Mind Control

Posted on by korgrocker

“Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.”
Romans 8:5-8 NLT

What controls our minds? We have a thought life, that we think we can control. And it is true that, to a certain extent at least, we can align our thoughts to whatever interests us in that moment of time. We might find ourselves thinking about the latest news, or the next meal. We might have a meeting with a friend or colleague planned. There may be anxious thoughts about how to pay the next energy bill, or the mortgage. Thinking about the behaviour of a family member might be causing us concern. But in all of this, to say we might have control over our minds might not be true at all. Our thoughts are driven mostly by external circumstances. 

Are our thoughts sin though? Obviously, being human, there are human things that we have to think about. That’s why God gave us a mind. But Paul wrote that a mind dominated by its sinful nature would ultimately lead to death. And not just physical death, but spiritual death as well. Intermingled with all our necessary thoughts are sinful thoughts. For example, it is not wrong to plan how we can pay a bill, but sin creeps in when thoughts develop around doing something illegal to acquire the necessary funds. And before long, thoughts can become more focused on an evil way of life than a righteous one. A life “dominated by the sinful nature“.

In Genesis 6:5-6, we read, “The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart”. These verses were in the preamble to the story of Noah and his ark, and we know what eventually happened to the evil people God broke His heart over. God designed our minds for good, but sin corrupted them. In Noah’s day, God eliminated the problem. In our day He provided a solution.

God’s Laws, as given through Moses, brought clarity to people’s thoughts and behaviours. But sin still prevailed. There was nothing wrong with God’s plans, but in His grace and mercy He decided to provide a lifeline to help sinful men and women to be obedient to His righteous way of life. We know, of course, that the lifeline was God’s own Son, Jesus Himself. We read in Hebrews 4:15-16, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most”.

In Hebrews 4:12-13 we read, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable”. Regardless of our circumstances, we have a loving, caring God who has provided all the resources we need to live the life He designed us to live free of slavery to sin. By living the Spirit-filled life we will find peace because no longer will our minds be fighting God because of our sins.

Dear Heavenly Father. How grateful we are that You chose to help us to live a life free of sin through the power of Your Spirit within us. We worship You today. Amen.

Search Me

Posted on by korgrocker

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; 
test me and know my anxious thoughts. 
Point out anything in me that offends You, 
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”
Psalms‬ ‭139:23-24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We must have one last look at this amazing Psalm, Psalm 139. David, the Psalmist, has meditated his way through God’s omnipresence, His blessings and support, the wonder of a new born baby, how God continually thinks about him, and how he hates the wicked and blasphemers. And, finally, he makes an appeal to God to search his heart and expose anxious and offensive thoughts. David, overcome with God-thoughts, finally surfaces to the realities of life but doesn’t want anything to spoil his relational bubble with the Lord. 

In our pilgrimage through life, there will be many opportunities to sit in David’s seat, where we can dwell in God’s presence, soaking in His Spirit, meditating on His love for us with a responsive heart. I often look about me and see God’s hand in His creation, always with thoughts of wonder about the complexity and uniqueness. But then the phone rings, or a text pings the phone. A demanding voice intrudes into my God-space-bubble and before I know it I’m back to the realities of life. In many ways we live a double life, citizens of both the Kingdom of God and kingdom of the world. But regardless of our circumstances we can find time for both. The Apostle John said in Revelation 1:10, “It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast.” Even in his incarceration on the Isle of Patmos, John was spending time in God’s presence; the deprivations of being exiled unable to stop his visit to God’s Kingdom. 

But back to David’s statement, “Search me, O God, and know my heart”. In many ways that’s a dangerous question to ask of God, because He might expose something we would rather not be reminded of. Perhaps a behavioural issue, or unconfessed sin. Perhaps a relationship that needs to be restored. But if we want to spend quality time with God there needs to be total honesty and openness. Nothing can be allowed to get in the way of a relationship with our Creator. David knew that, hence his question. David could see a connection between hiding what he referred to as anxious and offensive thoughts, and preventing God from leading him, unimpeded, along the “path of everlasting life”. That’s the same path we are taking, as pilgrims towards our full-time future in God’s presence. We don’t want anything to get in the way of our journey either. Thankfully, God loves us so much that He isn’t going to dump on us a whole load of difficult to deal with stuff all in one go. So we need to keep praying that prayer, so that God can peel back our layers of “anxious and offensive thoughts”, one by one, helping us deal with the issues, helping us step by step on our journey. Of course He loves us just as we are, but on the other hand, He loves us too much to allow us to forever wallow in an anxious and offensive state. Blocked from the relationship with God that He so earnestly wants us to enjoy. Search us, O God, we pray.