Part 14 (2/2)
The principle of G.o.d's Word is simple: Right action follows right thinking. None of us ever walks in victory unless we understand and put this principle into practice. We won't change our behavior until we change our way of thinking.
Many people struggle over trying to do the right thing. One woman told me that she had been a real gossip-not that her words were always evil, but she just liked to talk. It was as if she felt compelled to be the first person to know anything and then to pa.s.s it on as quickly as possible. She struggled with holding back or saying less, and it didn't work.
My advice to her was, ”Until you change your way of thinking, you won't be free.” Then I said I would be glad to pray for her, but added, ”You must be accountable.”
”I am-and I will be-” she interrupted.
”No, you haven't heard me. You want deliverance from all the gossip, but you don't want to make any changes in your thinking. It just doesn't work that way. You need deliverance in your mind; then your words and actions will change.”
She resisted my words, but she did ask me to pray for her, which I did. When I finished, she began to cry. ”As you prayed, I understood. G.o.d showed me how insignificant and unimportant I feel. When I'm the first to pa.s.s on information, it makes me feel good-at least for a while-and important.”
She had been asking us to pray for her to change her behavior, but she still wanted to feel good about what she did. She had to s.h.i.+ft her thinking and learn to accept that she was worthwhile and loved by G.o.d just for being who she was. Once she learned to change her way of thinking-and she did over a course of weeks-she no longer had a problem with her tongue.
It's impossible to change wrong behavior to right behavior without an att.i.tude adjustment, which means that first we change the way we think.
I like the way Paul taught in Ephesians 4. He contrasted the old nature with the renewed mind. He admonished his readers: ”Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through l.u.s.ts and desires that spring from delusion; And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual att.i.tude], and put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in G.o.d's image, [G.o.dlike] in true righteousness and holiness (4:22-24).
Another translation puts it this way: ”Let the Spirit change your way of thinking, and make you into a new person. You were created to be like G.o.d, and so you must please him and be truly holy” (4:23-24 CEV).
There it is: Let the Holy Spirit change your way of thinking. That's the only way you can make permanent changes in your life.
Holy Spirit, thank You for Your ability to help me change my thinking. Help me strip myself of the old ways of thinking so that You can work in me to make me more like Jesus Christ. It's in His name that I pray. Amen.
85.
The Mind of Christ For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.
-1 CORINTHIANS 2:16 This verse overwhelms many people. If these were not the words of the Bible, they wouldn't believe it. As it is, most people shake their heads and ask, ”How can this be?”
Paul was not saying we're perfect or that we'll never fail. He was telling us, as believers in Jesus, the Son of G.o.d, we are given the mind of Christ. That is, we can think spiritual thoughts because Christ is alive within us. We no longer think the way we once did. We begin to think as He did.
Another way to look at this is to point to the promise G.o.d spoke through Ezekiel: ”A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall heed My ordinances and do them. And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you shall be My people, and I will be your G.o.d” (Ezekiel 36:26-28).
G.o.d gave that promise through the prophet when the Jews were in exile in Babylon. He wanted to show them that their present situation was not the end. They had sinned and failed Him in every conceivable way, but He would not abandon them. Instead, He would change them. He would give them a new spirit-His Holy Spirit.
When we have the Holy Spirit living and active within us, the mind of Christ is in action. The mind of Christ is given to us to direct us in the right way. If we have His mind, we will think positive thoughts. We will think about how blessed we are-how good G.o.d has been to us. I realize I've already written about the importance of being positive, but I'm not sure that enough can ever be said about the power of being positive.
Jesus was positive, in spite of being lied about, lonely, misunderstood, and a mult.i.tude of other negative things. He was deserted by His disciples when He needed them most, yet He remained positive-always able to offer an uplifting, encouraging word. Just being in His presence would suggest that all fear, negative thoughts, and discouraging hopelessness would evaporate into thin air.
The mind of Christ in us is positive. So when we fall for the opportunity to be negative about something, we should instantly discern that we are not operating with the mind of Christ. G.o.d wants us to be lifted up. It's the enemy of our soul who wants us pressed down-depressed. Except for a medical reason, I do not think it is possible to be depressed without being negative. We have many opportunities to think negative thoughts, but that is not the mind of Christ at work in us. We don't have to accept those thoughts. They are not ours!
