I have often prayed that I would have "The Mind of Christ". This is a deep desire of mine. In II Corinthians 3:18 it states "But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory just as from the Lord, the Spirit." I am to be transformed into the same image! And in Philippians 2:5 it says "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus". So it is telling me that I am able to have a 'mind like His' as well.
What is this 'mind of Christ?' How will I know if I have it? To answer these questions I have jotted down some adjectives to show how one will know they have the 'mind of Christ.
First of all, he will become "alive". He will feel alive and be joyful. In John 10:10 Jesus says: "I came that they might have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)." Romans 8:6 states: "But the mind of the (Holy ) Spirit is Life and Peace (both now and forever)."
Another adjective is "peaceful". Using the same verse of Romans 8:6, we underscore the word 'peace'. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus tells us to come to Him and He will cause 'rest'. In John 14:27 Jesus states He leaves us "His Peace".
Yet another word for the mind of Christ is "Single-minded". Jesus came to earth for the specific reason of doing the Father's will, and to go to the Cross to pay the penalty of sin. In John 17:4 He says in His prayer, "I have glorified You down here on the earth completing the work that You gave Me to do." In Luke 9:51 it shows Jesus had one goal, as it states: "He steadfastly and determinedly set His face to go to Jerusalem."
Jesus was always "lowly". We are told the true spirit of Jesus in Philippians 2:3: "...in the true spirit of humility (lowliness of mind) let each regard the others better than and superior to himself (thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves)."
To have the 'mind of Christ' one must be "pure" as it talks about in Titus 1:15. "To the pure (in heart and conscience) all things are pure..." This should become my natural state, with my mind and imaginations on Him.
One who has the mind of Christ will be 'sensitive and responsive' to the things of God. In Luke 24:45 it says: "Then He (thoroughly) opened up their minds to understand the Scripture." And in Luke 11:1 the disciples desired to know more and asked Jesus to teach them to pray. We should be desirous of having Him continually renewing our minds as we seek to be more like Him.
So, to have the "Mind of Christ" we will be:
1. Alive, joyful
2 Peaceful
3. Single-minded
4. Lowly, humble
5. Pure
6. Responsive to Christ
He was our perfect example for life!
*All Scriptures quoted from Amplified Version of the Holy Bible
Monday, February 22, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
AMEN
The word, Amen, itself, expresses affirmation, equivalent to "so be it". It is also used at the end of a prayer, giving affirmation, and you will find it at the end of many Psalms. David often closed his Psalm with "Amen".
In the New Testament, we find in I Corinthians 14:16 that it is evident that the early church was expected to respond with the spoken "Amen". This is a tradition carried even into our modern day churches.
In Revelation the statement is made "these things saith The Amen." This is using the Hebrew word meaning fixed, truth, or unchangeable. In this verse, used with the article "the" it is another descriptive title of our Lord Jesus, the Son of God.
My Prayer:
You, O Lord, are the Great Amen. Revelation 3:14 calls You "the Amen, the faithful and true Witness..." You are the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. When I say "Amen" I am adding my agreement to what has been said, my way of saying, "may it be so". This is my prayer, may it be done. When David ends the Psalm 72 with a double Amen, he is adding an exclamation! You, the Blessed Lord God, are the "Amen", and to this I add, "Amen, so be it, Your name is glorious forever!"
In the New Testament, we find in I Corinthians 14:16 that it is evident that the early church was expected to respond with the spoken "Amen". This is a tradition carried even into our modern day churches.
In Revelation the statement is made "these things saith The Amen." This is using the Hebrew word meaning fixed, truth, or unchangeable. In this verse, used with the article "the" it is another descriptive title of our Lord Jesus, the Son of God.
My Prayer:
You, O Lord, are the Great Amen. Revelation 3:14 calls You "the Amen, the faithful and true Witness..." You are the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. When I say "Amen" I am adding my agreement to what has been said, my way of saying, "may it be so". This is my prayer, may it be done. When David ends the Psalm 72 with a double Amen, he is adding an exclamation! You, the Blessed Lord God, are the "Amen", and to this I add, "Amen, so be it, Your name is glorious forever!"
