“For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do…For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing…So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members…Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:15-24.
On any given morning, each of us could pen this passage regarding our own lives. We know our weaknesses which we battle every day of our lives. These weaknesses infiltrate our lives differently for each of us but power our minds. Whether the weaknesses are greed, envy, jealousy, anger or resentment we are well aware of these thought patterns that wage war against our mind, heart and spirit. We wake each morning with a desire to live out God’s purpose for our lives with the awareness that our weaknesses do not fit into God’s economy. We are resolved to not display those unlovely attitudes and we even pray in that way.
Then, much like a thief that comes in the night, the realization of the waging war through our thoughts and actions are evident and we feel defeated much like Paul. We cannot leave any spiritual windows or doors open to allow the thief to enter. We must guard our hearts and renew our minds and prepare for these unwelcome attacks from our enemy – ourselves.
Paul asks a poignant question regarding the remedy for his own mind – Who will rescue me from this body? The remedy is Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior who God sent primarily for salvation but secondly for us to wage war against sin. Whether our battle is on the worldly stage or the battle is within our mind we will be victorious in our war if we succumb to God’s will and intentionally take captive every thought that is not to benefit Christ.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Me & Mine
“For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.” 1 Co. 14:33. “But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.” 1 Co. 14:40.
There is nothing more frustrating than being moved along in public in a disorderly crowd. It dizzies my mind and makes me physically uncomfortable.
Spiritual disorderly thinking also distracts and disorients my mind from the mind of Christ. Disorderly thinking keeps us from developing into the mind in which God intends to transform us. In doing an exercise this morning in my Bible Study I am left feeling ‘less than lovely’. In an effort to show contradictions in my mind when it comes to my desires matching God’s I made an honest list of my desires as they came to mind. I am embarrassed and saddened to say that the first one that came to mind had nothing to do with anything spiritual. It had more to do with the validation and approval of man. (This revelation was made known through mediation and prayer on my list)
From a list of six, I determined that four of my desires matched God’s but there were two desires that contradicted the other four. This is the disorderly thinking that wages against our minds. ‘For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every evil practice.’ James 3:16. ‘Don’t they come from your desires that wage within you?’ James 4:1.
Matthew 6:33 spells out the orderly way in which we are to think, act and live our lives. ‘Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.’ When all of the desires on our list match up to the ‘seek first Him and His’ test instead of the ‘serve me and mine’ test, we will be able to align with the mind of Christ and do extraordinary things for an extraordinary God!
There is nothing more frustrating than being moved along in public in a disorderly crowd. It dizzies my mind and makes me physically uncomfortable.
Spiritual disorderly thinking also distracts and disorients my mind from the mind of Christ. Disorderly thinking keeps us from developing into the mind in which God intends to transform us. In doing an exercise this morning in my Bible Study I am left feeling ‘less than lovely’. In an effort to show contradictions in my mind when it comes to my desires matching God’s I made an honest list of my desires as they came to mind. I am embarrassed and saddened to say that the first one that came to mind had nothing to do with anything spiritual. It had more to do with the validation and approval of man. (This revelation was made known through mediation and prayer on my list)
From a list of six, I determined that four of my desires matched God’s but there were two desires that contradicted the other four. This is the disorderly thinking that wages against our minds. ‘For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every evil practice.’ James 3:16. ‘Don’t they come from your desires that wage within you?’ James 4:1.
Matthew 6:33 spells out the orderly way in which we are to think, act and live our lives. ‘Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.’ When all of the desires on our list match up to the ‘seek first Him and His’ test instead of the ‘serve me and mine’ test, we will be able to align with the mind of Christ and do extraordinary things for an extraordinary God!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
A Spot on the Wall
“Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus… He was faithful to the one who appointed him.” Hebrews 13:1-2. “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you as an example, that you should follow in his steps.” 1 Peter 2:21
The summer between my eighth and ninth grade I worked at a church camp called Bonclarken. I was employed to be a waitress in the hotel cafeteria which was something I had never experienced. One of the most valuable pieces of instruction I received was to fix my eyes on a certain spot when I was carrying drinks on a tray. I developed this aspect of my job through the practice of walking while keeping my eyes focused on a spot on the wall. Whenever I would look down at the tray the liquid in the glasses would shift and sway causing spillage. When I would regain my spot on the wall the liquid became still.
