Friday, February 24, 2023
Turn us back to You, O LORD, and we will be restored; renew our days as of old… Lamentations 5:21
Renewal
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.
…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
