Renewing Your Mind
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The scriptures reveal how to practically renew our mind to break off any remaining bondage of sin, to fully align our will to do God’s will, and to walk in unwavering faith. God does not want us to always have to be rescued. He expects us to live as victors. This means we also have to get rid of unbelief to be effective. Unbelief does not only mean "not believing," but also "believing the wrong thing."
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JAMES 1:8 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting [wavering, discerning, judging, distinguishing various options], for he who doubts [discerns, judges or distinguishes various options] is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
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Before reading on you can review the blog on Spirit, Soul and Body, which highlights some truths to help understand their differences and how they function together.
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By renewing our mind, we are transformed, and we renew our mind by casting off the old self (old thinking and mindsets) and putting on the new self which is of the Spirit.
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ROMANS 12:1-2 I appeal to you… by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice [offering], holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship [service]. Do not be conformed [molded outwardly] to this world, but be transformed [metamorphosized, transfigured] by the renewal [new quality development] of your mind [understanding, reason], that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
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EPHESIANS 4:22-24 to put off your old self [man, human, mankind], which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed [have new qualities be developed] in the spirit of your mind [understanding, reason], and to put on [clothe] the new [new in quality] self [man, human, mankind], created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
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The first step to renewing the mind is to take every thought captive and cast out thoughts (and therefore actions) that are against the knowledge of Christ. The second step is to fill yourself with the word of God:
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2 CORINTHIANS 10:3-6 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
COLOSSIANS 3:5-10 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed [new qualities being developed] in knowledge according to the image of He who created him.
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Therefore, as you destroy old strongholds in your mind, you also need to build the word of God as a stronghold in your mind. What is in your perfect spirit must fill your consciousness completely:
PROVERB 18:10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower [stronghold]; The righteous run to it and are safe [inaccessible, set on high].
Your mind is renewed to the word of God to the degree that the word of God dictates your daily actions. If you are not seeing Christ’s victory in certain areas of your life, then your mind is not fully renewed to the word of God in those areas. This should not condemn anyone, but it should encourage us that there are more victories for us all. Other people can pray for you and lay hands on you to set you free of all kinds of things, but you then need to discipline yourself to renew your mind. Others can build you up and impart life in you, but you are only transformed when you renew your mind. Where you keep your mind, the body follows.
Renewing the mind through declarations is necessary but being able to quote scripture does not mean your mind is renewed. Scriptures must be so deep in you that you think and acknowledge them as yours, speak them, and act upon them all the time. You must get to the point where the word is truth to you and you do not recognize the possibility of failure. Two things that take you into that renewal process is meditation on God’s word and action.
You will be transformed [metamorphosized, transfigured] as you meditate on the Lord Jesus Christ, concentrating, focusing, entertaining, imagining, gazing upon, and re-playing all that the scriptures say about God and you. That is how you put into your mind what is in your spirit, which comes from God’s Spirit. You meditate until God’s life is so deep in your soul that it goes beyond just knowledge and it now becomes who you are. Then, your default response is to think, speak, do, and "be" the word.
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JOSHUA 1:8-9 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate [imagine, ponder, speak muse, absorb in thought] on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
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PSALM 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
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1 TIMOTHY 4:11-15 Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy [declaration of God's message] when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice [attend to, be diligent, ponder, study] these things, immerse [to be, be in, give wholly to, absorb] yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.
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Emptying your mind as the world does and meditating on nothingness creates a void that invites all kinds of demonic spirits. Therefore, mediate on God and his word. For example, imagine taking the scriptures below and meditating, pondering, and absorbing them day and night, with speech, thoughts, visualization, intense focus, and repetition. Imagine being transformed and becoming all that these scriptures say:
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ROMANS 4:17 …God... who gives life to the dead and calls things that do not exist [be not] to exist [to be]
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1 JOHN 4:17 ..as he [God] is so also are we in this world.
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See character building scriptures at www.betheword.org/post/meditate-on-this
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See personalized acknowledgements from scripture at
www.betheword.org/post/personalized-acknowledgements-from-scripture
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The more your mind is renewed to the word of God, the more you believe without doubting. When issues rise up, you no longer minister or pray with fear or anxiety, but you minister and pray knowing your unwavering faith in the name of Jesus is your victory. Then, you receive anything you ask the Father and you command all things of this world to align with God’s word and it will be so. Then, you can operate in the spiritual realm, which is the true reality, and see the manifestation of God’s will and kingdom both in heaven and earth:
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2 CORINTHIANS 4:18 …For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
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Once we truly believe that we are seated with Christ in the heavens and ruling with him, that as he is so are we in this world, that we live outside of time and are created to bring change in the supernatural and natural realm, that we are created to bring life to the things that are dead, altering even matter, and all of this to the glory of our God, then we think, speak, and act in God's fullness. As the new creation, we can fully establish the kingdom and will of God in our world, right now!
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1 CORINTHIANS 2:9-10 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”- these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.
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