What Are You Thinking?

As humans we are thinking beings...from the moment we wake up in the morning to the time we lay our heads down on that soft pillow there are countless thoughts swarming in our mind. So if this thinking is what much of our lives consists of then we should be on guard to what our minds are dwelling on wouldn't you think?! In Prov 4:20-23 we read about "guarding your heart for it is the well-spring of life". What does that even mean? Remember that thinking precedes doing and you are what you think, you do what you think. This weekend Pastor Mike preached a powerful message from Romans 1:28-29a and reminded us all of the critical battle we must be fighting daily.

Romans 1:28-29a
"Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity."

Here are two practical ways in which we can begin guarding our minds/hearts so that we can live lives that are pleasing to the one who created us.

1. RECONSIDER THE BATTLEFIELD (v28)
Christians and non-Christians alike have a mind, and the mind is everyones battlefield. When you are saved that doesn't change. Genesis 6:5 teaches us that the since the fall every inclination of a man's heart/mind has been evil and wicked...that is their natural inclinations. We need to realize that we are going to need the faith in a Savior to give us the strength from careening into compromise in any area. Matthew 15 is a perfect example for us Christians who on the outside seem to be living lives that are "sinless" or "always pleasing" to the Lord. Here Jesus says in verse 8 "These people honor me with their lips,but their hearts are far from me." We must remember that as Jeremiah 17:9 says, "our hearts are wicked". Yet for the believer there is hope. Ephesians 4 teaches us about our new character and promises us the renewal of our minds...but just because we have now gained the ability to not sin so to speak we are still trapped in a fleshly body that is going to become the source of much of our weakness and falling. Therefore we need to realize and reconsider the many obstacles in living out our new mind in order to be holy. We must first make sure we are genuinely saved...that there has been an internal regeneration and not merely some external conformity of behavior modification for our own gain. If that is the case...you are truly saved then we can recognize the three main problems an enemies in this fight:
1. The World- Ephesians 4:17-20
2. The Flesh- Romans 8:5-14, James 1:14, Galatians 5:16-17
3. The Devil- Luke 8:12
These three enemies are going to make it hard for your new mind to marshall your flesh. So what do we do then once we have reconsidered this battlefield?

2. REPLACE BAD THOUGHTS WITH GOD THOUGHTS (v29a)
Colossians 3:5-11 talks about renewing our mind in the knowledge of the image of our creator. We need to...
1. Talk to God (1 Peter 4:1-7)- On a regular basis. He is our first love and therefore we need to in submission come before Him and pray pray and PRAY.
2. Sing and Be Thankful (Colossians 3:15-16)Look around and realize how blessed you are and give thanks to the one who has blessed you!
3. Reread and Discuss the truth (Deut 11:16-21)- If you really love someone you are going to talk about it all the time, you are going to want to learn everything about it right?! Well if you love the Lord and want to be transformed read His Book and talk about it!
4. Focus on Christ's Example (Heb 3:1-3)- Christ is our standard and our perfect example of what we should be striving after.
5. Think about Good and then DO IT! (Phil 4:4-9)-Retrain your thinking!

So the time is now, Christ is our heao and our perfect example and we need to open our hearts up and apply these practical tools to our lives. What are we thinking about? You may be the only one initially who knows but the Creator sees every thought, intention, motivation and desire and He will bring that into His understanding when the day comes and eventually it most likely will be displayed in your life today. Think about holy things and you will begin to be holy!