Monday, February 8, 2010
YOURS IS THE KINGDOM AND THE POWER AND THE GLORY FOREVER
Words fail me in describing this phrase of praise to our God. What better way to enlarge upon it than to draw from Scripture.
David says his Praise in Psalm 8:9 with "O Lord our Lord, how excellent (Majestic and glorious) is your name in all the earth." In Psalm 148:13 it states:
"...praise and exalt the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted and supreme! His Glory and Majesty are above earth and heaven." In Psalm 93:1&2 we read "The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty. Your throne is established of old, You are from everlasting..."
Revelation 4:11 talks about the members in heaven, falling prostrate and crying "Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and dominion, for You created all things..." And in Revelation 5:12 we see John the Revelator hearing ten thousand times ten thousand angels saying "Deserving is the Lamb, who was sacrificed, to receive all the power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and majesty and blessing!"
And then from I Chronicles 29:11 from where these words are taken: "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominions, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all."
My Prayer:
O My Lord, You are Majesty! Even Job could only stand in awe when he realized Your Power. You, who made the oceans also made the dew drop. In John 18 You tell Pilate Your Kingdom is not of this world, and in Psalm 93, Your throne is established of old. Your Glory is from everlasting to everlasting. Yet, You tell me Your kingdom is within me (Luke 17:20), and the power of the Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave is within me! Romans 8 gives the promise that I will share in Your Glory. So Lord, Your kingdom, and power and glory which is forever, is also mine forever! The Lord reigns! Hallelujah! Blessed be the name of the Lord! Amen
David says his Praise in Psalm 8:9 with "O Lord our Lord, how excellent (Majestic and glorious) is your name in all the earth." In Psalm 148:13 it states:
"...praise and exalt the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted and supreme! His Glory and Majesty are above earth and heaven." In Psalm 93:1&2 we read "The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty. Your throne is established of old, You are from everlasting..."
Revelation 4:11 talks about the members in heaven, falling prostrate and crying "Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and dominion, for You created all things..." And in Revelation 5:12 we see John the Revelator hearing ten thousand times ten thousand angels saying "Deserving is the Lamb, who was sacrificed, to receive all the power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and majesty and blessing!"
And then from I Chronicles 29:11 from where these words are taken: "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominions, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all."
My Prayer:
O My Lord, You are Majesty! Even Job could only stand in awe when he realized Your Power. You, who made the oceans also made the dew drop. In John 18 You tell Pilate Your Kingdom is not of this world, and in Psalm 93, Your throne is established of old. Your Glory is from everlasting to everlasting. Yet, You tell me Your kingdom is within me (Luke 17:20), and the power of the Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave is within me! Romans 8 gives the promise that I will share in Your Glory. So Lord, Your kingdom, and power and glory which is forever, is also mine forever! The Lord reigns! Hallelujah! Blessed be the name of the Lord! Amen
Monday, February 1, 2010
DO NOT LEAD US INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONE
In the Amplified Version for Matthew 6:13, it states: "And lead (bring) us not into temptation..." The Message translation reads: "...keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil." God has already provided us with an aid to help us keep from temptation; He has given us the Holy Spirit.
Charles Spurgeon likens this to 'an anchor'. This anchor will help hold us fast when we are heading for the rocks or drifting with every wind of life that comes along. Our own sinful natures are against us when trials come our way; and when the evil one begins throwing his darts of temptations, and trials of the world attack, we must be sure our anchor is deep.
At times our old sinful nature may want to pull us back to where we started. Life may seem too hard and we feel it will be easier to drift backward than to keep fighting forward. When we have our anchor deep we will remain peaceful and at rest and not drift when storms come and temptations assail us.
If we are drifting on our own, the evil one will also try to pull us back, so we must call to the Lord to save us from drifting, save us from the evil one.
From the words of Priscilla Owens:
Charles Spurgeon likens this to 'an anchor'. This anchor will help hold us fast when we are heading for the rocks or drifting with every wind of life that comes along. Our own sinful natures are against us when trials come our way; and when the evil one begins throwing his darts of temptations, and trials of the world attack, we must be sure our anchor is deep.
