lies. This is our focus in this blog. 

“Now may the God of hope fill you . . . in believing” (Romans 15:13). Hope is the confident, joyful expectancy of good coming. Increasing hope is the evidence I am renewing my mind with truth, while decreasing hope is the evidence I am renewing my mind with lies. 

It is a powerful thing to ask the Lord for wisdom to identify the lies creating our lack of hope. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). 

The nature of deception is that we don’t know we are deceived. Once we know we are deceived, we are no longer deceived. Although it can be sometimes painful to get clarity on the lies we believe, it brings those lies out of darkness and into the light. When this happens, we can compare those beliefs with God’s promises and our biblical new creation identity, and then replace the lie with truth.

Most of the lies I believe or have believed come from the following sources:

• Past experiences – we don’t deny our experiences, but we cannot get our beliefs from them
• Traditions of men – “Making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down” (Mark 7:13). These are also often created by elevating our experience above God’s promises. My book, Cracks in the Foundation, addresses forty-three traditions of men. 

What, then, are common lies Christians believe? Here are some lies I have thought were truth: 

• I am unworthy to be blessed
• My prayers are not working
• There is something uniquely wrong with me
• I am a victim of other people’s perceptions of me
• My mistakes have made it impossible for God’s plan for others and me to be fulfilled
• Things are only going to get worse
• I am inferior to most other people
• I can only thrive and be joyful when I am living in blessing and fulfilled promises
• I cannot fulfill my call because of what the people in my life are doing
• God does not love me

Lies like these create negative emotions such as a lack of hope, discouragement, fear, inferiority, and depression. Most negative emotions are caused from believing lies, not from physiological or circumstantial reasons. We cannot just try to fight off negative emotions, but we must primarily confront the beliefs creating these emotions. If we want a different emotion, we will need to have a different belief. 



So, what do we really believe? What are we really renewing our minds with? Use the hope test to identify lies, then verbalize them and replace them by speaking God’s promises and our identity in Christ. It is life-changing, and it is a necessary step on the journey of radical Romans 12:2 mind renewal transformation.