Renewing Your Mind
Weekly Overview:
Why should we spend time alone with God? Why is meeting with God in the secret place so important? Until we gain an understanding of the immense value and availability of encountering God, we will never consistently engage in this foundational, vital practice. As we discover God’s heart to meet with us in order that we might experience the depths of his love, I pray that your life would be marked by a new grace to consistently and powerfully encounter the living God.
Scripture: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8
Devotional:
Your mind is the battleground on which the war for your emotions, purpose, effectiveness, and fullness of life is won or lost. It's your mind that is attacked daily by the enemy. It's your mind that the world is trying to influence for its own benefit. And it's your mind that the Lord desires to renew daily in order for you to live in abundant relationship with him. So if the mind truly is a battleground, how do you come out the winner? How do you come out victorious over Satan and his schemes?
Scripture says clearly that to achieve victory over your mind it must be continually renewed by the power of God's word. Romans 12:2 states “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” God puts conforming to the world and being transformed by the renewal of your mind in opposition. There is no grey area. Your mind is either being won for the kingdom of God or lost to the world. You are either thinking pleasing thoughts to God or not. You are either experiencing the abundant life Jesus made available to you or not.
For a long time, the idea of renewing my mind felt exhausting. Honestly, reading the Bible was incredibly boring for me. But I discovered that the Bible is only as life-giving to me as I am willing to be transformed by it. Until we actually sit down, open our hearts, and allow ourselves to be transformed by God's word, we will never experience the life that comes from victory in our minds. The thoughts that plague you—the thoughts that rob you of freedom, peace, and joy—will never leave you until you allow your mind to be renewed by God's word.
To ignore the war being waged around us is to lose the war. Our enemy longs for us to become complacent against his attacks. He longs for us to believe sinful thoughts, wrongful attitudes and lies are just a part of life on earth. He knows he has no power against the ability of God’s word to transform us.
So, how do you renew your mind? Philippians 4:8 says “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Set your thoughts on the things of God. Begin every day by setting your mind on the wonderful character of the living God and your new identity in Christ. If you will allow God’s word to be the foundation of your thought life by spending your first moments meditating on Scripture, the battle for your mind will be won for the kingdom. The negative thoughts and insecurities you face daily will flee from you in the glorious light of God's truth. That's God's promise for you today and every day.
Take time today to meditate on Scripture and experience the transformative power of grace over your thoughts as you enter into guided prayer.
Guided Prayer:
1. Meditate on 2 Corinthians 5:17.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
Repeat it over and over again, even out loud. Put yourself in the Scripture. Declare over yourself, “I am in Christ and a new creation. The old, sinful me has passed away, and the new me in Christ has come.” Allow the truth of Scripture to impact the way you see yourself and your world.
2. In what way do your thoughts or life not line up with the truth of 2 Corinthians 5:17? In what ways do you see yourself as anything but a new creation? In what ways do you identify with your sin rather than the freedom afforded you by the blood of Jesus?
3. Journal what God shows you. Take these areas of your life and submit them to the truth of Scripture. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see yourself as he sees you. Allow your perspectives to be changed by the Lord in order to see yourself as he does.
God's word is truer than how you feel, and if you will align your life with the truth of Scripture it will begin to powerfully affect your emotions. Emotions are the result of the way we think. We feel loved because we believe we are loved. We feel joy because we believe there is cause for joy. In the same way, when we believe a lie from the enemy our emotions are powerfully impacted. When we believe we’ll never get victory over a sin, that no one loves us, or that we’re not good enough, our lives begin to bear the fruit of those lies. But there is power when we root ourselves in the word of God. Transcendent joy and peace come when we establish God’s word as our basis for truth. May your day be marked by a new freedom as the result of renewing your mind.
Extended Reading: Colossians 3:1-17
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