The power of the mind is great, fierce, and intelligent beyond our wildest imagination. Plans of good and evil are formed in that portion of our body and it depends on who has control of it as to what you actually do, or things you can do! I have seen an artist take a brush or even a knife and put oil on a canvas in a manner that became a person, or a scene from nature. They can make it so real that it looks more like a picture than a painting. That is the talent that amazes me most. It comes from a place in their mind that is talented to do that. I know people who are so kind they never suspect anyone of anything evil, some call that person ‘naive’, then there are those who are suspicious and mean spirited, it reflects the way they are inside. I refer to Matthew 7:1-5 “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor. What is in your mind? Do you have the mind of Christ? Ask yourself: Do I see the beauty of a holy life as Jesus saw it? Do I see lost people through His eyes? Do I understand the eternal purpose of God with the same conviction that Jesus had? The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit. There’s no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit—God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God’s Spirit is doing, and can’t be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah’s question, “Is there anyone around who knows God’s Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?” has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ’s Spirit. Can you accept that YOU have His mind? Seems impossible, doesn’t it? We have the mind of Christ because we have the Holy Spirit in us. Since we are new creatures in Christ, our habit of mental activity needs to be like that of Christ. Is that possible today? There are so many voices around us, speaking into our ears; we don’t even realize it sometimes. Do you ever catch yourself humming the tune of a commercial? Did you intentionally memorize it, or did it ‘leak in’ from the un-noticed drone of the TV? I have heard my children quote dialog along with a movie they have, obviously, watched more that once, while I couldn’t help them learn English Lit for a test, or learn a passage of scripture! Proverbs 29:11 A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back. Isaiah 26:3 You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. The choice is yours, choose to keep your mind renewed by reading His Word and keeping a positive attitude, or be petty, peevish and small minded, which will not win you any friends! Choose to have the mind of Christ!
While you are having a wonderful Holiday, pray that our country will remain free from oppression, from the feeling that others can speak their mind but resent when we reciprocate, if we are truly equal then we all have the right to speak our mind without fear of being censured. God bless the USA!
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