Setting our focus on God was the discipline in which Jesus walked on earth. Jesus lived his life constantly viewing His world with His eyes focused on His Father. His world was anything but peaceful, yet He maintained peace. His world was anything but loving, yet He demonstrated love. His world was anything but fair, yet He was just. His ability to be all of these things and more was because of His focus on and fellowship with God. He walked with God’s purpose and will and maintained a God-centered focus while on earth. In all things, He fixed His eyes on God.
We have been called to live a life like Jesus so that we may display His character, His work and His purposes. Christ didn’t suffer for us for the message to get lost. We each have a responsibility to carry the message to a lost and hurting world. When we share in the transforming of our minds and hearts we share in the work of the Kingdom, thereby becoming eternally significant. ‘The inner work that God does in your mind will find expression outwardly in the ways you live your life.’ Mind of Christ, p. 29.
‘Our destiny is to be like Christ. God intends it. He has commanded it, and the Scriptures call on us to participate in the process of becoming like Him.’ Mind of Christ, p. 26.
The summer between my eighth and ninth grade I worked at a church camp called Bonclarken. I was employed to be a waitress in the hotel cafeteria which was something I had never experienced. One of the most valuable pieces of instruction I received was to fix my eyes on a certain spot when I was carrying drinks on a tray. I developed this aspect of my job through the practice of walking while keeping my eyes focused on a spot on the wall. Whenever I would look down at the tray the liquid in the glasses would shift and sway causing spillage. When I would regain my spot on the wall the liquid became still.
Setting our focus on God was the discipline in which Jesus walked on earth. Jesus lived his life constantly viewing His world with His eyes focused on His Father. His world was anything but peaceful, yet He maintained peace. His world was anything but loving, yet He demonstrated love. His world was anything but fair, yet He was just. His ability to be all of these things and more was because of His focus on and fellowship with God. He walked with God’s purpose and will and maintained a God-centered focus while on earth. In all things, He fixed His eyes on God.
We have been called to live a life like Jesus so that we may display His character, His work and His purposes. Christ didn’t suffer for us for the message to get lost. We each have a responsibility to carry the message to a lost and hurting world. When we share in the transforming of our minds and hearts we share in the work of the Kingdom, thereby becoming eternally significant. ‘The inner work that God does in your mind will find expression outwardly in the ways you live your life.’ Mind of Christ, p. 29.
‘Our destiny is to be like Christ. God intends it. He has commanded it, and the Scriptures call on us to participate in the process of becoming like Him.’ Mind of Christ, p. 26.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Set, Renew, Prepare
“Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” Col. 3:2
“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2
“Therefore, prepare your minds for action;” 1 Peter 1:13
The Mind of Christ teaches that there are three stages in developing the mind of Christ within ourselves. They are the Beginning Stage, the Growing Stage and the Qualified Stage. Within each stage there is a basic principle which must lead us through this process.
The Beginning Stage requires the surrendering of our own will in order that we may set our mind on Gods will. When my children were teenagers I use to tell them that in order to avoid temptation in anything they must decide in advance certain decisions on everything they would face. The time to make decisions to act or not to act is not the time they are presented. We must set our decision in place before the temptation ever arises. The same is with our minds in Christ. We must decide to think about the things of Christ, respond to things in the manner Christ did and develop a focus on Christ so we can see the elements of this world through a spiritual lens.
The Growing Stage is the long process that we allow God to spiritually grow us up. This stage requires a great deal of work and wait. We must allow God to renew our minds through meditation on His word, prayer time with Him and life’s circumstances. As our minds are renewed towards His ways, His will and His purposes our faith grows and we begin to think more like Christ. God says that renewal is essential in allowing the ‘living waters to flow’ in our lives. ‘Failure to produce newness is a sign of death. The spiritual life, too, is to be characterized by a constant renewing. Lack of renewal or growth is a sign of death. Newness is the way of progress as you are moving from one glory to another.'Mind of Christ, p. 25 ‘We all…are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the LORD.’ 2 Co. 3:18
The Qualified Stage is the final stage in which He has prepared our minds. We are ready to act when God calls us to move. We have our minds set on Him, renewed and refreshed, and we are prepared to do the work of our Father. Jesus was always in a state of preparedness. He was constantly qualified to do the work of His Father. He demonstrated a mental readiness at all times and in all circumstances.
