From childhood, we are taught to take care of our self:
dress, feed, play and make wise choices for our self. Therefore, learning to
trust the Lord and His faithfulness takes a bit of getting used to (Ephesians
6:10). The process is called "renewing our mind." This
is a continual progression of transformation, through which God's Spirit gives
us the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16; Romans 12:2).
By faith in Christ, we receive a new heart through the
rebirthing of our spirit, which was formerly dead, due to the sin of the first
Adam with Eve. The second Adam, Jesus Christ, became Emmanuel in order to
guarantee salvation to whomever chooses to believe (John
3:16-18). God's Spirit teaches us to follow Jesus' example and to live
as a new creation with sanctified priorities and goals in life (Philippians
2:5).
Jesus' emptied Himself of His heavenly glory and lived a
life as a bondservant to our Father God (Luke 23:34; Matthew 20:28). He was
even obedient to the point of suffering the horrendous torture and death at the
hands of the Roman army (Matthew 26:39; John 5:30). God
wants us to live in the power of His Spirit in order to do the works, which He
created us to accomplish (Ephesians 2:10; Psalm 139:13).
God's Holy Spirit purges us of pride, selfishness,
unforgiveness and all of the deeds and attitudes of the flesh, so that we can
live by His direction and divine character (Galatians 5:16-25; 2 Peter
1:4-5). We aid in this process by renewing our mind with the Word
of God. We begin focusing on eternal matters, ignoring the distractions
provided by Satan and his minions and valuing eternal aspects rather than
worldly gain (Ephesians 6:16).
Prayer:
Father God, we all experience the temptation to compromise
our walk and to live a life of indulgence in the flesh. However, You gave us
Jesus as our example. You also give us a way to avoid temptation and live a
pure and holy life before You (1 Corinthians 10:13). Thank You for sending
Jesus to pay the debt we owed for our sins, and for giving us Your Spirit to
renew our mind with the mind of Christ, so that our thought patterns change
from carnal ones to spiritual.
Thought for the Day:
Our Father God already gave us all the tools necessary to
live a victorious life in Christ.- Romans 8:37; 1 Corinthians 15:57; Ephesians 6:13
