Renew Your Mind

“Don’t become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think. Then you will always be able to determine what God really wants—what is good, pleasing and perfect.”
—Romans 12:2

Dear Warriors,

You have a life inside of you that is completely unstoppable. Nothing can stand in your way - unless you choose to be stopped. It is a matter of choosing to be unstoppable (realizing that Christ is the source of your strength), or choosing to give into despair and giving up all hope. For this purpose, God instructs us to renew our minds each day.

What does it mean to renew your mind? It means you must go to Him daily and let Him transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Spend time in the Word. Let Him influence your thoughts for the better, push out negativity, and remove thoughts that would counter what He wants to do in your life. When you renew your mind, you are getting rid of any festering bitterness that is eating you up from the inside out. You say no to anger, no to grudges and unforgiveness. You choose to forgive. You choose love. You choose to make God your focus, and to see from His point of view, to think like Christ.

The problem with our minds is that we seem to focus on everything but God. We begin our day thinking about all we have to do, and how we would rather be back asleep. We think about work stress, about what we should wear, about all the things we haven’t accomplished yet, about whether or not we feel pretty, or whether someone approves of us; we worry about some snarky comment someone made—and we let it all sit in the front of our minds. We push God out entirely by letting our thoughts rage uncontrollably, and not focusing on the One who could calm our stormy thoughts: God.

We are told in 1 Corinthians 2:16 that we have the mind of Christ. Some think that saying “I have the mind of Christ” is arrogant, foolish or impossible, but the reality is: it is right there in the Bible, and it is a gift from our heavenly Father to us. In the verses leading up to verse 2:16, we see some hints as to the mind of Christ:

• We do not speak with the wisdom of the world, but declare God’s wisdom. This was once hidden, but now is revealed (1 Cor. 2:5-7)
•  The mind of Christ is given by the Holy Spirit to those who love and have faith in God (verses 10- 13)
• It cannot be understood by those who do not have the Spirit of God (verse 14)
•  We are given discernment by the Spirit of God (verse 15)

Our minds are transformed and renewed when we practice the Fruits of the Spirit. As followers of Christ, there is no room for bitterness, sarcasm, cynicism, negativity, anger or spite in our minds. We are told in Galatians 5:22-23, that the Fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. So if your thoughts are hateful, depressed, agitated, impatient, bitter, cruel, unfaithful, callous, and out of control, you are not living by the Fruit of the Spirit. In fact, your mind is the exact opposite of the mind of Christ, and you need to renew your mind.

Just like doctors and lawyers “practice”, you need practice the fruits of the Spirit. Practice them at every opportunity. Practice when you most want to react negatively in a bad situation. Practice when it is easy and when it is difficult. When you do, they will transform the way you think, the way you respond to people, and the way you act.

Philippians 2 also delves into what it means to be like Christ. We can become like Christ by being like-minded, loving one another, and by being one in spirit and in mind; by doing nothing out of selfish ambition; by humbly thinking of others as more important than ourselves; by being concerned for others, and not just looking out for ourselves.

Stay vigilant, my warriors,

Yours,
Warrior Beloved 

Partial excerpt from Mere Humanity, Becoming A Mature Christian In An Immature World
©Michèle Aimée, 2015