Soldiers spend a great deal of time using these principles – Set your mind, train and be prepared. We, too, must follow these three stages to get the work done for which we were created. If our will is set and our mind has grown through constant renewal we will live our lives in a constant state of readiness and will be qualified for any test God allows to enter into our lives. We must be set, renewed and prepared.
“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2
“Therefore, prepare your minds for action;” 1 Peter 1:13
The Mind of Christ teaches that there are three stages in developing the mind of Christ within ourselves. They are the Beginning Stage, the Growing Stage and the Qualified Stage. Within each stage there is a basic principle which must lead us through this process.
The Beginning Stage requires the surrendering of our own will in order that we may set our mind on Gods will. When my children were teenagers I use to tell them that in order to avoid temptation in anything they must decide in advance certain decisions on everything they would face. The time to make decisions to act or not to act is not the time they are presented. We must set our decision in place before the temptation ever arises. The same is with our minds in Christ. We must decide to think about the things of Christ, respond to things in the manner Christ did and develop a focus on Christ so we can see the elements of this world through a spiritual lens.
The Growing Stage is the long process that we allow God to spiritually grow us up. This stage requires a great deal of work and wait. We must allow God to renew our minds through meditation on His word, prayer time with Him and life’s circumstances. As our minds are renewed towards His ways, His will and His purposes our faith grows and we begin to think more like Christ. God says that renewal is essential in allowing the ‘living waters to flow’ in our lives. ‘Failure to produce newness is a sign of death. The spiritual life, too, is to be characterized by a constant renewing. Lack of renewal or growth is a sign of death. Newness is the way of progress as you are moving from one glory to another.'Mind of Christ, p. 25 ‘We all…are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the LORD.’ 2 Co. 3:18
The Qualified Stage is the final stage in which He has prepared our minds. We are ready to act when God calls us to move. We have our minds set on Him, renewed and refreshed, and we are prepared to do the work of our Father. Jesus was always in a state of preparedness. He was constantly qualified to do the work of His Father. He demonstrated a mental readiness at all times and in all circumstances.
Soldiers spend a great deal of time using these principles – Set your mind, train and be prepared. We, too, must follow these three stages to get the work done for which we were created. If our will is set and our mind has grown through constant renewal we will live our lives in a constant state of readiness and will be qualified for any test God allows to enter into our lives. We must be set, renewed and prepared.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
These Childish Things
“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became…I put childish things behind me.” 1 Co. 13:11. “…I do nothing on my own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught me.” John 8:28
When I was a teenager and even into my adulthood it seems that with whomever I surrounded myself I took on their attitudes and behavior – a very dangerous practice in the life of a Christian. Satan knows what lures and baits both heart and mind in each of us and masquerades in the attitudes and behaviors of people with whom we come in contact. We will reflect the attitudes and behavior of those whom we wish to emulate.
Christ knew all about this danger and the importance of being single-minded in His devotion to His Father and sensitive in His responsiveness which are two more characteristics in having the mind of Christ. When we are spiritually immature we act like children imitating the attitudes of the world. Through our spiritual maturity we put these worldly patterns of thinking and acting behind us. To have the mind of Christ we must be single-minded in our love, pursuit and devotion to God. ‘Single-mindedness is an act of the mind. The single-minded Christian pays attention to Christ, His commands, His Person and His ways. Your mind must be preoccupied with sincere and pure devotion to Christ. Single-mindedness is the discipline of attention. You can direct or control your attention with a focus on Christ and His kingdom.’ The Mind of Christ, p. 15.
Our responsiveness to Christ in our lives is another essential characteristic in obtaining the mind of Christ. When God sees our intent and devotion to Him, He will increase our spiritual knowledge of Him and His workings. ‘He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.’ Luke 24:45. We must posture ourselves to see where He is working, to hear what He is saying and to respond to His initiatives. Responsiveness to God is indispensable for progress in our spiritual lives if we are to operate with the mind of Christ. Through our daily meditation on His word and our approach of intimacy through prayer, we can develop the responsiveness and sensitivity required for His guidance and revelations. ‘God wants you to understand His word, but you cannot understand it if you do not spend time in it. Prayer also sensitizes your spirit.' The Mind of Christ, p. 17
Let us put behind us these childish things…
When I was a teenager and even into my adulthood it seems that with whomever I surrounded myself I took on their attitudes and behavior – a very dangerous practice in the life of a Christian. Satan knows what lures and baits both heart and mind in each of us and masquerades in the attitudes and behaviors of people with whom we come in contact. We will reflect the attitudes and behavior of those whom we wish to emulate.
