June 13, 2023 THE FRAMEWORK
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculation and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,”
Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth.”
Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.
Thoughts precede action; one acts according to his or her thoughts. We determine our thoughts. As Paul says above, even though we live in fleshly bodies, we have the opportunity to set our minds on the things of the Lord. We must remember that
God has given us a new mind. Ezekiel 36:26, 1 Corinthians 2:16, Philippians 2:5. We make the choice to think out of the new mind we have been given; even though we have a new mind, it is entirely possible for us to think out of our old mind. This is why Paul made it clear that we must be destroying all thoughts and any ‘lofty thing’ raised up against the knowledge of God. As believers, we have the Holy Spirit in us and He will make us aware of any thoughts and ideas that are in opposition to the knowledge of God. 1 Corinthians 2:16 tells us we have the mind of Christ. ‘Taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ is a must if we are to live according to the Spirit and if we are to have the right thought life. We are in warfare; the world-our culture-is vying for our minds; and it is a major war because as our minds go, so goes the culture and as our minds go, so goes our life. Some focus on changing their action or their responses but are unsuccessful; what is needed is to first change the thinking-then the actions will change. For an example that we are so familiar with is that of road rage. If we get angry when someone cuts in front of us or speeds by in a reckless manner; are we doomed to have this frustration? I say not. It is possible for us to consider that this person has an emergency that they must respond to quickly, or they really don’t mean to be rude in their driving, or we may remember that we have at sometime been guilty of rude driving; and most importantly, no matter their motive or reason, if we can just say a quick prayer-“God bless that individual” we will find the frustration level subsiding. The essence of the Christian life is that of being transformed into the likeness of God, and that includes the transformation of our minds. Again, just to clarify, it is not about changing our minds by self effort, but by thinking according to the new mind that we have been given.
Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Blessings, Buddy
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculation and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,”
Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth.”
Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.
Thoughts precede action; one acts according to his or her thoughts. We determine our thoughts. As Paul says above, even though we live in fleshly bodies, we have the opportunity to set our minds on the things of the Lord. We must remember that
God has given us a new mind. Ezekiel 36:26, 1 Corinthians 2:16, Philippians 2:5. We make the choice to think out of the new mind we have been given; even though we have a new mind, it is entirely possible for us to think out of our old mind. This is why Paul made it clear that we must be destroying all thoughts and any ‘lofty thing’ raised up against the knowledge of God. As believers, we have the Holy Spirit in us and He will make us aware of any thoughts and ideas that are in opposition to the knowledge of God. 1 Corinthians 2:16 tells us we have the mind of Christ. ‘Taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ is a must if we are to live according to the Spirit and if we are to have the right thought life. We are in warfare; the world-our culture-is vying for our minds; and it is a major war because as our minds go, so goes the culture and as our minds go, so goes our life. Some focus on changing their action or their responses but are unsuccessful; what is needed is to first change the thinking-then the actions will change. For an example that we are so familiar with is that of road rage. If we get angry when someone cuts in front of us or speeds by in a reckless manner; are we doomed to have this frustration? I say not. It is possible for us to consider that this person has an emergency that they must respond to quickly, or they really don’t mean to be rude in their driving, or we may remember that we have at sometime been guilty of rude driving; and most importantly, no matter their motive or reason, if we can just say a quick prayer-“God bless that individual” we will find the frustration level subsiding. The essence of the Christian life is that of being transformed into the likeness of God, and that includes the transformation of our minds. Again, just to clarify, it is not about changing our minds by self effort, but by thinking according to the new mind that we have been given.
Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Blessings, Buddy
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