“Letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”
Romans 8:6 (NLT) Have you noticed your mind doesn’t always do what you tell it to do? Sometimes your mind has a mind of its own. Sometimes your thoughts go off in directions that you don’t intend. When you need to pray, your thoughts stray. When you want to ponder God’s Word, your thoughts want to wander. The Bible says, when this happens, you need to take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5). What does that mean? The Greek word used in that verse literally means you take thoughts prisoner. You conquer them. You bring them under control. That’s only possible when you use the two weapons every believer has available to them: the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. First, you need to recognize the power of God’s Spirit inside you. Without him, you are defenseless. Romans 8:6 says, “Letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace” (NLT). You need Jesus in your life because, without the Holy Spirit, your sinful nature controls your mind and will always lead you in the wrong direction. But when the Spirit controls you, you have the power you need to take every thought captive. Second, you need the Word of God. Jesus says, “If you obey my teaching, you are really my disciples; you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32 GNT). People like to quote the second part of that passage. In fact, it’s posted on university buildings all over the world. But very few people quote the first part, where it says you have to learn and obey God’s Word. People want the freedom without God’s truth. In reality, there is no freedom without truth. And there is no truth without God’s Word. God has given you the direction you need for life, and you can trust every word the Bible says. The more you get to know God’s Word and fill your mind with his truth, the easier it will be to direct your thoughts where you want them to go.
0 Comments
“Fools will believe anything, but the wise think about what they do.”
Proverbs 14:15 (NCV) Every behavior is based on a belief. If you act scared, it’s because you believe scary thoughts at that moment. If you act resentful, it’s because you believe you’ve been devalued, and so you’re going to defend yourself. If you’re acting prideful, it may be because you believe you’re not good enough, so you’re trying to compensate by being boastful. If there is a behavior in your life you don’t like, go to the source and change the thought behind it. God says in Haggai 1:5, “Carefully consider your ways!” (GW). Ask yourself: Why do I act that way with this person? Why do I act this way at work or school? Why do I act this way with certain neighbors? What thought triggered that response? What assumption is behind that action? What belief is beneath that behavior? Have you ever been in this kind of conflict with your spouse or significant other: It starts off simple enough—but before you know it, something in the argument triggers your emotions, and you go from zero to 100 in emotional intensity in two seconds? Then you’re out of control, upset, nervous, or fearful. You may start sweating, or your voice may rise. Maybe tears start coming down your cheeks. Something in that moment tapped into an unspoken belief. You may believe the other person is going to leave you. You may believe you haven’t been heard. You may believe your idea isn’t being given validation and you’re not being treated with respect. You believe something that suddenly triggered an emotional response. If you’re ever in a situation like that, you need to ask this question: What am I believing right now? You need to examine the beliefs beneath your behavior. The Bible says in Proverbs 14:15, “Fools will believe anything, but the wise think about what they do” (NCV). To grow in any area of life, examine what’s going on in your mind. Start thinking about what you’re thinking about so your thoughts can lead to healthy, purposeful action. “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:32 (NIV) Have you ever wondered why you do what you don’t want to do? Ever wondered why it’s so hard to do the things that you know are the right things to do? Our sinful nature causes us to often make the wrong choice. You can probably relate to the apostle Paul when he says, “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate . . . So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t” (Romans 7:15, 17-18 NLT). Even after you become a follower of Jesus, there’s this tension inside of you. You have your good nature that God gave you, but you also have your old sinful nature that is pulling at you. But there is a way out! Jesus promised in John 8:32, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (NIV). The secret to personal change is not willpower or something you do or say. It’s not a pill, resolution, or vow you make. The secret to personal change is something you know. You know the truth. When you change the way you think, it changes the way you feel. And when you change the way you feel, it changes the way you act. Behind every self-defeating act is a lie you believe. It may be a lie about yourself, your past or future, God, or others. Why do you do something that you know is bad for you? Because you think there’s some kind of payoff. That’s the lie! You can only change and fulfill God’s purpose for your life if you start with God’s truth. If you want to change the way you live, you need to start in your mind. You need to know and believe God’s truth. When you know the truth, the truth will set you free. “Think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected” (Philippians 4:8 NCV).
