“Do you remember,” Stan asked me one morning while we were having breakfast, “when we talked about the importance of taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ?”
“I do,” I replied. “And I remember what you said about the mental sticky note with ETC on it, for ‘Every Thought Captive’. I have used that mental image and it has helped.” [Note to reader: See Posting 16A. ETC].
“Good,” Stan said. “And there’s another part of this that the apostle Paul addressed in his letter to the church in Rome. A part of that letter I sense he wrote specifically to me.”
“What’s that?”
“The importance of my mindset.”
“Your mindset? What do you mean by that?”
“Well, as you know,” Stan replied, “mindset is all about what we fix or set our minds on, based on our attitudes, experiences, education, and the like.”
“And the apostle Paul wrote about mindset?” I asked.
“He did,” Stan replied, “but he approached it a little bit differently by telling the church in Rome to be careful about what they set their mind on. And what he wrote has a very clear warning for me as well.”
“In what way?”
“It’s all about what I choose to set my mind on, the things of the world, the flesh, and the devil, or the things of God in and through the Holy Spirit.”
“Even though you’re a Christian?” I asked. “You might choose to set your mind on something other than God? That’s still a problem?”
“It is,” Stan replied. “While having a worldly mindset is not going to affect my eternal destination because I have the assurance of salvation through having accepted what Christ did through His life, death, and resurrection, it can certainly affect how I live the life I have been given to live here.”
“And,” he continued, “if it affects how I live, it could affect how another person perceives what being a Christian means, and that may very well affect that person’s eternal destination and life on this side.”
“All because of your mindset,” I observed.
“You’ve got it, my friend! My mindset, your mindset, and the mindset of each person seeking to live the Christian life on this side of eternity!”
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Bible verses to consider:
For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. Romans 8:5.
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dispensations, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19 – 21.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22, 23.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for the truth of your Word and your voice that emphasize the importance of what I set my mind on. I confess that too often I set my mind on the things of the world, the flesh, and the devil, rather than what you have for me to focus on. Please help me to have my mind set only on what you want so that I will manifest the fruit of your Spirit rather than the fruit of self apart from you. Thank you I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Think on this: Mindset is what determines everything. Do you agree with that? Why or why not? Are you content with your mindset, with what you focus on? Have you asked God whether He thinks you have the right mindset? If you sense a different mindset is needed, do you know how that can happen?
Waiting for the Train 