Tuesday: The Mind’s Safeguard
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7, NIV).
Image © Janet Hyun from GoodSalt.com
This is a wonderful promise but one that we have to actively seek in order to make it real in our lives.
There are many ways in which we can let down our guard. We can let in the cesspool of this world’s entertainment. Our minds might be overcome by anger, bitterness, and resentment. They may be submerged in an ocean of intoxicating pleasure or addictive habits. The good news is that Jesus has promised to safeguard our minds-if we let Him.
Read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. When Paul says that the “weapons of our warfare are not carnal” (NKJV) but spiritual, what does he mean? What are carnal weapons? What are spiritual weapons? The apostle also talks about “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5, NKJV). What does he mean, and how can it be accomplished?
Billy Graham is quoted as saying, “You cannot stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them from nesting in your hair.” In other words, thoughts will rush into our minds. There are varying sights, sounds, and smells that stimulate certain thoughts. Different experiences evoke different emotions. We cannot always choose the thoughts which race through our minds. We can choose whether we will dwell upon them and allow them to dominate our thinking. To bring each thought into obedience to Christ is to surrender our minds to Jesus. Carnal thoughts are not banished by merely wishing them away. They are driven out as the mind is filled with something else. The mind focused on the positive principles of God’s Word is the mind “safeguarded” and “kept” by God’s grace from the wiles of the evil one.
When Paul says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5, NKJV), what specifically does he mean? How is it possible for us to have the mind of Christ? Where do the words let or allow in the text place responsibility for change?
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This is a good spiritual maintenance tune up to follow. Anything that will take time and our resources away from fulfilling God's purpose, can be abolished by just this simple spiritual exercise.
Thanks for the "thought"
We need to fill our hearts with God's word so that we may nt sin agnst him (Psalms 119 vs 11).In d spiritual fight we need to fight wearing the full armor of God (Eph 6vs10-18), let's fight on our knees in humility n confession. God does nt only give us power n authority bt he infact is at war together with us!
To safeguard our minds from the the intoxicating influences of the enemy (Satan). We must put on the whole armor of God in Ephesians 6:10 -18 and stay alert 24/7. Because we are in a spiritual warfare. Satan has us in a hostile situation. We need to use God's mighty weapons forour warfare: prayer, faith, hope, love, and most of all God's word as Jesus did when He was tempted by the devil in Matthew 4:4.... "It is written". Our spiritual weapons can break break down every evry stronghold that Satan uses against us and they will help us to safeguard our minds.
Today's lesson is very important, the Christian needs to use his will power in choosing to fill his mind with the word of God, to be safeguarded. Our only safety is drawing close to God and putting on God's spiritual armor, but our wills need to choose to let the mind of Jesus to be placed in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. When we read the Bible and pray without ceasing we can be sure that the angels of God and his holy spirit will be near. We as Christians need to make the decision to let the mind of Jesus be in us. We can ask the Holy Spirit to give us the power to be like more like Jesus, to recreate us into His image and to give us the mind of Jesus. It is the Holy Spirit that gives us Jesus' mind, when we are united with God the Holy Spirit gives us power for a true revival and reformation in our lives.
This lesson really inspired me because we so often forget that we need our safeguard,like 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NKJV) says. I think that so many of us in this world think that we don't need God's safeguard for our lives and look what happens! Some of them go on shooting rampage because they bought some violent video games and were OBSESSED with them because they didn't ask God for protection of their minds. So we should try not to follow in thier footsteps and ask God for that safeguard that he gave to so many other people. God bless you, and I hope you enjoy this comment and get something from it! Your sister in Christ,Shelomi! 🙂
I totally agree with aforementioned comments. My mind is not always safe when I begins day's hours without scripture reading. This lesson really inspired me to frame my mind well first with scripture as all others will fall in that well fenced territory.
Blessings,
Israel
The Mind can be the Devils workshop or the calm sea where God spends time with his creation.Whats my mind like, and whats yours like?
The quotation attributed to Billy Graham (also to Martin Luther and an ancient Chinese proverb) about not being able to prevent birds from flying overhead but being able to prevent them from building nests in our hair is really helpful.
Many people worry about thoughts coming unbidden to their minds. Men are concerned about sexual stimuli and consider these sin, for instance. In such cases this quotation tells us that we are not responsible for the stimuli or thoughts that come to us unbidden. We are only responsible for what we do with them. Do we harbor the thoughts? Do we play with them and indulge them? Or do we repel them, by the grace of God?
We have no choice over the temptations that come to our minds, and these temptations/stimuli/thoughts are not sin in and of themselves. They become sin only as we harbor them and indulge them.
For instance, for men, it is not sin to notice a beautiful woman, and it is not sin to be sexually stimulated. But harboring the thought/feeling and dwelling on it is sin.
Some might question what to do when such stimuli come - as they might many times a day in some environments. The lesson author rightly points out that "Carnal thoughts are not banished by merely wishing them away. They are driven out as the mind is filled with something else." Immediately putting on the "mind of Christ" is the "mind's safeguard" in such instances. How would Christ look at that man or woman? Would He not see each one as a son or daughter of God who may be lost and need to find their way home to the Father?
When we pray for a soul's salvation, we will not think inappropriate thoughts about them. The circumstances may not be appropriate for us to speak, but they are always appropriate for us to pray. And God will hear our prayers and transform our thoughts when we pray for others in this way. (Even the fortunes of Job were turned when he prayed for his friends.)
Thanks for the topic. When an athlete develop musclepain due to lack of exercise he cant perform & even collapse. Any christian who fails to study the word will not withstand any form of temptation. Plse focus in prayers,love,word& determination. Spare even 10min to read a verse.