The battle with stress in your life begins between your ears. It’s in your thought life. What you fill your mind with determines the level of stress in your life. The Bible says to “think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected” (Philippians 4:8 NCV). To lower your stress, change what you think about. In this verse, the Bible gives us eight tests for deciding if we should allow something in our mind. Ask yourself, “Is it good? Is it worthy of praise? Is it true? Is it honorable? Is it right? Is it pure? Is it beautiful? Is it respected?” When you think about things that are good, worthy of praise, true, honorable, right, pure, beautiful, and respected, you’re really picturing God. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” (NLT). What you think about determines how stressed and worried you will be. If you fix your thoughts on God, he will keep you in perfect peace. “Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception” (Ephesians 4:22 NLT).
Change requires making choices. It’s not enough to dream of changing. It’s not enough to desire change. In order for you to change, you will need to make a decision. You must choose to change. Change is intentional: Are you going to be any different in six months? Are you going to be better a year from now? Are you going to be healthier, stronger, and more mature? Are you going to be happier? Are you going to be less in debt? Are you going to be more like God wants you to be? Here's the answer right now: It will only happen if you choose to change, because it isn’t going to happen accidentally. You need to think ahead to where you need to be at the end of this year and where you need to be in three years, six years, and a decade from now. God wants you to be better in 10 years than you are today, but you won’t be unless you choose to be. Change requires a choice. A lot of times we think we’re waiting on God to change us. No, you are not waiting on God. God is waiting on you! He’s waiting on you to say, “Yes, Lord, I’m willing to make these changes.” We have to make intentional choices in order to grow. There is no growth without change, there is no change without loss, and there is no loss without pain. If you are going to grow, you will have to change, and change means you let go of some old things and grab hold of some new things. It’s like swinging on a trapeze: The trapeze artist swings out on one bar, and then he has to reach out and grab the other bar. At some point, he’s got to let go of one to grab the other, or he’s not going to make it to the other side. If he thinks he can hold on to both, what happens? He gets stuck in the middle, and he’s going down. Perhaps you are stuck in the middle, and you’re going down because you haven’t let go of the old patterns, the old habits, and the old ways of thinking. You have to let go of your old ways. The Bible says, “Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life” (Ephesians 4:22 NLT). In other words, let it go. Those old habits, those old hurts, those old patterns, those old sins in your life—let them go. The Bible says to throw them off and trust that God is working in you “to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13 NIV). “The mountains and hills may crumble, but my love for you will never end” (Isaiah 54:10 GNT).
If you don’t feel loved by God, you’re certainly not going to offer love to anybody else. It is impossible to be loving unless you understand and remember the way God loves you. You need to remind yourself every day what God thinks about you—not what the world thinks or what you think about yourself. Remembering God’s love is what removes your fears. Here are four things God thinks about you that will help you remember why and how to love. You’re completely accepted. We spend much of our lives trying to earn acceptance from our parents, peers, those we respect, those we envy, and even total strangers. But you need to realize God has already settled this issue of acceptance: “Jesus . . . made us acceptable to God” (Titus 3:7 CEV). What Jesus did on the cross made you completely acceptable to God—no matter what you’ve done or will do. You’re unconditionally loved. God doesn’t say, “I love you if . . .” or “ I love you because . . .” He says, “I love you—period!” You can’t make God stop loving you, because his love is not based on what you do but on who he is. Isaiah 54:10 says, “The mountains and hills may crumble, but my love for you will never end” (GNT). You’re totally forgiven. Because Jesus died on the cross and gave his life as a payment for your sins, you are totally forgiven when you accept the gift of forgiveness from God. Romans 8:1 says, “There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (NLT). God doesn’t rehearse your sins. He releases them. You’re considered extremely valuable. There are two things that create value: who the owner is and what somebody’s willing to pay for it. You are a child of God and “have been bought and paid for by Christ” (1 Corinthians 7:23 TLB). Jesus Christ paid for you with his life. That’s how valuable you are. When you remember that you are accepted, loved, forgiven, and valuable to the Creator of the universe, you will be better equipped to show that love to others and build deeper relationships. “Think about Jesus’ example. He held on while wicked people were doing evil things to him. So do not get tired and stop trying” (Hebrews 12:3 NCV).