At times our old sinful nature may want to pull us back to where we started. Life may seem too hard and we feel it will be easier to drift backward than to keep fighting forward. When we have our anchor deep we will remain peaceful and at rest and not drift when storms come and temptations assail us.
If we are drifting on our own, the evil one will also try to pull us back, so we must call to the Lord to save us from drifting, save us from the evil one.
From the words of Priscilla Owens:
"We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move
Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour's love."
My Prayer:
The answer, Lord, is in James 1:13,14 where it says: "each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed." I don't believe we can even say 'the devil made me do it.' It happens when we turn our gaze from You. As Peter began to sink when he looked around, so we will slip into temptation when we dally with the world and fail to drop our anchor deep. Deliver me from self and Satan, Lord! Keep me focused on You! "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you O Lord, my Redeemer!" Keep my feet on the Rock! Just give me Jesus! Amen
Monday, January 25, 2010
FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS, AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS
Here are some verses showing us how important it is that we forgive others. In Colossians 3:13 we are told to "be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as Christ forgave you." If for no other reason, we should be forgiving because Christ forgave us. How often? Matthew 18:22 states "seventy times seven". If one could even count the times, by the time one reaches 490, it would have become a "Holy Habit" to forgive.
In Matthew 18 our Lord gives His disciples the example of a master forgiving his servant a great debt. The servant in turn was unwilling to forgive a fellow servant and had him thrown in prison. The master was then angry and said that he had forgiven the servant so he in turn should have had mercy on his fellow servant.
Ephesians 4:32 states we should be "forgiving...as God in Christ forgave you."
Mark 11:25 shows how a forgiving spirit is required. From The Message translation it reads: "If you have anything against someone, forgive--only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean."
We see from Scripture, forgiving others is not a suggestion, but it is required.
My Prayer: Lord, I used to puzzle over this. How can I forgive so that You will forgive me? I am the sinner with the inability to do good. Then I realized You are talking to Your children, to me, a joint heir of Christ. If I cannot forgive, then I do not have 'the mind of Christ.' If I do not forgive, then there is a rift between You and me. I have lost my fellowship. As it states in Colossians 3:13 "even as Christ forgave you." You forgave me all, and have looked beyond my fault. How can I do less then to forgive also? The Spirit is in me; I am in Christ, Christ is in the Father. We are one, it is our nature! Amen
In Matthew 18 our Lord gives His disciples the example of a master forgiving his servant a great debt. The servant in turn was unwilling to forgive a fellow servant and had him thrown in prison. The master was then angry and said that he had forgiven the servant so he in turn should have had mercy on his fellow servant.
Ephesians 4:32 states we should be "forgiving...as God in Christ forgave you."
Mark 11:25 shows how a forgiving spirit is required. From The Message translation it reads: "If you have anything against someone, forgive--only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean."
We see from Scripture, forgiving others is not a suggestion, but it is required.
My Prayer: Lord, I used to puzzle over this. How can I forgive so that You will forgive me? I am the sinner with the inability to do good. Then I realized You are talking to Your children, to me, a joint heir of Christ. If I cannot forgive, then I do not have 'the mind of Christ.' If I do not forgive, then there is a rift between You and me. I have lost my fellowship. As it states in Colossians 3:13 "even as Christ forgave you." You forgave me all, and have looked beyond my fault. How can I do less then to forgive also? The Spirit is in me; I am in Christ, Christ is in the Father. We are one, it is our nature! Amen
Monday, January 18, 2010
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD
When the Children of Israel were in the wilderness, they had no means of getting food. God sent them 'manna', bread from Heaven. When Elijah was by the brook Cherith, God sent him bread morning and night, along with meat, to sustain him. When Jesus fed the multitudes, He used bread with the fish. Bread is a very important component to our daily lives. It has nourishment with vitamins and minerals.
