Recently I have observed many people including myself battle with the mind. It is such a strong place that can be of great help or incredible distraction.
The bible is clear, (Rom 8:7) "because the carnal mind is enmity (at war opposed to; against) God, for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can it be." (So why do we try to line it up in our mind?) We can all be good at controlling our finances, our career, maybe even other people, but chances are we struggle with controlling our own thought life. We might have expected our thoughts to be the easiest of all things to control, but there are times when taming the national debt seems easier than steering one's own mind to where it needs to be. I have experienced this over and over in my own life and seen it time and time again in well meaning Christian lives, who are searching to be free from debilitating mind sets. The Bible sets a very high standard by stating that we "take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Every thought!!! Man this seems to many and to all of us at times impossible. Yet the injunction is clear.
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (Philippians 4:8)
This verse is commonly applied to us in a negative way. It convicts us because our thoughts do not live up to this standard. We recognize that many of our thoughts are impure or unlovely or far from praiseworthy. Yet while conviction may be one purpose of this verse, we should not overlook the fact that it gives a positive command. It does not focus on what we shouldn't be thinking about; it tells us what we should think about. This is what can make a difference in our lives. The difference in applying this command positively instead of negatively hit home a few weeks ago when I was thinking about life. I decided to think differently. This was indeed a challenge to go beyond what had become my day to day thought life. To be honest, I found it difficult. I was not used to focusing on what is good; far more often, my critical spirit seizes upon what is not quite right. (Can't most of us be this way at times? So put that rock down!) While it took me a while to think of things that fit the characteristics described in Philippians, once I thought of them, my heart was full of life and gratitude.
I found that I started looking out for these things, striving to recognize good and make note of it in my mind. When I am pursuing thoughts that are pure, I simply have less time to spend thinking negative thoughts. It's a simple retraining process. Well OK, a long retraining process, but its more than worth it. The struggle to break an addiction is more effective when the addiction is replaced rather than simply resisted. If we only battle sinful thoughts by trying to shut them off, we will find that our minds abhor a vacuum even more than nature does. It is only when we replace the thoughts that do not honour God with thoughts that bring Him glory that we will have truly taken our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. It's more than not thinking bad, its replacing it with the power of life, JESUS.
If you struggle to find the motivation to discipline your thought life, consider that those whose thoughts are being changed and are living the fuller life. Lust, anxiety, fear, and judgmentalness may satisfy our cravings, and indeed make us feel better about us, but the end result is that they, like junk food, leave us feeling sluggish and spiritually dead. If instead, we think on the things that God recommends, we will find welling up in us a spring that is flowing with life. Its much easier to eat Maccas or KFC but let me recommend RMLTL - Renewed Minds Lead to Life!
Well those are my thoughts Pastor Rob
