A renewed mind in Christ
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
As a born again believer, one thing I was made to understand was the power of speech. Words have a powerful impact on our lives because we are what we say. But words don’t just fall out of our mouths as we begin to speak. All of our words start out as thoughts.
I used to have a very warped way of thinking, which was always exposed in my speech. My shepherd noticed this and asked me to become very conscious of whatever thoughts I had for a number of days, and if possible, to note them down. When I finished this task, I realized some things about myself. I always condemned myself for the smallest mistakes, I never felt good enough to complete any tasks I was given, I was afraid God wasn’t really with me and I was pretty sure I wasn’t anything special or “chosen”. These thoughts were the channels through which my words flowed. Due to that, I could never say anything good about myself or things that were happening around me.
Now the key to reforming all these thoughts was to take my eyes off myself for a minute and look at God. I had to ask God what He thought of me, what He had said about me, and what he had envisioned me to be. I had to read my Bible. So I did.
And every time He told me that I was forgiven, and there was no condemnation for me because I was in Christ, I wrote it down. When He said He had given me the spirit of power and of a sound mind, I wrote it down. When He said He would never ever leave or abandon me, I wrote it down. When He said I was a chosen generation, His own purchased person, I wrote it down. Then I meditated on these things all the time, till I began to correct myself if I ever thought anything contrary to them.
So I give you the same task today, if your thoughts are not quite aligned with the words of God, write down those thoughts and find out exactly what the Bible says about them. Then meditate on them until, slowly, your mind is renewed.
Finally, God knew we would need a thought filter, He, therefore, gave us Philippians 4:8.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
This is the standard for every thought that runs through your head every day and I pray that your mind will always be filled with them.
