RENEW
YOUR MIND
BREAD
1 Therefore,
I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to
the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good,
pleasing and perfect will. Romans
12:1-2 (NIV)
20 You,
however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21 Surely you heard of him and
were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard
to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted
by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self,
created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:20-24 (NIV)
5 Put to
death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality,
impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of
God is coming. 7 You
used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must rid
yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and
filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off
your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed
in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:5-10 (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. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NIV)
17 Now
the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled
faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness
with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (NIV)
8 Finally,
brothers, 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. 9 Whatever
you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into
practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8-9 (NIV)
1 Since,
then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where
Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things
above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ
in God. 4 When
Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Colossians 3:1-4 (NIV)
2 Test
me, O Lord, and try me, examine my
heart and my mind; 3 for
your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth. Psalms 26:2-3 (NIV)
3 You
will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in
you. Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)
35 One of
them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the
greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This
is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And
the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All
the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:35-40 (NIV)
BUTTER
“Let us never
forget that the message of the Bible is addressed primarily to the mind, to the
understanding.” Martyn
Lloyd Jones
“Sanctification is
the mind coming more and more under the Holy Spirit’s control.” David Jackman
“Belief is truth
held in the mind; faith is fire in the heart.” John
Henry Newman
“Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results; bad
thoughts and actions can never produce good results. This is but saying that
nothing can come from corn but corn, nothing from nettles but nettles. Men
understand this law in the natural world and work with it; but few understand
it in the mental and moral world though its operation there is just as simple
and undeviating. A person's mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently
cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it
must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, than an
abundance of useless seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce
their kind.” James Allen
“A fixed, constant attention
to the promises, and a firm belief in them, would prevent solicitude and
anxiety about the concerns of this life. It would keep the mind quiet and
composed in every change, and support and keep up our sinking spirits under the
several troubles of life….Christians deprive themselves of their most solid
comforts by their unbelief and forgetfulness of God’s promises. For there is no extremity so great but there
are promises suitable to it, and abundantly sufficient for our relief in
it.” Samuel Clarke
“Give
me all needed strength of body, wisdom of mind, grace of soul to do this Thy so
great work.” Hudson Taylor
“In
our walk with God we are told explicitly by Christ Himself that it would be His
Spirit who would be sent to guide us and to lead us into all truth (John
16:13). This same gracious Spirit takes
the truth of God, the Word of God, and makes it plain to our hearts and minds
and spiritual understanding. It is He
who gently, tenderly, but persistently says to us, ‘This is the way – walk in
it.’ And as we comply and cooperate with
His gentle promptings a sense of safety, comfort and well-being envelops us.” Phillip
Keller
“Lord, guide me in this Christian
race, and keep my mind intent on thee; rejoicing when I see thy face, and
trusting when I cannot see.” K. H. Bogatzky
“All love…casts
the mind into the mold of the thing beloved.” John
Owen
“Can the elder son in me come home? Can I
be found as the younger son was found? How can I return when I am lost in
resentment, when I am caught in jealousy, when I am imprisoned in obedience and
duty lived out as slavery? It is clear that alone, by myself, I cannot find
myself. More daunting than healing myself as the younger son, is healing myself
as the elder son. Confronted here with the impossibility of self redemption, I
now understand Jesus’ words to Nicodemus: ‘Do not be surprised when I say; ‘You
must be born from above.’’ Indeed, something has to happen that I myself cannot
cause to happen. I cannot be reborn from below; that is, with my own strength,
with my own mind with my own psychological insights…I can only be healed from
above, from where God reaches down. What is impossible for me is possible for
God. ‘With God, everything is possible’.”
Henri Nouwen
“As we think so we do. The action always begins in the mind. Therefore, it matters greatly what we continually dwell on and we are not to take our thoughts lightly rather captive always making them obedient to Christ. As believers we are to set our minds on things above rather than the baser things of life. This must be intentional as the world is loud. Play your thoughts out. Where do they lead? Will you like the results? You have one life to live. Don’t waste it.” BHY
“We
shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our
feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the
soul. If we would at once overcome Satan
and have peace with God, it must be by ‘looking unto Jesus’. Keep thine eye simply on Him; let His death,
His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession, be fresh upon thy
mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to Him; when thou liest down at
night look to Him. Oh! Let not thy hopes or fears come between thee
and Jesus; follow
hard after Him, and He will never fail thee.”
C. H. Spurgeon
HEART
SAVOR
- · It matters greatly what I dwell on.
- · My actions reflect my thoughts.
- · As a believer I am called to live higher – go further still – seeking to rid myself of the fleshly baser things of life. This is the high call of every Christian. Those who claim to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.