Every situation that presents itself gives us an opportunity to make a choice. It's obvious, of course, that we can choose the good or the bad.
What we often forget is that we choose the bad or the wrong without conscious thought. We follow old patterns-or the old mind-and not the mind of Christ. As G.o.d promised the Jews through Ezekiel's prophecy, He will give us a new heart and a new spirit, but we still have the power to choose which mind we want to follow.
Lord, I truly want to be aware of the mind of Christ in my life, and I want to be aware of it every minute of my waking day. Help me to open myself only to Your will and to push away the old mindsets, the thinking that will lead me down the wrong path. I ask this through Jesus Christ. Amen.
86.
Go with G.o.d's Flow Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever]. [That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to G.o.d, for it does not submit itself to G.o.d's Law; indeed it cannot. So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appet.i.tes and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy G.o.d, or be acceptable to Him. But you are not living the life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the [Holy] Spirit of G.o.d [really] dwells wihin you [directs and controls you].
-ROMANS 8:6-9A G.o.d's Word makes it clear. If you follow the carnal mind-the natural, unregenerated mind-it leads to death. But if you are spiritually minded, which means the Spirit of G.o.d lives in you and you heed what He tells you to do, you are alive and you walk with G.o.d.
The choice is yours. You can travel down the river of least resistance and let the undertow pull you wherever it wants. Or you can choose to go with G.o.d's flow. We call that walking in the Spirit, or living the mind of Christ.
I have several suggestions for teaching you how to flow in the mind of Christ. The first is to develop positive thoughts. For many people, that doesn't happen naturally. It's easy for your mind to sink to the lowest level and think the worst of people. Instead, you can train yourself to think positively. ”Do two walk together except they make an appointment and have agreed?” asks Amos 3:3. If you walk with Christ, you can think Christ-like thoughts. You can see the good in others and lift them up.
Think of Jesus, who was betrayed by His disciple Judas, was lied about by the priests, and was denied by Peter-yet He never turned negative or bitter. He was always the One who said to people, ”Go on your way and from now on sin no more” (John 8:11). In the midst of those voices that cried out, ”Crucify him,” He prayed, ”Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34a).
Because the mind of Christ is positive, whenever your thoughts turn negative, you can be sure you are not going with G.o.d's flow. You're not operating by G.o.d's power or His Spirit.
Think of it this way: G.o.d wants to lift you up and help you focus upward toward the heavens; the devil wants to press you down so you'll focus downward toward the earth.
A second thing you can do is to remind yourself that you are loved. Jesus loved you so much that He died for you-for you. ”Beloved, let us love one another, for love is (springs) from G.o.d; and he who loves [his fellowmen] is begotten (born) of G.o.d and is coming [progressively] to know and understand G.o.d [to perceive and recognize and get a better and clearer knowledge of Him]. . . . In this is love: not that we loved G.o.d, but that He loved us” (1 John 4:7, 10).
Sometimes you may need to say to yourself, I am loved. G.o.d loves me because He created me. There is an old saying: ”G.o.d never created any junk,” and that means that everything He created was good-including you. If you focus your thoughts on G.o.d's love, you will never go astray.
When I first began Joyce Meyer Ministries, G.o.d told me to teach the people that He loves them. Too often, we miss this obvious message in the Bible. We look at our imperfections and ask, ”How could G.o.d possibly love me?” G.o.d looks at each of us through eyes of pure love and asks, ”How could I not love you? You are mine.”
No matter how often you have failed or how weak you are, G.o.d holds out to you the wonderful a.s.surance in the words of Paul: ”For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor princ.i.p.alities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of G.o.d which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).
That's the message: Nothing can separate you from G.o.d's love. The more you meditate on G.o.d's love for you, the more easily you will flow in His love.
G.o.d, I want to walk as close to You as I possibly can. Help me keep my mind on healthy, positive things. Remind me that I am loved-totally and completely loved-by You, and help me to go with Your flow. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
87.
Fear Not!
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