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A DISCIPLINED MIND

Christian Life, ,

2 Peter 1:10-11 NIV
[10] “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, [11] and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Some believers think that the mind is of no consequence in the outworking of our salvation. It’s the spirit that is all-important, not the mind. We can put our minds into neutral and focus instead on what our spirit is saying.

However, nothing can be farther from the truth. Our mind is an essential function of our “hearts”, that inner part of us that expresses who we are and drives our bodies to sin or righteousness. We practise sin through our bodies but sin originates in our minds through our fleshly desires. Our minds need to change gear to redirect us towards righteouess.

It’s not easy to separate and categorise the workings of our psyche since we function as a unit. However, we learn from Scripture that our minds, our thought processes, control and direct our lives.

Proverbs 23:6-7 NLT
[6] “Don’t eat with people who are stingy; don’t desire their delicacies. [7] They are always thinking about how much it costs. “Eat and drink,” they say, but they don’t mean it.”

The NKJV translates verse seven of this quote as…

Proverbs 23:6-7 NKJV
[6]”Do not eat the bread of a miser, Nor desire his delicacies; [7] For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you.”

Whatever a person appears to be on the outside, what he thinks is the real person.

Our passage of Scripture for today is a clear directive to take control of our thoughts since an undisciplined mind is dangerous, and will eventually affect our destiny. Is it possible to control what we think? Yes, it is!

Random, uncontrolled thoughts are often bad thoughts. Satan’s tactic is to influence our thinking towards sinful, selfish desires which eventually translate into sinful behaviour.

James 1:14-15 NKJV
[14] “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. [15] Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”

Our desires begin as thoughts which fire our emotions and drag us into actions. Therefore, to short-circuit our sinful actions, we must begin with our thoughts. Since we cannot think two thoughts at the same time, we have the choice to exchange random thoughts for disciplined thinking.

How do we acquire disciplined thinking? Our random thoughts are very often negative, and influenced by our circumstances; for example, we are insulted, belittled, or offended in some way! What are our thoughts? Attack! Defend! Avenge! Anger? Hate? Bitterness?

Forgiveness is the last thing on our minds unless we train ourselves to think God’s way.

A disciplined mind is only possible if we fill our minds with thoughts that lead to righteousness. We have been born from above by God’s Spirit. We have God’s life in us and His power to overcome sin but…this does not happen automatically. We must work, together with the Spirit, to put the process of transformation into action.

Romans 12:2 NLT
[2] “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

The only way to change our thinking is to fill our minds with God’s Word since His Word tells us what He thinks about Himself, about His children, and about what He has done and is doing for us and what is good for us and others.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NIV
[4]”The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. [5] We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

This is “spiritual warfare” within ourselves, not foolishly beating the air to flush out demons but bring our thoughts into line with God’s thoughts! We must pull down the strongholds of unbelief in our own minds by taking our thoughts captive to obey Christ.

2 Peter 1:4 NLT
[4] “And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”

Peter gives us a resume of thoughts that will equip us for life and guarantee a rich and joyful welcome into God’s eternal kingdom.

2 Peter 1:5-8, 10-11 NLT
[5]”In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, [6] and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, [7] and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. [8] The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ…
[10] So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. [11] Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

The Christian life, from the moment of our new birth, is not a life of meandering through the wilderness of the unknown. It is not a hit-and-miss walk through the jungle of danger and opposition. It is a disciplined walk of faith in the one who leads us, diligently and determinedly following His instructions which enable us unerringly to navigate through every storm. He will guide us past rocks and obstacles until we reach our heavenly destination.

Colossians 3:1-4 NLT
[1] “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. [2] Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. [3] For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. [4] And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.”

Without minds set on Him, we have no guarantee that we will make it.

Mind Your Mind

Bible Study, , , , ,

MIND YOUR MIND

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if there is anything excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received from me, or seen in me – put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9.

Paul’s prescription for living ends in a crescendo of triumphant declaration – the God of peace will be with you. How did he get there?

The key is in your thought life. What we think, we are and what we think, we do. Anxious thoughts lead to foolish choices. The solution is to take possession of your mind and bend it towards God instead of indulging in random and undisciplined thinking.

This is not about playing mind games. This is about spiritual warfare. Yes, spiritual warfare! The notion that spiritual warfare is about pulling down demonic strongholds over nations and regions and flushing out demons from behind every bush is not Biblical and a complete waste of time. The way to deal with the devil is to give him no place in your mind

Deeds and actions are conceived in the mind according to what we believe to be true. The hijackers of American Airlines Flight 11 believed that they were doing God’s will and pleasing him when they flew the plane into the north tower of the Twin Towers in New York. Reciting prayers to Allah as the plane crashed into the tower, they thought that they were doing the right thing because it was in keeping with their understanding of the will of their god.

Just as it is impossible to be anxious and at peace at the same time, so it is impossible to think two conflicting thoughts at the same time. The only way to get rid of wrong thoughts is to replace them with thoughts about things that are good, pure and lovely. Where do we find thoughts like that when the world is continually bombarding us with thoughts of ungodliness?

We will think the thoughts about the things that we have fed into our minds. We live in an era of information overload. Most of the information we receive is either anti-God or completely ignores God as though He does not exist. Like the hijackers of 911, the world has hijacked God’s blessings and prostituted them on their own pleasure and for their own benefit, not giving Him a thought when they squander His resources on themselves.

As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and citizens of God’s kingdom, we are not to be like that. We are to fuel our minds with thoughts that honour God so that what comes out will be words and actions that reflect His presence in our lives. Satan can only plant thought in our minds. He cannot control our choices. It is up to us to filter out the thoughts that are Satan-inspired and not a reflection of the nature of God in whose nature we have been recreated.

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5, 6.

A mind shaped by learning to think the way God does by filling our minds with God’s word, is a disciplined mind. The outcome is astonishing. “The God of peace will be with you.”  “What’s the big deal?” you say. “I thought that God is always with me.” Sure; that’s what He promised, but being with you and being with you are two entirely different things.

 

You can accompany a person who is committing a crime without being with him, approving of and supporting him in his action. On the other hand, you can be entirely with a person when he is doing a good deed, helping him wherever necessary so that the outcome is good. There are many references in Scripture where God was “with” a person so that he prospered and fulfilled his calling: Joseph in Egypt, Samuel, David as king of Israel and most of all, Jesus.

It’s that kind of being “with” us that Paul was emphasising. Just imagine – when you take the time to fill your mind with the word of God and begin to see your life from God’s perspective, instead of whining about your hardships, you will begin to praise Him. Difficulties will become opportunities, like they were for Joseph. Hardships will be lessons in trust, like they were for Paul. Don’t you think that you will experience God’s overwhelming peace because He is upholding and supporting you in your trial?

He will do anything for those who are willing to praise Him in trouble, because it is an expression of trust. And the outcome will be more than you can imagine of hope for just as it was for Joseph. Do the right thing for God and He will do the right thing for you. But you have to think it first!

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.