“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God renew”…Romans 12:2

There is a reason why God wants us to renew our mind every day.  We live in a world that can easily influence the way we live, treat others, and shape our way of thinking.  Worldly thinking (carnal minded) is not always the right way of thinking and the majority of the time it is highly influenced by the enemy. In addition, it is this type of thinking that keeps us in bondage to the enemy.  The enemy knows that if he can get our mind to think the way he thinks and take on a worldly view, that it will draw us away from God’s Word and His desire for us to have a Christ-like mind.

It is through our mind and thought process that allows us to understand and grasp the truthfulness that is in God’s Word.  It is this truthfulness in God’s Word that shapes and influences our lives.  God’s Word influences how we treat others, make decisions, and how we choose to live our lives.  If our mind is filled with the wrong ideas, sinful thoughts or worldly views, it becomes difficult for us to comprehend God’s Word; thus making it even more difficult for God’s Word to have an effect in our lives.

The renewing of our mind is not just a one-time event, it is an on-going task that must be done every day of our lives.  We have to renew our mind so that it will line up with the Word of God.

Here are three ways to renew your mind:

1. Pray:  Every morning I pray this prayer…”Lord, please renew the right mind and renew the right spirit within me.  Then I also pray Romans 12:2.
2. Read God’s Word:  Reading God’s Word on a daily basis is like taking a vitamin.  We can compare it being a supplement for our mind.  It gives us everything that we need to live a strong and healthy spiritual life.
3. Fasting:  Fasting can help to cleanse our mind so that we can hear more clearly from God.

Mind renewal is the key to successful living as a Christian.  It is God’s desire for us to become more Christ-like, so when we yield to having a mind of Christ, we are able to do the will of God for our lives.

Sharing in God’s Love,

Tamela

“…for I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content”…Philippians 4:11

Many times in life, we find ourselves at some level of discontentment.  It can be discontentment in our jobs or careers, in certain situations, and even within ourselves.  It is normal to experience some form of discontentment, because it is sometimes the discontent that can give a person the drive to do or perform better.  Discontentment only becomes a problem when it is left unchecked and allowed to manifest itself into other forms of conflict in our lives.

Here are three areas of conflict of unchecked discontentment:

1.  Impatience:  causes us to move ahead of God and abort the plan God has for our lives

2.  Jealousy:  causes us to become angry, unfocused on our lives, and become revengeful

3.  Greed:  causes us to never be satisfied, develop dishonest traits, and become selfish

Now we see how discontentment can breed other areas of conflict in our lives and rob us of our enjoyment of God’s blessings.  But all is not lost, here are four ways to learn how to be content in our lives:

1.  Get Understanding:   a person should understand the difference between a need and a want.  God provides all our needs (Philippians 4:19), and it is His desire to give us our wants as long as they are in line with His Will and purpose.  Now I must add that God is not going to always fulfull all of our wants and desires because then we would run the risk of believing that we no longer need Him (Proverbs 30:7-9).

2.  Practice Acceptance:  A person should strive to be content and accept who they are, were they are in life, and the things they have been blessed with.  Paul is a perfect example of contentment because even as he sat in prison, he was still content in his present condition.  Paul was content because he know who he was in Christ and Who he belonged to.  Paul relied upon the strength of God and the joy of the The Lord (Philippians 4:10-13).

3.  Be Generous:  When a person finds the opportunity to give to others, it helps with our contentment.  A person does not have to have an abundance of material things to give, just simply the giving of our time can lead to contentment.  Generosity can help to relieve stress (because a person is releasing and letting go) and it can help to bring out the joy that comes with giving.

4.  Most importantly…Trust in The Lord:   A person finds complete contentment when we give it all to Jesus!  God is ALL that we need in life.  God is our helper…not money, He is our provider…not an employer and He is our sustainer.  He will daily give us everything that we need to be content and live a full life (Psalm 68:19).  A person can also rest assure that He has THE BEST PLAN for our lives and is always working on it behind the scenes (Philippians 1:6).

Always remember this…”contentment is a state of mind.  True contentment is only found when our hearts and minds are always centered on Jesus Christ and His goodness”.

Sharing in God’s Love,

Tamela