Turn us back to You,
O LORD, and we will be restored; renew our days as of old… Lamentations 5:21
For the last three
days we have discussed what not to take into the new year. Now let’s focus on some do’s for the start of
2014. A year of renewal in God is so
desperately needed. How can you and I
accomplish this in the coming year?
- Renewal
of our Minds
- Renewal
of our Strength
- Renewal of our Steadfastness
RENEWING = comes from the root, to restore. It speaks of renovation.
The old saying of, "garbage
in, garbage out" tells how our minds need renovating. The mind is incredible. We can store and retrieve information in our
minds that far exceeds the most advanced computer.
·
The mind
is a garden that could be cultivated to produce the harvest that we desire.
·
The mind
is a workshop where the important decisions of life and eternity are made.
·
The mind
is an armory where we forge weapons for our victory or our destruction.
·
The mind
is a battlefield where all the decisive battles of life are won or lost.
The Bible warns us in Proverbs 23:7, "for as he thinks in his heart, so is
he." The mind alone
is precious. But our minds become even more precious when we come to Christ. Our minds then become the threshold for
thinking and acting in the capacity as Christ did. Paul reminds us in 1
Corinthians 2:16b, "We have the mind of Christ."
The renovation of our minds does
not come easy. The enemy would rather us have a debased, unfruitful mind. The mind is a battlefield. The transformation and renewing of our minds
begins when we begin to take control of our thoughts.
For though we walk
in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our
warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting
down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of
God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ… 2 Corinthians
10:3-5
This is the sieve of renewing the
mind. If we capture every thought, and bring it to the feet of Christ, our
minds will become renewed as we become like-minded with Christ. If we will renew our minds in this fashion,
think what it will do for our speech! No
more gossiping, for gossiping is not of the mind of Christ! No more saying hurtful words, for hurtful
words are not of the mind of Christ!
Let this year be the year you
began to renew your minds in Christ Jesus.
Scripture to Claim:
…fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:2-5
…fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:2-5
