Concepts

It’s one thing to read and be instructed to “put on the mind of Christ” and yet sometimes we are not sure what that actually means. We look to give some of our forbidden practice a pass. We confuse sin with licence and vice-versa. At times we are caught in deep waters and then” James explains that “a double minded man is unstable in all his ways”. So, although it appears as if we have certain areas of our lives tired down, we can only ever be classify as unstable. That is quite an indictment and yet we must own it if that is our story. Paul is more gracious with his instruction, he affords the Christian the ability to learn what it means to put on the “mind of Christ”. His instruction reads; “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2) – Life is a testing ground for one particular purpose and that is to discern the will of God for our lives, period! It’s when we look for wiggle room that we begin to sink into the marsh of life. Our consciousness has an awareness to it that now needs to appropriate truth to it; it needs to please God in order to find rest.      

   

We must foundationally understand what it means to “put on the mind of Christ”. The very first brick that needs to be laid, is God first. Praise and honour by us to Him is critical. “Hallowed be thy name” should be the first thing that comes out of our mouth in the morning. Then we need to consider how we can find His will in our particular situation throughout the day. It’s all about pleasing Him, which must become our main objective. How are we to do that? What type of actions must follow? Whatever we find to do that is noble, we must do it as inconspicuously as possible, for when we do it to be seen by others it is neither valued nor rewarded by God our Father; “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:1-4)

Why did the Lord Jesus have to give these types of instructions? It’s obvious that our sinful natures dictates different types of patterns when it comes to our behaviour. It’s the voice of God that helps us realign our attitudes to that which pleases our Heavenly Father. Nevertheless this is a process and we must learn to work out that behavioural patterns for our lives, right from wrong but not as the world dictates, far from it. We must learn to put on the mind of Christ and the only way to be sure we are on the right track is to explore the Word of God, to find the hidden treasures that will help us find grace to please our heavenly Father. Really, when we strip it down what else is there?

Another topical truth bearing its fruit on a mammoth scale, organisations and individuals looking to save our planet without due benevolence given to the creator; “because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” (Romans 1:25) - Get this wrong and the consequences will be dire. God has spoken and He will destroy heaven and earth, his creation! And all because of mankind’s rebellion against Him. To resist the will of God is foolishness of the highest order. However, God has graciously made a way for all to seek out His support in this life and the life to come, and make no mistake there is another life still to come, it was never only ever meant to be about the here and now. Before the beginning of time God instituted His plan and it is now unfolding before our own eyes.

Call upon the name of Jesus Christ the Lord will an earnest plea and all will be revealed to you, your eyes will be open to the truth of God’s existence. It’s not as if creation itself has not proved His being, for it has, so we are all without excuse. However the love of God has chosen to exhibit His splendour by giving the world’s inhabitants an out which will escape His wrath and once again make no mistake it is coming. God sent His only begotten Son to die so that those who find repentance in Him can escape that wrath. True love encapsulated with mercy, how great is my God? Praise His name now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone