Gracie

Programming Our Minds

And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful.  Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father.  Colossians 3:15-17
 

            The mind is the control tower of life. Decisions determine actions, which in turn affect the immediate and distant future. The person each of us will be 20 years from now is impacted by how we think today. If we want our future self to be pleasing to the Lord, then we must begin at once to program our mind with godly thinking.

            In Romans 12:2 and Ephesians 4:23, the apostle Paul says that believers need to reject worldly thinking and renew the mind. We've been given the capacity to think as Jesus thinks if we submit to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. Our first act of submission is to seek the things of God. This means being intentional about opening our minds only to scripturally sound attitudes and philosophies. It's important that we protect ourselves from the world's self-serving mindset, because we are to be God's servants.

            The second way to submit is by sifting our thoughts through the Word and will of God. This is a practical step that will allow us to identify wrong thinking. We must consider whether an attitude or line of thinking is pleasing to the Lord and useful for making us into the person He has called us to be. Then, when a thought is unscriptural, we can choose to reject it (2 Corinthians 10:5).

            Of course, the only way to know if a thought pleases the Lord is to read and meditate upon the Bible. In His Word, God provides examples of righteous living and thinking, and He offers guidance for choosing such patterns. Scripture is the instruction manual for our control tower.

~Charles Stanley Devotional