One of the quickest ways to cripple your walk with Christ is to take your mind off of Him. If Jesus is not you’re all and all, then you probably think of Him very little if at all. Well that’s all well and good Bro Dave but how do I keep my mind on Christ?
I’ll use my lovely bride Karen as an example. When we were courting long distance, she in Alabama and me in Germany, we used to write each other continuously. Her letters to me made me feel so loved and I couldn’t take my mind off of her (she still has me like that!). In fact, the Holy Spirit became jealous and reminded me Who was first in my life.
But I made an effort to read her letters; over and over again. And because now she is my bride, I try to think of her always and make her happiness my primary goal. But if I allow this world to overcome me then I begin to neglect her. So it is with Jesus.
When I read and meditate on His Word and spend time in prayer listening for His voice, I think of Him continuously. This is what spiritual maturity is and it is attained through a spiritual mind. That is what Paul reminded the Philippian Church of when he exhorted them to keep pressing towards the Goal of Christ:
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“Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.†(Philippians 3:15-16)
Remember me saying the Holy Spirit became jealous of my time? That was God revealing it to me. But if you insist on ignoring Him, eventually you’ll drown out His voice and clutter your mind with stinking thinking. So many of us allow the cares of this world, the election, the economy, whatever, to occupy our imaginations so that we lose the peace of God. The Prophet Isaiah reminded Judah that He is our perfect peace:
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“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.†(Isaiah 26:3)
The “You†is God and the “he†is us. If we will trust in Jesus and keep our mind on Him, He will keep us “in perfect peace.†Could you use some peace that is perfect, complete in every way? Then keep your mind on Christ. Oswald Chambers put it this way:
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“Is your imagination stayed on God or is it starved? The starvation of the imagination is one of the most fruitful sources of exhaustion and sapping in a worker’s life. If you have never used your imagination to put yourself before God, begin to do it now. It is no use waiting for God to come; you must put your imagination away from the face of idols and look unto Him and be saved. Imagination is the greatest gift God has given us and it ought to be devoted entirely to Him. If you have been bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, it will be one of the greatest assets to faith when the time of trial comes, because your faith and the Spirit of God will work together.â€
Are you spiritually exhausted? Is your mind so cluttered and crippled that you can’t imagine imagining Christ? You notice what Professor Chambers said, this will not come about by God.
It’s up to you.
So decision time my precious brother and sister…
Do you want Jesus more than life?
Is He your all and all?
What gets the majority of your imagination?
I confess that recently it hasn’t been my Lord. I confess it and I repent of it.
May the Lord help me in my pursuit of His mind. May my faith work with Him to the glory of God.
In Christ
Dave
Ps. 37:4
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Copyright © 2011 David Jeffers
Tags
Christianity, Culture, Evangelism, Faith, Forgiveness, Grace, Holy Spirit, Prayer, Revival, Sin