"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love
with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us
alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up
with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so
that in the ages to come, He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in
kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For grace you have been saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves - it is the gift of God!" Ephesians
2:4-8
I really am "trying" to write about renewal of the
mind. And the truth is, the more I DO realize who the Lord Jesus Christ
is and this precious and great salvation of God's through Him (and Him alone);
actually, it's "blowing my mind!"
Got to thinking about a three year old banging on pots in the
kitchen (I'm sure I probably did this when I was a child) making a bunch of
noise. Well, it's a start (and it brings a chuckle) to perhaps one day
the kid being a world-renown drummer or musician! :)
Well, we all have our "start" to the knowledge of God
and His Son. And looking back we all can say that we were banging around
on this or that "knowledge," etc.
Yet when the Holy Spirit truly has His way in us and guides our
thoughts and minds, we end up at the most profound and simple reality.
And the songwriter had it right when he penned these words:
"My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought - my sin,
not in part but the whole - is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more,
praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul."
It takes thoughtfulness to me to sit down, after acknowledging
the Lord's presence, of just actually what God has indeed accomplished through
the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is not one blessing of God we deserve - ever. And
the mercies of God are indeed SO great, yet so tender.
And my mind is refreshed and blessed, humbled and broken (in a
good way) when I think of just how much the blood of the Lamb has washed away
ALL these awful sins of the world. That God would grant us by His grace
to have eternal life, forgiveness, mercy upon mercy, and His Holy Spirit come
to dwell in a bunch of jars that had been contaminated by sin (the devil's
seed).
Just comprehending the great richness of God's mercy and His
intense love for us will bring about a personal, powerful, and peaceful
direction and transformation to our lives.
Again to me, this is real renewal of the mind - to have God's
Spirit so reveal Christ to the heart (personally) and the reality of Who He is
and His Word, "going to the dust" then, seems normal.
Another way of putting it - of true renewal of the mind is:
when God can really work in us both to will and to do of His good
pleasure, and get it through our THICK skulls WHO He is, what Christ has done,
Who Jesus is and Who He is in us too; and, how He Himself wants to guide us and
do the work in us, well maybe we can start getting somewhere!
Oh may we truly ALLOW the Lord to be the only One who is guiding
the mind, trusting Him to take our thoughts where He wants them to be - and I
do believe fresh tears would come. Part of our problem is that we think
we can read, study on our own, with our own efforts, instead of personal
communion with the Spirit of God who reveals ALL things to our hearts and minds.
Plants need water and when water is given, life is manifested.
When the Spirit of God reveals His (own) Word, He waters our
hearts and minds, and the life of Jesus is manifested, and we experience real
renewal of the mind and might I add, a wonderfully meek heart.
Perhaps a good question to ask today, do I need watering?
Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus,
Sue Gaither
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