One of the greatest revelations of my life is I can choose what
I want to think about or what I don’t. I don’t have to just think about
whatever comes into my mind. What a revelation this is, because
Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
In other words, where the mind goes, the man follows.
God is always concerned about our inner life and what we think about,
and like the today’s scripture says, the way we think determines how
we live and who we are. That’s why we need to ponder what we’re
thinking about and be aware that our thoughts are always pleasing God.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 teaches us how important it is to learn to take
every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Once we do this we will live
a life of peace with God, peace with ourselves, enjoy great relationships,
experience joy, and apprehend all that God has created us to be.
It comes down to choosing to believe what God says more than following
our feelings or by what other people say.
There are four things we must do to develop a mind that agrees with God:
#1: Set your mind and keep it on what is above (higher spiritual things i.e.
Colossians 3:2) to resist temptation. Then when temptation comes, you already
have laid a foundation to make right choices and are more likely to successfully overcome the
temptation. For example before you decide you gossip, you’ve already established “I
am not going to gossip and ruin someone’s reputation and offend the Holy Spirit.”
Or “I’m not going to eat four candy bars today” or “I am not going to
look at pornography on the Internet.” or “I am not going to hang out with people who are bad influences.”
The point is don’t want to wait until the temptation comes and
then react based on how we feel about it! Instead follow the instruction of Romans
12: 2 which says, “…but be transformed (changed) by the renewal of your mind”.
#2: Turn away from old ways of thinking and taking on the Mind of Christ
in an ongoing developmental process by taking time to study the Word so you can
proactively think according to what it says. Any “junky” areas in your thought
life have to go, because bad thoughts keep you from the best God has for you.
While we are all human and we have tendencies to fall backward, we need
to conscientiously make progress each day so we can keep our mind renewed and
grow in our relationship with God.
#3: “Gird up the loins of your mind” (1 Peter 1:13) meaning discard bad
thoughts about ANYTHING so you can keep running the race to reach your goal in
Christ Jesus to have the victory God wants you to have to be able to take action for the
plan God has for your life..
#4: Meditate on the Word and on scriptures that renew your mind with the
truth about what God is speaking about His plan for you and how He wants you to live
and behave. Write down meaningful scriptures and put them in places where you will
see them every day like the bathroom mirror or refrigerator.
Commit to set your mind on God’s Word, renewing your mind with truth and
getting stinkin’/thinkin’ out of your head! Choose today to
live with the mind of Christ.
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