Tag: renewing the mind

Renewing the Mind

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Lately it seems I’ve been warring with the mind. Meaning, out of the blue a thought will appear out of nowhere that I know is not of my own. Which means, these thoughts are the result of the enemy waging war against me. How do I handle these thoughts? What can I do to fight against them? Luckily the Bible gives us information, but, it’s crucial to understand that;

For the word of God is living and active,
and sharper than any two-edged sword,
even penetrating as far as the division of
the soul and spirit, of both joints and
marrow, and able to judge the thoughts
and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

While I believe in the word and read it daily (mostly), it wasn’t until recently that I actually realized the implication of this scripture. Because during my difficulty, I prayed and turned to the scriptures to help fight against these thoughts and several scriptures stood out to me.

Romans 12:2 – Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

How can one renew the mind?

For me it’s reading the word daily, praying, memorizing scripture and applying those scriptures to my life. But I really didn’t realize just how important the Hebrews 4:12 scripture really was, till recently. Because, the very words have suddenly came alive in me. They’re no longer just words on the page that I need to apply to my life. No, the scriptures have absolutely taken hold of me in a way I’ve never experienced! Some of those scriptures which have helped during my warfare are;

Galatians 5:24 – those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passion and desires.

Galatians 2:20 – I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Knowing I’ve been crucified with Christ and He lives inside of me, I now have the weapon of the cross to fight against these unwanted thoughts or even temptations that often lure people away. Since Christ lives in me, He is in my mind, my heart and the rest of my body. So when a thought appears I picture that thought being held up against the cross and I see it demolished while reciting;

But He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities; the
punishment that brought us peace was upon
Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

For me this has worked wonders, so, if you’re being plagued with unwanted thoughts, unwanted temptations, letting your imagination run wild or trauma from your past. Try this technique because nothing can stand against Christ being crucified on the cross!

Change and Renewal

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When I dedicated my life to the Lord Jesus (Yeshua), I noticed I begin to change. I realized my heart and mind was being renewed, which is a way of saying, I’m no longer drawn to worldly distractions as before. I would rather go into a room and read God’s Word instead of spending time watching television, shopping or any of those things. But I also noticed my taste for food was changing. I no longer enjoyed big heavy meals or meat as I did previously, instead, I prefer eating more fruits and vegetables. And lately my favorite is stir fried veggies in a delicious sauce over white rice or with noodles. You see, I hadn’t planned on making any changes to the way I eat, but, the Holy Spirit knew better.

When we accept Christ as the Son of God and our Lord, those same laws are placed in our minds and written on our hearts. We receive the Holy Spirit as a seal, and, it’s Him who guides and directs our path leading us to truth.

Now, this is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel in the days to come, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people.

Hebrews 8:10

We each have a choice to make, to follow the Law which was placed in our minds and written on our hearts when we accepted Christ, or, we can continue to follow the ways of the this world, the distractions which leads us to chaos and fear. Because we walk by Faith, not by sight.

Renewing the Mind

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What exactly did the Apostle Paul mean when he spoke of renewing the mind? Why is it so important for Christians to follow this? And what does the word renew mean?

Renew simply means to make something new, fresh or strong again. So when we’re renewing our mind, we’re making it new again, changing it, transforming it, reshaping it, restoring it, and replenshing it in Christ daily. In Romans, the Apostle Paul said;

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2

Our world is living in a state of constant, fear, worry, and stress brought on by the recent pandemic, the lockdowns, employment issues, inflation, food shortages, ideologies and the latest, transhumanism. It’s these things that weigh us down and before you know it the world becomes the focus, but, when we place our focus on the Lord Christ Jesus, He becomes our focus and we’re no longer interested in the worldly things. And remember what the Apostle Paul said in Colossians;

Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth. Colossians 3:2

I can tell you from personal experience that renewing the mind is crucial for our walk in Christ. When my husband and I lost our furbaby it was very difficult for me, as it is for most who have pets. But I can tell you the things that helped me was reading scripture, praying, asking for strength, and praising God. Night time was the worst but there was one particular scripture I would focus on, and it reads;

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8 (ESV)

For me, it was Jesus standing at the opening of heaven, because in my mind, He’s the only one who fulfills this scripture. He’s the only one who is true, who is honorable, who is just, who is pure, who is lovely, who is commendable, who is excellent, who is praise worthy…….

Fighting the Principalities

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In the past couple of weeks I’ve been attacked twice by demonic entities through my dreams. But, I have a feeling I’m not the only one. I believe the enemy is directing dark powers toward God’s people and attacking many of us in a similar manner. These entities will do everything within their power to get us to turn away from God. So we must know how to fight these dark powers. Remember what Paul said in Ephesians?

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

To fight these forces there’s a couple of things one should know.

Satan is the prince and ruler over this world

And you[He made alive when you] were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of your transgressions and sins, in which you once walked. You were following the ways of this world [influenced by this present age], in accordance with the prince of the power of the air [Satan], the spirit who is now at work in the disobedient [the unbelieving, who fight aghainst the purposes of God]. Ephesians 2:1-3 (AMP)

Knowing Satan is the prince of the power of the air means he has influence over this world. And he uses that influence by allowing his demonic spirits to guide, direct and control non-believers in his ways. Non-believers can be physically possessed by these demonic entities and it’s why Christians are to be careful who they associate with.

But while these entities can influence our thoughts, our moods, and our emotions such as fear, worry, anxiety, depression, hatred and lust, as a TRUE born again Christian, these entities cannot possess a true believer. But they will attack us every chance they get.

How do we fight against them?

Renew the mind

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove that the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2

How do we renew the mind?

Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. Colossians 3:2

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8

And He said to him, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND. This is the great and foremost commandment. Matthew 22:37,38

We also renew the mind by reading God’s Word, by praying, by praise and by singing and when we do these things and keep our focus on God, and believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior we receive authority and power to reject these demonic entities.

We need to recognize when a thought comes into our mind that is NOT of God, we need to respond quickly, to take that thought captive and hold it in obedience to Christ. In other words, you can say something as simple as this;

I reject you Satan, Get out of my head!