The Spirit Filled Mind

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God

If I said to you, “Watch out, there’s a war going on,” you’d probably say, “Well duh, and name off a number of cities or countries where groups of people are clashing at this very moment. That’s true, but its not the war I’m thinking about. I’m referring to a spiritual war that rages for the control of our minds. My concern is that many Christ followers don’t recognize the devastation that is caused when we fail to win the battle for the mind. It inevitably leads to a life of defeat.

It’s a shame that so many Christ followers live in defeat, especially since we have received every spiritual blessing when we have Christ [see Ephesians 1:3]. That’s because Christ, when He ascended to the right hand of God the Father Almighty, sent the Holy Spirit not only to be with us, but to live in us. 

He is like a spiritual trainer who helps to build up our minds to see that, with Christ, we are greater than the enemy [1 John 4:4], to help us focus on the right things [see Philippians 4:8], to chose the best [see Matthew 5:3-11], to reject the ungodly [see Galatians 5:19-21] — and so much more!

The Spirit filled life begins with God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to all who make Christ their Savior and Lord. It continues as we diligently resist temptation and yield to His control. 

It’s the beginning of a new year, so treat yourself with a gift. Get rid of that stubborn, independent mind and take on the Spirit filled mind, the yielded-to-God kind of mind. The longer we are led by the Spirit, the more sensitive we are to His warnings about temptation, and the greater our strength to win the battle for the mind.

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.  Romans 8:5-8 [HCSB]