August 6, 2021
For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
~I Corinthians 2:16~
The Lord is a quiet, patient and gentle man. He does not wish ill on anyone. He does not cause division and He sure does not grumble. He came as an example for us to follow; "Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
(Matthew 4:19)
His thoughts are those of the Father's. He guides us humans into righteous ways. Each day we are to work on bettering our ways of acting and living. In order to change the way we live we must first start by changing the way we think. When Jesus told His disciples to follow Him, they listened. Why did they listen and follow? They changed their way of thinking. They began to put on a mind that was different from what they were used to. Jesus was then able to progressively change their ways of thinking by teaching them day by day, moment by moment. This required much time spent personally with Jesus. Are we taking enough time each day to spend personal time learning from Jesus? The closer we get to know the Lord, the closer our minds align with how He thinks and feels. Paul says let this mind which was in Jesus' flesh be also in us. Let us love on others, care for the lost, be patient with eachother, be quick to give and slow to anger.
"casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."
(II Corinthians 10:5)
We must reject anything that does not line up with the word of God or the thought process of God. We know there is only one source of negativety and we are not to acknowledge it.
Jesus' emotions were not unruly and He did not think twice about putting others above Himself. His mind was pure, ours can be too. With His help and His knowledge we can gain the ability to think as our King thinks. We can grieve over those who are without Christ as we will feel just as He does; "Thus my heart was grieved, And I was vexed in my mind." (Psalms 73:21)
We can see others are still good when they make mistakes because we will have the thoughts of Jesus; "Would not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart." (Psalms 44:21)
We can understand the destruction of our own flesh and fight against it in spirit, for this is how Christ lived; "For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world." (I John 2:16)
The mind of Christ focuses on things above rather then things on earth. It looks to heavenly matters in all things and searches for a spiritual growth first. What area of our mind have we not yet submitted to our Lord? Let us, with the the help of God, search out these matters. Jesus is faithful to strip away any part we wish to rid ourselves of. When we become one with Jesus, we begin a process that is unending. Each day is a new day to grow into the image of Christ. When we become distracted by things, emotions and actions that are contrary to the mind which is in Christ Jesus, we will find ourselves walking, acting and living more in flesh. This, my friends, will not bear much fruit for ourselves and most of all for others. I pray that we may all abide more in Him each day over things and people of this world so that we grow in knowledge, wisdom and discernment of Jesus Christ. For when we get to know Him, we get to know the mind of Him and we take it upon ourselves. What a gift God has allowed us to receive!
Prayer:
Lord God Almighty, thank you for the amazing thought process of Your Son, my Lord. I press on towards achieving more of His ways of thinking so that I may become a fisher of men, a true disciple of Jesus Christ. My goal is to live out each day loving as He loves, acting as He would act, having the patience of the saints and ministering effectively for the will of God. I need the mind of Christ to do so. Anything that may not be surrendered to You in my own thought process I cast at the cross now and ask that it be filled with You. All that is in me craves more of Jesus. I want to think, live and breathe His Name. In that Name I give praise, honor and glory as I receive Your willpower today to do all that I am called to do. My King and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.