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THOUGHTS

‘To think’, literally means ‘ to set our minds on something’. What we think about has the potential to either harm us or help us in our journey with God, because thoughts eventually become desires we act upon. The Bible truly depicts the condition of our minds before we accepted Christ, as being depraved and centered on gratifying the desires of our flesh (Eph 2:3).

But once we come to God, our chief goal becomes glorifying God and carrying out His purposes and not gratifying the desires of our flesh. For that, the old patterns of thinking that we have established in our minds need to break. Our thoughts leave their trail in the mind, and over time, become strongholds. That is why, when you walk back home from your college or work, even if you are busy listening to music, you automatically take the right turns without even having to think.

Since our minds are so powerful, we have to feed them with the right thoughts, simply because battles are won or lost in our minds first! We must renew our minds every day with God's Truth. And the key is to 'take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ'. Gauge every thought against God's Word. Every subtle and rationalizing thought, every argument and pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, we are to demolish (2 Cor. 10:5)

Let's take this a step higher. We are called to have the mind of Christ. That is, we are not just on the defensive trying to evaluate every thought, but we are to actively think like Christ everyday. We set our minds on things above, where Christ is. We shift our thinking from the temporal to the eternal, from the perishable to the imperishable, from the acts of flesh to the deeds of the Spirit, from self to God. Apostle Paul could not have put it better writing to the Philippian church - Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Philippians 4:8).

The CHALLENGE to Change:

What kinds of thoughts are occupying your mind? Anxious thoughts? Sinful thoughts? Vain thoughts? Depressive thoughts? If so, with the help of the Holy Spirit, cast every useless thought out and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Develop a strategy with His help to recognize and overcome unnecessary thought patterns. Sing a song of praise, change the focus of your attention toward Christ.