PREPARE YOUR MIND

Therefore,
with minds that are alert and fully sober,
rest your hope fully on the grace to be brought to you
at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:13

Your mind is a wonderful thing. You can memorize life-changing passages of Scripture that can provide both support and structure to you in your daily life. Another wonderful thing your mind can do is to meditate upon God’s Word, allowing you to discover His magnificent truths. You can discern between truth and falsehood, and you can recall God’s past blessings. You can do many things to prepare your mind!

Some of God’s most effective servants were those who disciplined their minds for His service. Moses, educated in the best schools of Egypt, assembled the books of the Law for the Israelites. Isaiah used his scholarly mind to write an exalted prophetic book in Scripture. Paul learned under Gamaliel, the outstanding teacher of his day, and it was through Paul that God presented much of the theology found in the New Testament.

Sadly, many Christians today do not exercise their minds to be of service to God. They allow others to do their spiritual thinking for them. If they can find their theology from a book, then they will not bother to study God’s Word for themselves. If a speaker makes an authoritative statement, many Christians readily accept it without verifying whether it is biblical.

Paul urged Christians to strive for maturity in their thinking (1 Corinthians 14:20). He said there was a time when his spiritual thinking was immature, but he had prepared his mind to know and understand the great truths of God (1 Corinthians 13:11). He had not allowed others to do his thinking for him.

In your prayers today, thank God for renewing your mind when you became a Christian (Romans 12:2), and ask Him to show you new ways to prepare your mind so that you can bring Him glory and praise.

Source: “Experiencing God Day-By-Day; The Devotional and Journal”, by Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby ©1997. Entry September 22.