Thoughts for another day

November 30, 2006

Today's verse: Eph. 4:23. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; (KJV)

The mind as we know is the seat of all thoughts and the fount of all actions. We think and so we act. And thinking begins in the mind. Therefore, it is in the mind that Paul urges us to bring renewal. The spirit of the mind is its core: The depth of man. Some call it the heart. That’s where the essence of a person begins. Jesus said, ‘Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.’ Mt. 12:34 and He also says further that from the heart comes forth good or evil. And that’s a solid reason why we need to renew the spirit of the mind.

How do we do this? Is it easy? Can we really change our miserable selves? ...Such questions are bound to arise and the only answer to that is the hope we have in Christ (1 Tim. 1:1). Without Christ I’d say that we are not in a position to do most things as they seem impossible. We know that changing one’s nature is very very difficult. But God comes to our rescue. God knows our struggle. God knows our attitudes towards sin and our weakness in countering it. And God who knows all this also is our strength and our Way.

My friend we are made to sit at the highest levels in our God. We are made to reign. As babes in God we may not understand much that God says in His Word and (in the coming days, we will see God unfold some of the mysteries which He desires to unfold to us in this column) it is enough that we understand what is in plain words and one of them is what Peter says, ‘chosen generation, royal priesthood and holy nation’ (1 Pet. 2:9) which makes us like kings to reign with our Father.

We are called to believe as He works things out in us. Of our own, we can do nothing but by Him who strengthens us we can do all things. And let me tell you that whatever evil we have, whatever sin we are filled with…on the Cross, Jesus Christ became that sin, that evil; for God our Father made Him who knew no sin to be sin (2 Cor. 5:21) so that in Him i.e. Christ, we might be made the righteousness of God. So even as we struggle with our sinfulness, let us cast this burden of sin on Him who alone has borne it for us and rest assured that it is Jesus who will keep us from falling and present us blameless before the presence of His Glory, with exceeding joy Jude 1:24.