Renewing Your Mind
The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste, It Is The Real You – Pastor Tony McAfee
May I not conform to the things of this world, but instead, may I be continually transformed by the renewing of my mind with the Word. Rom 12:2 ESV Father, Help me, not set my mind on the things of the flesh, but to set my mind on things of the Spirit; things that are above, not on things on this earth. Rom 8:5-6, Col 3:2 ESV
God wants us to have the mind of Jesus, to have our minds set on things of the Spirit, not of this world. The enemy, the devil, can only attack us in our minds. He takes words that might have been said to us by our parents or someone else and he plays them over and over in our minds. He tells us we aren’t worth anything. We’re not good enough. We can never reach our goals or our dreams. We can’t, we can’t, we can’t. We begin to think there isn’t anything better for us. We’re stuck where we are. This throws our mind into negative thinking. Jesus said throughout the gospels that we are valued. Luke 12:7 “Even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows”. We don’t have to listen to the words of the enemy. We are valued by God.
Renewing Your Mind – The Process
If we are looking to live a life of purpose, it is critical that we renew our minds and change our way of thinking. We are told to take on the mind of Christ. When we do this, we begin to prove the good, acceptable and perfect will of God for our lives.
Renewing your mind, though, is not an event. It is a process which requires daily practice.
How do you go about renewing your mind?
We often hear in church that when we accept Jesus we are a new creation, old things are passed away, behold all things have become new. Many of us expect that the old habits, old thoughts, old ways of thinking and talking will instantly be gone. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. Romans 12:2 says, “…be transformed by the renewal of your mind”. It doesn’t say that God will renew your minds. It says that we are responsible for renewing our own mind.
Romans 12:2 continues, “…renewing of my mind with the Word”. We are to be reading and studying the Word. This washes our mind.
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV)
God has given us three gifts – a spirit of power, a spirit of love, and a spirit of self-discipline. He gives us these gifts to help us become more Christlike – but are we taking and applying these gifts in our lives?
We are to discipline our minds, check our thoughts. Identify whose voice you are listening to. If you have negative thoughts running through your mind, that’s the enemy. God gives us the spirit of power to discipline our minds, to take power over the enemy. But how you might ask?
Check your thoughts, the words running through your mind. If they are negative, they are from the enemy, change them. Ask God for help. The Holy Spirit is always present to help, but He won’t do it for you. You must ask Him for help. If your thought says, “I can’t”, change it. Say, “I Can Do____”.
One of the best ways to cleanse you mind is to quote or pray the Word. For example, you might pray the verses at the top of this article. They are written in the first person so it applies to you personally. Make the Word personal. Another example: 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given me a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”
When you find yourself being weak and undisciplined, pray this scripture over and over. Make it personal. Put yourself into the verse.
God has already done His part and He has provided the Holy Spirit as our guide and helper. Now, it’s time for us to do our part.
