October 13, 2018 KINGDOM LIVING part 5
Philippians 4:8-9 “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 excellency and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things and the God of peace shall be with you.
Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
We are all aware of the awesome power of the mind, yet we often fail to harness the power, or rule over our mind; there is a tendency to let our mind set its own course, to wonder where it chooses. Our actions, our motives, and our words are rooted in our mind. (Often, in scripture, the words ‘mind’ and ‘heart’ or interchangeable, referring to the core of a person.) One of the most powerful truths that we need to cling to is the fact that we have the power to choose what we think about. Rather than letting our mind set the course of our thought life, we must take control and let our mind serve us. For sure, we are bombarded with countless things that we could choose to think about, many of which are harmful to us. Our mind does not naturally think on the right things-we must chose to take dominion over what our mind dwells on. Taking control of our mind may seem impossible, but the good news for us is that at salvation, God gives us a new mind. When we understand our new identity and when we are walking according to the Spirit, our minds do indeed dwell on what is right and what is true; notice that in the above verse, we are told to let our mind dwell on these things-the Spirit in us is always drawing us, including our mind, to the things of God. Unless we take action, we will be conformed to this world in our thinking. When our mind is renewed, then we are transformed. When our mind is renewed, we can know the will of God for us and we can live in newness, where our thoughts are pleasing to the Lord. Much of the depression, stress, and anxiety in our culture is rooted in un-renewed minds. God wants us to experience the power of the mind that is functioning according to His design. It’s a reality that we live in a fallen world where there are problems and challenges on every hand, but even though that’s the world in which we live, we can overcome the world’s way of thinking and think like sons and daughters of God, being light and enjoying the peace of God. There will be times when a wrong thought comes, but what we do with that thought is critical. Someone made the analogy of an initial thought being like an airplane overhead requesting permission to land; when a wrong thought comes to mind, do not give it permission to land. An initial wrong thought is the temptation, but simply refuse to ‘let it land,’ and then replace it with a godly thought. Today, let us make the choice to think on the things we see in verses 8 and 9 above and let us be transformed by renewing our mind-choosing to think on those things that fit our new nature, and please our Father.
Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”
Blessings, Buddy
Philippians 4:8-9 “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 excellency and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things and the God of peace shall be with you.
Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
We are all aware of the awesome power of the mind, yet we often fail to harness the power, or rule over our mind; there is a tendency to let our mind set its own course, to wonder where it chooses. Our actions, our motives, and our words are rooted in our mind. (Often, in scripture, the words ‘mind’ and ‘heart’ or interchangeable, referring to the core of a person.) One of the most powerful truths that we need to cling to is the fact that we have the power to choose what we think about. Rather than letting our mind set the course of our thought life, we must take control and let our mind serve us. For sure, we are bombarded with countless things that we could choose to think about, many of which are harmful to us. Our mind does not naturally think on the right things-we must chose to take dominion over what our mind dwells on. Taking control of our mind may seem impossible, but the good news for us is that at salvation, God gives us a new mind. When we understand our new identity and when we are walking according to the Spirit, our minds do indeed dwell on what is right and what is true; notice that in the above verse, we are told to let our mind dwell on these things-the Spirit in us is always drawing us, including our mind, to the things of God. Unless we take action, we will be conformed to this world in our thinking. When our mind is renewed, then we are transformed. When our mind is renewed, we can know the will of God for us and we can live in newness, where our thoughts are pleasing to the Lord. Much of the depression, stress, and anxiety in our culture is rooted in un-renewed minds. God wants us to experience the power of the mind that is functioning according to His design. It’s a reality that we live in a fallen world where there are problems and challenges on every hand, but even though that’s the world in which we live, we can overcome the world’s way of thinking and think like sons and daughters of God, being light and enjoying the peace of God. There will be times when a wrong thought comes, but what we do with that thought is critical. Someone made the analogy of an initial thought being like an airplane overhead requesting permission to land; when a wrong thought comes to mind, do not give it permission to land. An initial wrong thought is the temptation, but simply refuse to ‘let it land,’ and then replace it with a godly thought. Today, let us make the choice to think on the things we see in verses 8 and 9 above and let us be transformed by renewing our mind-choosing to think on those things that fit our new nature, and please our Father.
Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”
Blessings, Buddy
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