The mind is a powerful thing. It is what we think and what we feel. We are in control of our mind and are responsible for it. That’s what has gotten us in trouble. When we live by our own thinking, our own wisdom, our own desires we sin and get into trouble. But there’s hope! The good news is that God allows us to start over and reprogram our brains. We can clear out the worldly junk and renew ourselves in the wisdom and holiness of God.
The Bible often tells us about where our minds were and where they need to be. Paul said that before we become a Christian we are “hostile in mind, doing evil deeds” (Colossians 1:21). That’s not good. If we are a Christian then we have been reconciled to God and we have to make sure that our minds never go against God ever again. Paul tells us how we are to change from a worldly way of thinking to a holy way of thinking: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed BY THE RENEWAL OF YOUR MIND” (Romans 12:2). Paul also tells us that we are to “put off our old self, which belongs to our former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be RENEWED IN THE SPIRIT OF OUR MINDS, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24). We need to ask like David that God will create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us (Psalm 51:10). It is all about being renewed in knowledge after the image of our Creator (Colossians 3:10).
Jesus tells us that we are to love God “with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind” (Matthew 22:37). We are to replace our love for self with our love for God. We are to have a humble and loving mind just as Christ had (Philippians 2:5). We are to set our minds on God and Jesus; on things above (Colossians 3:2).
Out with the old, in with the new. We have to change our way of thinking and feeling. God tells us how to do that. We can’t think and act like we did when we were in sin. We have to take control of our minds and our hearts and live for God. Have you changed your way of thinking? Have I renewed mine in the holiness of God? The mind is a powerful thing. We’ll either use it for good or we’ll use it for evil. So, what are you thinking?
A Cord of Blue 