February 23, 2023 AS WE THINK – SO ARE WE
Proverbs 23:7a “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:”
2 Corinthians 10:5b “and we are taking ever thought captive to the obedience of Christ,”
Romans 12:2 “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.”
Ephesians 4:23-24 “and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
Philippians 4:8 “Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, let you mind dwell on these things.
Everyone knows the power of thoughts. All action originates out of the mind. Even though we know, at least to some extent, how powerful the mind is, we often neglect, or fail to manage our thought life. The important truth we must embrace is that we must not allow our mind to be independent; our mind is to be directed by our spirit. In other words, we must tell our minds what to think. If we let our mind wander and go where it chooses, we err. Proverbs reveals an awesome truth when it says that we are what we think. The mind is to direct our spirit, but it is crucial that the Holy Spirit is directing and instructing our spirit. The mind, and how it works, is indeed amazing to say the least. Some say that we only use ten percent of our minds-that may or may not be true. Out of the mind can come expressions of evil or expressions of good. We can thank God that He has instructed us as to how we are to think and how we are to manage our minds; and His instructions are specific. In the verse above in 2 Corinthians, we are told to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ; we must choose to think thoughts that are in keeping with the nature of God. And here is the big deal-we must choose to think the right thoughts, even when circumstances are not what we desire, and when we don’t feel like thinking the right thoughts; often we have to go against our emotions. When we find ourselves being tempted to think in an incorrect and unhealthy way, we must at that moment be renewed in our mind and put on the new self-the new self thinks as God would have it to think. To think the right way is so much more than just being a ‘positive thinker.’ We all face difficulties, but even in the most difficult times our minds are to be reminding us that God is sufficient for whatever we face. The verse in Philippians gives us a good outline or guide as to what we are to let our minds dwell on-AND that list is doable! In light of how God has designed our minds, let us be diligent to manage our thought life; let us use our minds the way that God designed it to be used. The mind IS the battle ground.
Colossians 3:2 “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Romans 8:6 “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.”
Philippians 2:5 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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