9/16/2019 0 Comments RelianceIn our American culture today, independence is highly valued. We tend to focus on an individual’s talents and efforts when we praise their success. This mentality robs us of the peace offered by God through complete dependence on Him. Often it takes extreme trouble or tragedy in our lives to bring us to the end of our own strength. As we let go of our self-reliance and trust in our Creator for His provision, we experience true spiritual growth.
1. What perspective do you have on the purpose for your current struggles? 2. Have you ever considered your weaknesses and hardships as opportunities for Christ’s power to be revealed? Challenge: Take steps this week toward a more God-reliant way of dealing with trouble. Do you need to pray and ask Him to help you let go of “control?” Could you ask a Christian friend or mentor for help with a problem? Does your plan of attack include setting aside time for seeking direction within the scriptures?
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9/13/2019 0 Comments Set Your MindSetting your mind is a point of saturation where your thinking is different because it is increasingly shaped by what God has said. It is conscience, deliberate practice. You must go at this like you were getting on a treadmill. It is a discipline. There is no thinking differently without the continuous training that is undertaken by reading God’s Word. Try it. It may just surprise and delight you.
1. What do you think is meant by “put on the new self”? 2. Regarding your commitment to Christ, how are you “putting on the new self” into practice? Challenge: Here are three actions to help set your mind on the things above. (1) Discipline – we will have increased capacity for God’s Word if we expose ourselves to it regularly. (2) Desire – deliberate decisions and repetition of discipline will give way to desire. Although opinions vary widely, it generally takes anywhere from 21-66 days to create a habit. (3) Delight – eventually this pattern will result in delight in God’s Word. This is where the sweet spot is. Keep fighting the good fight of faith!! 9/12/2019 0 Comments Wash Your MindsOnce you have made a regular practice of protecting your mind, it is time to continually cleanse the current bad stuff you discover by the process of “washing” your mind. This is constantly done by the cleaning agent of God’s Word. Christ did the heavy lifting so we could not only be justified (pronounced innocent), but so we could also be sanctified (set apart or made holy). In salvation, Jesus declares us to be holy; in sanctification, He is trying to make it so.
1. How is this “washing” going in my life? What evidences can I point to as examples of Christ’s sanctifying and cleansing work in me right now? 2. What are some specific ways and times I am going to step up my interactions with God’s Word? Challenge: How many verses of the Bible could you quote right now from memory? Make a conscience effort to memorize at least one or two verses this week. Start with Psalm 1:1-3, Romans 11:33, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 4:12, and 1 Peter 2:2. When you have memorized a couple of these, recite them back to a friend or family member. At the very least, they will be impressed and it may spur them on to the same thing. 9/11/2019 0 Comments Protect Your MindWhat we put into our minds determines what comes out in our words and actions. Paul tells us to program our minds with thoughts that are true (from God’s Word), noble (worthy of respect), just (God’s standard of holiness), pure (morally clean), lovely (kind or gracious), admirable (highly regarded), excellent, and praiseworthy. How is your thought life? Imagine the replay of your thoughts throughout the week on the big screen at church for all to see. I don’t know about you, but that is frightening. Let’s examine what we are putting in our minds through various mediums. Let’s replace harmful input with wholesome material. Let us read God’s Word with fervor and pray for change to occur!
1. What have I been putting in my mind that is not worthy of my time and effort? The internet? Social media? 2. On the other hand, how have my thoughts and actions been transformed by the regularity in which I am reading and obeying God’s Word? Challenge: Take a few minutes to memorize and meditate on a powerful description of the protecting nature of God’s Word. This is how David stated his case for the importance of uploading Scripture in his mind so that he would be able to think differently: “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11) When done, complete this prayerful sentence: Lord, here are 10 reasons I love and am thankful for Your Word. 9/10/2019 0 Comments Warm UpWhen I think about physical exercise, I think about the stretching and preparation for the event; the Warmup, the Practice. It would not be prudent to show up for a marathon having only trained for a few days and expect to finish. However, it is very interesting that many of us take this approach in our Spiritual lives. We show up for the big event having not prepared our hearts and minds to receive the truth of God’s Word and then wonder why change escapes us. Paul tells us about the “truth that is Jesus”, to “put off the old self”, and “to be made new in the attitude of your minds.” I suspect this involves time spent in God’s Word and meditation on what God desires. Relent, Repent, and Remove the sinful source.
