Having the Mind of Christ

In order to have a renewed mind we must choose to listen to God instead of to our own heart or to others who listen to their own heart. We must choose to think like God. The reflective time we spend will yield a lasting like-mindedness that increases our affection for God and controls our decisions. We must continue meditating on the Word until it becomes a permanent part of our thinking and beings to show a difference in our lifestyle and practice.

Biblical meditation means an ongoing interaction with God Himself, asking Him to reveal to us the truth He wants us to know and practice so our fellowship with Him can increase and our fruitfulness for Him can grow. He will convict of us unconfessed sin, and as we repent, He says He will "pour out my spirit unto you and make known my words unto you." (Prov. 1:23) One purpose of meditation is to know and remove the barriers that hinder our fellowship with Him before He will reveal His words to us.

Speak the truth in your heart

Renewing the mind also means disciplining oneself not to give in to sloppy thinking during times of difficulty. In 1 Peter 1:13 we are exhorted to be diligent and "gird up the loins of our minds." We need to consider what kind of next right response keeps us usable to Christ during a trial. Anyone who knows how to worry knows how to meditate. Worriers are skilled in the meditation process but are meditating on the wrong kind of thoughts. Reflective thoughts must be on the truth from God and not on a lie from our own heart or from Satan.

We were not created to be self-governing beings. We were designed to listen to someone for direction in life. Whom you listen to is the first issue to settle in gaining wisdom. If we are to move away from the corruption of our own heart and develop a renewed mind, we must make it a habit of life, a discipline, to listen to God rather than our own heart. The cornerstone of wisdom is a dependent and submissive heart that shows itself by giving its attention to God and to godly spiritual leaders.

Wisdom is not having God's perspective of a whole matter before us, but having God's perspective about what next response will honor Him while keeping us still usable to Him. The goal of the Christian life is to stay on the path of usefulness to God no matter what the circumstances. We will not become like Christ if we are thrown off the road of usefulness by indulgences in our own flesh, by ungodly reactions to calamity, or to the fleshly reactions of those who are not living wisely.

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. -Matt. 7:24-27