“I have made up my mind to obey your laws forever, no matter what” (Psalm 119:112 CEV).
The reason why most people are ineffective in life is that they’ve never learned how to fight the battle of the mind. If you want to learn to manage your mind, you have to be delivered from destructive thoughts. That isn’t easy, because there are three enemies that keep you from fulfilling all your good intentions of changing your life. The first enemy is your old nature. Paul says in Romans 7:23, “There is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me” (NLT). Do you ever find yourself doing things that you don’t really want to do? That’s the battle in your brain between your old, sinful nature and your good intentions. The second enemy is Satan. Satan cannot force you to do anything, but he can make suggestions, and those suggestions are incredibly powerful. He is constantly planting negative thoughts in your mind. He’ll use other people or he’ll use the TV or he’ll just throw a thought in your mind. The third enemy is the world’s value system. Does anything in our society encourage self-discipline? Not much. Advertisements tell us, “You deserve a break today. Have it your way. We do it all for you.” The Bible says in 1 John 2:16, “For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world” (NIV). With enemies like that, no wonder we struggle with discouragement and despair and failure! So how do you fight this battle? Look at what 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says: “Though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 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” (NIV). You have a choice. Your mind has to listen to you. God didn’t give you just a mind. He gave you a will! The best time to win the battle with temptation is before it begins. “I have made up my mind to obey your laws forever, no matter what” (Psalm 119:112 CEV). “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts” (Proverbs 4:23 GNT).
God is far more interested in changing your mind than changing your circumstances. We want God to take away all of the problems, pain, sorrow, suffering, sickness, and sadness. But God wants to work on you first, because transformation won’t happen in your life until you renew your mind, until your thoughts begin to change. Why is it so important that you learn how to manage your mind? Here are three reasons. 1. Manage your mind because your thoughts control your life. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts” (GNT). Your thoughts have tremendous ability to shape your life for good or for bad. For example, maybe you accept a thought someone told you when you were growing up: “You’re worthless. You don’t matter.” If you accepted that thought, even though it was wrong, it has shaped your life. You must choose what thoughts you will let affect you for good or for bad. 2. Manage your mind because the mind is the battleground for sin. All temptation happens in the mind. Paul says in Romans 7:22-23, “I love to do God’s will so far as my new nature is concerned; but there is something else deep within me, in my lower nature, that is at war with my mind and wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. In my mind I want to be God’s willing servant, but instead I find myself still enslaved to sin” (TLB). One reason you get mentally fatigued is because there’s a battle in your brain 24 hours a day. It’s debilitating because it’s intense, and it’s intense because your mind is your greatest asset. Satan wants your greatest asset! 3. Manage your mind because it’s the key to peace and happiness. An unmanaged mind leads to tension. A managed mind leads to tranquility. An unmanaged mind leads to conflict. A managed mind leads to confidence. When you don’t try to control your mind and the way you direct your thoughts, you will experience an enormous amount of stress in your life. But a managed mind leads to strength and security and serenity. “Letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace” (Romans 8:6 NLT). “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8 NIV).
You can’t reduce stress in your life unless you change how you think. Our stress doesn’t come from the outside but from the inside. Your mind is a special gift from God. It’s capable of storing more than 100 trillion thoughts. It can handle enormous amounts of information. God has given you the freedom to choose what you think about, from among all of that information. The Bible says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8 NIV). Paul reminds us that we can choose what we think about, and he encourages us to think about the right things. What we put into our minds impacts how we live. It’s really no wonder we’re stressed when we consider what most of us think about on a regular basis. Many people, even Christians, allow anything and everything into their minds. Reading depressing books and watching depressing movies will lead to only one outcome. What you think affects the way you feel; the way you feel affects the way you act. Guard your mind. Keep your mind on the right things. Philippians 4:8 tells us to fix our minds on these good things. Paul means that we need to make a deliberate choice. Change the channel on our minds. Only allow in things that fit into the characteristics described in that verse. What happens when you do that? You get what God promises in the prior verse: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7 NIV). Doesn’t that sound like it’s worth it? |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
All
Archives
July 2024
|