Yet, in Deuteronomy 8:3 it says "man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord." God cares for our bodies, and we should thank Him each time we are blessed with our daily food, but more so, we must feed on the "bread of Heaven." The true bread of God is Jesus who comes down from heaven to give us life. We feed on Him by spending time in God's Word every day. I love the Song "Fill My Cup Lord" by Wanda Jackson, and in the chorus it says "Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more--"
My Prayer:
Lord, Just as we need our "daily bread", which is food for the body, so we also need our daily food for the soul from Your Word. I am finding that I must meditate on You and Your Word daily as You are the bread from Heaven who gives life to the soul. When You give Your children a job to do, You provide for the body also, as with the Israelites, or Your prophets, or the widow and the oil. You are the "Bread of Heaven" and I pray to be filled up with You! Just give me Jesus! Amen
Yet, in Deuteronomy 8:3 it says "man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord." God cares for our bodies, and we should thank Him each time we are blessed with our daily food, but more so, we must feed on the "bread of Heaven." The true bread of God is Jesus who comes down from heaven to give us life. We feed on Him by spending time in God's Word every day. I love the Song "Fill My Cup Lord" by Wanda Jackson, and in the chorus it says "Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more--"
My Prayer:
Lord, Just as we need our "daily bread", which is food for the body, so we also need our daily food for the soul from Your Word. I am finding that I must meditate on You and Your Word daily as You are the bread from Heaven who gives life to the soul. When You give Your children a job to do, You provide for the body also, as with the Israelites, or Your prophets, or the widow and the oil. You are the "Bread of Heaven" and I pray to be filled up with You! Just give me Jesus! Amen
Monday, January 11, 2010
YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
When we pray, our petitions should always be according to God's divine will. And just what is the will of God?
In II Peter 3:9, we are told what it is NOT. He is NOT willing to have any man perish. In Romans it says that "the wages of sin is death", and that "all have sinned". To prevent our having to pay the wages of sin, Jesus took the form of man and died in our place for our sins. If a man perishes it is because the free gift held out to him was not taken. John 6:40 states: "And this is the will of Him that sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes on Him, may have everlasting life..."
In the Old Testament it is stressed several times that God's will is for us to love Him, and to serve Him with all our heart and with all our soul. (Deut. 10:12; Deut 6:5; Micah 6:8)
When we pray we should accept in advance the will of God, knowing it would always be what is right. I John 2:17 states "The world is passing away and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever."
Someone has said "Knowing God's Will is relatively simple--doing God's will is where we struggle."
My Prayer:
Lord, I feel I wasted a lot of years because I did not understand your will. I thought to do Your will was to go to a foreign field, or do something spectacular. Since I have been reading my Bible over and over, and spending time with You each day, I find that that may have come for me in time. But first I needed to learn what Your WILL is, as found in Deuteronomy 10:12: "...to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart." And in Matthew 22:37 Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your mind." This is Your greatest will for me and the rest will fall into place. I ask forgiveness for not finding it sooner. When I act upon this, then I will love others and seek to reflect You in all I do. May I glorify You, my Savior and my God. Amen
In II Peter 3:9, we are told what it is NOT. He is NOT willing to have any man perish. In Romans it says that "the wages of sin is death", and that "all have sinned". To prevent our having to pay the wages of sin, Jesus took the form of man and died in our place for our sins. If a man perishes it is because the free gift held out to him was not taken. John 6:40 states: "And this is the will of Him that sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes on Him, may have everlasting life..."
In the Old Testament it is stressed several times that God's will is for us to love Him, and to serve Him with all our heart and with all our soul. (Deut. 10:12; Deut 6:5; Micah 6:8)
When we pray we should accept in advance the will of God, knowing it would always be what is right. I John 2:17 states "The world is passing away and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever."
Someone has said "Knowing God's Will is relatively simple--doing God's will is where we struggle."
My Prayer:
Lord, I feel I wasted a lot of years because I did not understand your will. I thought to do Your will was to go to a foreign field, or do something spectacular. Since I have been reading my Bible over and over, and spending time with You each day, I find that that may have come for me in time. But first I needed to learn what Your WILL is, as found in Deuteronomy 10:12: "...to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart." And in Matthew 22:37 Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your mind." This is Your greatest will for me and the rest will fall into place. I ask forgiveness for not finding it sooner. When I act upon this, then I will love others and seek to reflect You in all I do. May I glorify You, my Savior and my God. Amen
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