"RENEWAL OF YOUR MIND!"

Philippians 4:8-9                       (ESV)

"8 Finally, brothers, whatever is TRUE, whatever is HONORABLE, whatever is JUST, whatever is PURE, whatever is LOVELY, whatever is COMMENDABLE, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, "THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS".

9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me - practice these things, and the GOD of peace will be with you."

Romans 12:2                            (ESV)

"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."

Many times I have written about the MIND being a battlefield, and our enemy trying to control what we allow into our MINDS!  Recognizing and identifying that the enemy is, and will, attack our minds is one of the premier items that must be contemplated when a thought is formed in our MINDS.  Where did the thought originate from?  Is the thought from GOD, or the great deceiver?

The characteristics in Philippians 4:8 are a good starting point to consider.  If something is TRUE, HONORABLE, PURE, LOVELY, or COMMENDABLE there is a good chance it did not  originate from evil.  Please be on guard though, the enemy can hijack a good motivation and turn it into something to divide and destroy!  Anything that causes dissension can be traced back to the father of lies and divide.  He is all about tearing down, while JESUS is all about lifting up....THE FATHER!

Our MINDS have to be like a garden.  If the MIND is allowed to lay fallow, it will begin to produce weeds and undesirable growth.  The things that we allow to be cultivated in our MINDS says a lot about what kind of person we are.  If we allow filth and sin to be cultivated in our lives, usually filth and sin will be what we reap!  However, if we permit the traits that are TRUE, HONORABLE, PURE, LOVELY, or COMMENDABLE to grow in our lives, the Apostle Paul says "the GOD of peace will be with you."  

In order for us to have a "RENEWAL OF YOUR MINDS" we must stay in GOD's Word and before HIS throne continuously.  I wish I could read the Bible all day long, but like Joshua in Exodus 33:11, my job duties require me to LEAVE THE TENT!  The "RENEWAL OF YOUR MIND" is not something that will happen through osmosis!  As effort must be made to elevate the FATHER before us.  If we endeavor to have a "RENEWAL OF OUR MIND" and not focus on selfish or worldly desires, we will be able to discern "what is good and acceptable and perfect" for HIS glory!