1. How am I keeping track of my “warm-up” routine and crucial actions so that my mind is ready for the renewal work God wants to do? 2. In what ways am I looking to train my mind like the mind of Christ? If not, why? Challenge: You may be thinking that this is starting to get a little hard. As you look back over the last year, do you see a process of change for the better in your thoughts, attitudes, and actions? Although change may be slow, it absolutely comes as you trust God to change you. See Romans 6:6, 8:9; Galatians 5:16-26; Colossians 3:3-8. 9/9/2019 0 Comments Why Is Change so Hard?Futile thinking. What is that? Futile thinking refers to the natural tendency of human beings to think their way away from God. It happens through intellectual pride, sinful rationalizations, and excuses that ultimately keep us out of relationship with the Lord. Futility causes us to do things again and again that we know we shouldn’t do. I think Albert Einstein said it best with his definition of insanity that seems to fit futility really well… “Futility is doing the same things over and over and expecting a different result” So where does your mind reside today?
1. In what ways have I seen futility creep into my thinking and into my actions? 2. In response to question #1, what am I doing to combat those thoughts and actions and take them captive? Challenge: Commit Romans 12:2 to memory and meditate on it when it says “Do not be conformed to this world”. How can it be avoided? The pressure is on, subtly and bluntly from every side, to conform to what the world thinks and does. We want to think differently, but how? Paul tells us “Be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” 9/6/2019 0 Comments Mind Over MatterLife is hard, and all of our experiences are kept in our subconscious. This is extremely hard to process and “shake,” if we ever fully can. Though we cannot do this alone, He can help us heal. There is much to heal from daily. We do not need to lose hope, for God is greater than he who is in the world causing much of this suffering. Our hearts and minds are God’s, not the enemy’s.
1. Do we let life continually get us down in a spiral loop of endless negativity, sadness, and despair? 2. Do we remember that there is hope for healing in even the most intense and agonizing mental, psychological, and spiritual pain? That God’s power and He, Himself, is with us at our very worst? Challenge: The world is hard, very hard, indeed. Let us remember that He has overcome the world and created the world. He is infinitely more powerful than the world and the ruler of it. We are His, even when we forget it. Remember to lean on Him in the midst of your worst sadness and despair, and He will renew your strength, spirit, and mind. Each and every day we rely on Him. Amen. 9/5/2019 0 Comments Divine MindfulnessWe understand that we are what we think and we also know that God’s thoughts are not ours. How then, can we possibly think as He does? Fortunately, His son, Jesus, showed us exactly how a man thinks as God does. Peter followed Jesus, was changed himself, and we can be also. Just look to the man who changed Peter and died for us all on the cross.
1. What does it mean to think like Christ did? 2. How often do we stop, pray, and think about how Christ would respond to the questions and troubles of this world? How do our typical responses contrast with His? Challenge: All power in heaven and earth was given to the Son by the Father; He can change our minds to see things like the Father. We need to take that to heart, and believe it with all of our minds. Only then can we adopt a posture of real divine mindfulness. 9/4/2019 0 Comments Changing Our MindsTo understand God clearly, we must have an understanding of how He thinks and what He thinks about. That’s extremely difficult, given that His thoughts are higher than ours. But, we can get on the same mind wavelength. And, best of all, God wishes us to do this AND will help us make the transition daily. It all starts with learning about Him and what His thoughts are, rather than our own.
1. In our Bible study, do we pause and try to imagine how God would explain His word to us? 2. If we “sense” God’s wisdom being given to us in those times, are we open to actually receiving it willingly, without fighting Him, if it goes against what we “believe” is wisdom? Challenge: Each day, even as we read scripture and pray, let us open our minds not merely to the wisdom of God, but also to His voice before, during, and after we read His word. This is the real transformation (changing) of our minds. We need His help to think as He does, which helps us to become what He wishes us to become: more like Him. 9/3/2019 0 Comments What Were You Thinking?“I think, therefore, I am.” - Rene Descartes, Discourse on Method, 1637. Actually, the Bible taught this concept thousands of years before his quote. What are we thinking? And, how much time did we spend thinking it? The Bible has profound wisdom concerning how we become that which we think about. With all of the hours in a day, it’s important that we understand what we think about each day.
1. What things, right now, do we think about daily that are unworthy of a Son or Daughter of God? 2. If you answered Question 1 honestly, how will you pray to think about the things of God more each day? Challenge: Lord, help us to remember your Proverbs, and to think of worthy things (i.e. - things that are of You, and not this world) daily. For as we think, such are we. Help us to remember that you are above the petty things of this world, and that Your thoughts are higher than ours. Even so, we should try to think of others as You think of them. |
AuthorThis devotional is written every week by Hillcrest members. Archives
April 2024
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