September 7, 2019 THE COMMAND CENTER
Ephesians 4:21-23 “if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as the truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lust of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind.”
Proverbs 23:7a “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:”
The basic truth behind this idea of renewing our mind is that God has given us new minds and by the power of the Spirit, we can choose to walk in newness-it’s not forced on us. We have heard it a million times; we know how powerful the mind is. Just because we have heard it so often, let us not become dull of hearing when it comes to talking about this command center, the mind. Because our mind is the ‘command center’ of our life, it is crucial to continually be being renewed in the spirit of our minds. We all know first-hand that our mind is the battle ground. Since the battle is won or lost in our minds, it is crucial that we take dominion over our minds if we are to win the battles. I think many feel that the mind operates on its own free will and that we just have to live with it. The truth is, that we have the ability and the power to direct the thoughts of our mind. The idea of taking dominion over our mind is so much broader than whether we have a positive attitude or a negative attitude. (Having a positive attitude helps; even a person who does not know God can have a positive attitude and will have a better life because of it.) It may sound simplistic, or it may sound impossible, but we must decide what we are going to think about and how we are going to process and file information. At times, wrong thoughts will enter our mind, but when they do, we must quickly reject or expel those thoughts and replace them with healthy thoughts. The new mind that God has given us is pure, and when we are walking according to our new mind, our thoughts will be pure. As we walk in our newness, as we are being transformed, our thoughts follow suit. Managing our mind, or taking dominion over our thought life, is a continual process-a way of life. So, when we turn the television on or our computer or I-phone, we must make the decision as to what we will allow to enter the eye gate and the ear gate. I understand that this may sound absurd or unrealistic in the culture in which we live, but trust me-we can and must take dominion over our physical bodies, our minds and our soul.
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 if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
2 Corinthians 10:5 “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
1 John 3:3 “And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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