Mind of Christ
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: ~Philippians 2:5-6
My last post, Sifted Like Wheat talked about how sin hardens our hearts. When we are lost in sin we deny, rationalize and even justify our wrong doing. We take on a heart of stone instead of a heart of flesh. It is my opinion that our minds become weak before our hearts become like stone. We get lazy with our thoughts and we let sinful thought patterns take over.
Wouldn't it be better to have a mind of stone to reject the thoughts that come at us to persuade us to sin? While at the same time, a heart of flesh; soft and tender toward the things of God?
The mind of Christ leaves no room to satisfy the desires of the flesh. The desires of the flesh lead to death.
So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. ~Romans 8:6
The mind of Christ is to have wisdom. The kind of wisdom that comes from God directly opposes the wisdom of man.
But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For,
“Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?”
But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ. ~1 Corinthians 2: 14-16
The mind of Christ is set on doing God's will.
Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. ~John 4:34
The mind of Christ is pure.
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. ~1 John 3: 2-3
The mind of Christ has compassion.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ~Matthew 9:36
So, how do we attain the mind of Christ?
The Bible tells us to "Let this mind be in you." But, how?
There are times when this feels easy and almost effortless. There are many other times when the battle is so intense and so dark that it becomes a real battle. Thoughts can come saturated with so many lies. Thoughts of doubt and self sabotage. Thoughts of worry, fear and confusion. Thoughts that tell me I am not enough and that I never will be. I know where these thoughts come from and it is not from God. Yet, I struggle to make them stop. And do you want to guess when they come at me the hardest and fastest? It is on the days that I have set aside time to focus on writing this blog! As I write this, it has been a hard week of intense battle for me in this area. Honestly, sometimes I think this blog is more for God to teach me than anyone else.
Along my journey to fight off the enemy and the thoughts he plants in my head, I have learned 3 key battle strategies. Let me share them with you, friend.
Strategy #1 - Decree God's Word.
While Jesus was fasting in the desert for 40 days the enemy came after him hard. With each utterance of Satan's voice, Jesus used the Word of God to fight him off. Each time the enemy presented the temptation, Jesus answered, "It is written" and then proceeded to quote a Bible passage.
Boldly decree that you have the mind of Christ. The Word says that you do! It is given to those who are Christ followers and sealed with the Holy Spirit.
For we have the mind of Christ. ~2 Corinthians 2:16
Strategy #2 - Guard your mind.
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. ~ 2 Corinthians 10:5
It takes effort. We can't get lazy and let our minds go wherever they want. We must take every thought captive. I learned an awesome tip on how to get racing thoughts to stop. Wear a rubber band on your wrist and when thoughts come that you need to cast out, snap the band, count backwards from 3 and then say, "God has got this!" It helps break the thought pattern and gives you a boost of trust. God does have it and we can leave it right there in His hands.
Strategy #3 - Cultivate your mind with the Word of God.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. ~Romans 12:2
We must continually renew our mind with the Word of God on a daily basis. It is our spiritual manna and we only get enough for each day. We can't read it today and store it up for tomorrow. Yes, we can memorize and hide it in our hearts, but we need to sit at His table and eat daily. Cultivate your mind everyday with His Word, with worship and with prayer. These are our weapons of war.