Christ knew all about this danger and the importance of being single-minded in His devotion to His Father and sensitive in His responsiveness which are two more characteristics in having the mind of Christ. When we are spiritually immature we act like children imitating the attitudes of the world. Through our spiritual maturity we put these worldly patterns of thinking and acting behind us. To have the mind of Christ we must be single-minded in our love, pursuit and devotion to God. ‘Single-mindedness is an act of the mind. The single-minded Christian pays attention to Christ, His commands, His Person and His ways. Your mind must be preoccupied with sincere and pure devotion to Christ. Single-mindedness is the discipline of attention. You can direct or control your attention with a focus on Christ and His kingdom.’ The Mind of Christ, p. 15.
Our responsiveness to Christ in our lives is another essential characteristic in obtaining the mind of Christ. When God sees our intent and devotion to Him, He will increase our spiritual knowledge of Him and His workings. ‘He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.’ Luke 24:45. We must posture ourselves to see where He is working, to hear what He is saying and to respond to His initiatives. Responsiveness to God is indispensable for progress in our spiritual lives if we are to operate with the mind of Christ. Through our daily meditation on His word and our approach of intimacy through prayer, we can develop the responsiveness and sensitivity required for His guidance and revelations. ‘God wants you to understand His word, but you cannot understand it if you do not spend time in it. Prayer also sensitizes your spirit.' The Mind of Christ, p. 17
Let us put behind us these childish things…
Friday, June 3, 2011
A Beautiful Mind
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Jesus Christ.” Phil. 2:5
God exhorted His children through Paul to work to develop and exercise the mind of Christ that each child was given. The command is the same today for you and me. At creation God gave each of us the capacity to think like Him, move like Him, and respond like Him thereby enabling His movement through us. His mind in us must be exercised, massaged and molded to develop into the minds for which we were created – the mind of Christ.
I have started a wonderful Bible Study called The Mind of Christ, T.W. Hunt and Claude King. They list six characteristics of the Christlike mind with the first characteristic being ‘alive.’
Alive – ‘The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.” Rom. 8:6. I have seen this first hand through teaching Griefshare. The only way to receive peace in trials and suffering is to concentrate and set our focus on the spiritual instead of the earthly. Through training our minds and intentionally focusing on Christ we move our thought patterns and perceptions to think like Christ and adopt the attitudes of Christ. A Romans 8:6 life is when the intentional focus on the spiritual moves into our subconscious living and determines our thoughts and actions.
We are going to experience trials and heartaches no matter how we think or live. The difference will be in our focus and in our belief that God is a God of love and goodness. There are truths we must settle in our minds before we can have a mind like Christ. Some of these truths are the truths that Jesus displayed during His walk on earth. His walk consisted of a walk of God’s agenda and will. His mind was to only do the will of His Father, so when the flesh of Christ was tempted His mind took over. His walk was one of humility and servanthood. He came with a mind to serve God in whatever capacity God chose for Him. He came with a sacrificial mindset that God would save and redeem many through the loss of One life – He was a willing participant to lose life so all could receive life. These are a few ways that the mind of God was in working in the life of Jesus.
God exhorted His children through Paul to work to develop and exercise the mind of Christ that each child was given. The command is the same today for you and me. At creation God gave each of us the capacity to think like Him, move like Him, and respond like Him thereby enabling His movement through us. His mind in us must be exercised, massaged and molded to develop into the minds for which we were created – the mind of Christ.
I have started a wonderful Bible Study called The Mind of Christ, T.W. Hunt and Claude King. They list six characteristics of the Christlike mind with the first characteristic being ‘alive.’
Alive – ‘The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.” Rom. 8:6. I have seen this first hand through teaching Griefshare. The only way to receive peace in trials and suffering is to concentrate and set our focus on the spiritual instead of the earthly. Through training our minds and intentionally focusing on Christ we move our thought patterns and perceptions to think like Christ and adopt the attitudes of Christ. A Romans 8:6 life is when the intentional focus on the spiritual moves into our subconscious living and determines our thoughts and actions.
