(Adapted from Malcolm Smith) |
Perspective:
Rom. 12:1-2
- It is our thoughts that produce our life-styles.
What we are in our thoughts today , we will be in our lifestyle
tomorrow. We who have come into Christ from the Egypt of the world
must now be wholly transformed by replacing the foolishness of
the wisdom of the world with God's wisdom that centers on Christ.
Thus, renewing the mind is bringing our thoughts into submission
to that revealed in the word of God, that we may walk in true
wisdom.
Hope:
Joshua 1:8
- Meditation as the Bible defines it may be understood
as the focusing of my mind upon one object-the mind of God which
he has put into our language, the Bible. It is holding that word
in my mind to be illumined and explained by the Spirit Who dwells
within me. Allowing the word to invade all my logic and reasoning,
destroying the old way of thinking, preparing a new view of life
under God.
Deut. 6:6-9 ; Col. 3:1-3 ; Phil. 4:8 - We are responsible for the state of our minds. All our actions flow from our thoughts; today's actions are but the belated results of what our thoughts have been dwelling on for the last month. We are commanded to order our thoughts and direct them to things above , then God through His word will do the rest.
Change:
Lu. 5:16
; 6:12
; Matt. 14:23
- To live on a deeper level, we
must cultivate the art of quieting our thoughts so that we may
hear the voice of the Holy Spirit ; and to resist the presence
of every idea of the past and present that may enter my mind.
As with Jesus , we need the mind of God to speak to me and illumine
the word . This can only be done when my thoughts and prayer are
expressed in a quiet and still spirit as I pray.
Ps. 42:3-5 ; Lu. 24 - As with David do not let self talk to you, you talk to self. Regardless of the situation, your hope is in God, not in what you see and what your emotions are telling you. Share your disturbed feelings with the Lord, get it out of your system as the disciples did with Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Thus, being still, you will be able to hear the words of Jesus. In the stillness, the Christian meditation is the replacing of your thoughts with His thoughts. Do not say "I will not think of this" but rather, " I will think of that. "
Rev. 2:7 , 11 , 17 ; Eph. 1:17-19 - Scripture calls upon us to use our ears. In our new birth we received spiritual ears, the ability to hear God clearly. First get self quiet, read a passage of Scripture and get ready to listen. Ask question of what you are reading, only with questions can you get answers. The Holy Spirit prepares us for His answers by filling our minds with questions.
Joshua 1:8 ; James 1:21 - Constantly hearing the word tends to memorization of the passage you are meditating on. Hold the passage in your mind and pray that the Holy Spirit will open your mind and reveal what He is saying to you. Learn to pray sentence prayers: "Lead me into all truth", "Be to me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus." When truths are revealed , turn this into praise and worship, thanking God for His wisdom.
Eph. 4:22-32 ; James 1:22-25 - Renewing of the mind is not just an exercise, but the actual bringing about of a new lifestyle that is aligned to God's word spoken to our minds by the written word of God. With every unveiling of God's word to our minds is the call to do and to be. What the word of God is commanding me to be, the Holy Spirit within empowers me to be. The Scripture then becomes to me a description of who I am in union with Christ.
Note: To get answers: be still before the Lord; prepare your ears to listen; meditate on what you heard, then practice what you learned. Be still, listen, meditate, practice.