The Mind of Christ

Our thoughts are as important in our walk with God as our words. God stresses their importance in many Bible verses. We need to guard our thoughts as well as our words (Proverbs 4:23).

Satan plants thoughts of temptation in our mind. Will we act on it and sin, or will we “draw near to God and resist the devil, so he will flee from us?”  (James 4:7)

We keep our mind in peace by dwelling only on issues, which are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8).

I often hear people say that God does not speak to them, or that God stopped speaking to them. Have we grieved God’s Holy Spirit by our thoughts, word or deeds? (Ephesians 4:30-31) Are we walking in the will of God? (2 Corinthians 6:16). Or is this a quiet time?

I believe that in the quiet times, God is telling us to wait, to trust, and to rest in His love as we enjoy His companionable silence (Psalm 27:14). We sit in silence and just enjoy His presence while we focus on His goodness in our life. Almighty God, Creator and Master deigns to fellowship with us each moment of the day.

God delights in sharing with us all the needed tidbits of information to enable us to serve Him during our day, or in the coming weeks. He gives us the wisdom we need or some counsel on an issue in our life.

God’s Spirit within us calms our fears when we worry about the future and we succumb to the anxiety surrounding the unseen issues, which disturb our peace. God remedies this by giving us the faith of Christ who dwells within us (Romans 2:20; Colossians 1:27).

Prayer:

Father God, we love belonging to Your family. Everything else on earth fades when compared to this privilege. You always know when we need Your spiritual strength for the next bend in the river. You are the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). As fear rises in our heart during some daunting experience, thank You for continually  abiding within us, and enabling us to do whatever You call us to do (Philippians 4:13).

Thought for the Day:

God gives us the mind of Christ. - 1 Corinthians 2:15-16

Feasting on God's Word

 

I have spent the last few months gardening in containers, which are spaced throughout my tiny outside flower garden. Some plants did better than the others. My tomatoes flourished and are still producing juicy, rich tomatoes. The peppers did well and are still sparsely bearing fruit. However, the okra, squash, green beans, celery and onions all failed to generate any usable fruit.

This reminds me of Jesus’ parable concerning the four types of soil: some seed fell upon the path, others among the thorns, many within the rocks and then just a few on the good soil. If the ground is hard, thorny or rocky, there is no room for the roots. It is only in a garden of prepared soil that a plant can take hold and grow to full maturity.

Similarly, our spiritual food is found in the rich depths of the Word of God. The only way to withstand the winds of adversity or the scorching trials and temptation we encounter in this life is to have our roots sunk deeply into a spiritually fertile environment. Jesus said that we will know His disciples by their fruit.

If His disciples are to produce fruit, they need good, rich, tilled, spiritually fertilized soil. As we receive God’s Word with conviction and repentance, we are ready to receive the proper nourishment. We feast on God’s Word, reading it every day to prepare the soil, so that we will bloom where God plants us.

Many of today’s churches are barren wastelands with nothing spiritually nutritious to offer the Believer. They focus on providing glitz and glitter to attract people, and then they supply only spiritual junk food, rather than wholesome nourishment. However, God is still raising up an army of teachers with every generation - those people who faithfully sow the seeds of the truth of God’s Word.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us to feast on Your Word throughout the day. We eat three physical meals a day, and we need at least that many spiritual meals in order to have a healthy spirit and an intimate relationship with You. Provide us with teachers who seek You in prayer before they share Your Word. Lead us to a caring and loving fellowship of Believers. Even in these end times, please keep a remnant of spiritual teachers, preaching Your truth on which we can feast, Biblical principles, which enable us to bear much fruit.

Thought for the Day:
A lifetime commitment to feast on God’s Word gives us the spiritual strength to minister for Him in every area in which He calls us.
– Ephesians 2:10