We are going to experience trials and heartaches no matter how we think or live. The difference will be in our focus and in our belief that God is a God of love and goodness. There are truths we must settle in our minds before we can have a mind like Christ. Some of these truths are the truths that Jesus displayed during His walk on earth. His walk consisted of a walk of God’s agenda and will. His mind was to only do the will of His Father, so when the flesh of Christ was tempted His mind took over. His walk was one of humility and servanthood. He came with a mind to serve God in whatever capacity God chose for Him. He came with a sacrificial mindset that God would save and redeem many through the loss of One life – He was a willing participant to lose life so all could receive life. These are a few ways that the mind of God was in working in the life of Jesus.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Here I Am
“Here I am – I have come to do your will, O God.” Hebrews 10:7
This sentence is short in words but liberating when put into practice. This was the sentence spoken by Jesus when He fellowshipped with His Father. No matter what arose Jesus embraced it as God’s will for 33 years – the entire length of His earthly existence. With God’s will being His measuring stick He lived a sacrificial life to bring freedom to all. When His faith was complete and God’s plan was accomplished Christ was given the rewards that go beyond this world – sitting at the right hand of God the Father!
God rewards completed faith based on certain principles. Christ had no ulterior motives in serving God – He faithfully saw His life on earth as a continual journey of a servant. God will never reward us as long as our motives are impure. ‘Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility…Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others.' Phil 2:3-4
God also determines the rewards He wishes to bestow which will always be in line with His will for our lives and will glorify Him. We must allow God to bless us through His design instead of our own. God created the universe so I believe He is quite capable of doing His own planning and rewarding. God gives rewards that will glorify Him.
Also, we must be content in the blessings of completed faith. My family had faith in God during our sister and dad’s journey through cancer. The completion of this walk did not result in their earthly healing but God brought eternal blessings through the completion of this journey. We cannot assume that every blessing will be pleasing to our earthly wishes. ‘I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.’ Phil 4:1. We should expect to get only what God wishes to give and be content with the results.
Our rewards will generally be given after our faith response. We must first act upon our belief in what God has told us before our faith will be rewarded. Once our faith has been activated and our response is in walking toward that end God will bless and give us His abundance of blessings. That is our confidence that we can embrace and expect! ‘Don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised.’ Heb. 10:35-36.
‘When the fire of testing tempers the steel of faith, God always draws near to strengthen our spirit.” By Faith, p. 131.
This sentence is short in words but liberating when put into practice. This was the sentence spoken by Jesus when He fellowshipped with His Father. No matter what arose Jesus embraced it as God’s will for 33 years – the entire length of His earthly existence. With God’s will being His measuring stick He lived a sacrificial life to bring freedom to all. When His faith was complete and God’s plan was accomplished Christ was given the rewards that go beyond this world – sitting at the right hand of God the Father!
God rewards completed faith based on certain principles. Christ had no ulterior motives in serving God – He faithfully saw His life on earth as a continual journey of a servant. God will never reward us as long as our motives are impure. ‘Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility…Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others.' Phil 2:3-4
God also determines the rewards He wishes to bestow which will always be in line with His will for our lives and will glorify Him. We must allow God to bless us through His design instead of our own. God created the universe so I believe He is quite capable of doing His own planning and rewarding. God gives rewards that will glorify Him.
Also, we must be content in the blessings of completed faith. My family had faith in God during our sister and dad’s journey through cancer. The completion of this walk did not result in their earthly healing but God brought eternal blessings through the completion of this journey. We cannot assume that every blessing will be pleasing to our earthly wishes. ‘I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.’ Phil 4:1. We should expect to get only what God wishes to give and be content with the results.
Our rewards will generally be given after our faith response. We must first act upon our belief in what God has told us before our faith will be rewarded. Once our faith has been activated and our response is in walking toward that end God will bless and give us His abundance of blessings. That is our confidence that we can embrace and expect! ‘Don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised.’ Heb. 10:35-36.
‘When the fire of testing tempers the steel of faith, God always draws near to strengthen our spirit.” By Faith, p. 131.
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