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Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must first deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. ( Matt. 16:24 )
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If You Don't Mind!
The Bible makes it clear that the mind is the leader,
or forerunner of all our actions.
Romans 12:2 reads, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers,
in the view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your
spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer
to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test
and approve what God’s will is – His good, and
pleasing and perfect will.”
Wow!! We can know what God’s good, pleasing, and
perfect will is for us! I don’t know about you but
that excites me!!
There are several things we must do to know that will.
Break the verse down into parts.
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We must offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy
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and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of
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worship. None of us would knowingly tear down,
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or damage our local church or any Holy Temple
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of God. We wouldn’t damage parts of the church
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or temple whether it could be seen by others or not.
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We wouldn’t justify or excuse it.
Why do we feel so comfortable doing things to our
body and health, which are supposed to be living
sacrifices to God? You can always here people
making statements such as, “It’s my right to smoke”,
“I don’t drink much”, “I don’t need to exercise,
or stay healthy”, “But everyone’s having
sex outside marriage”.
The following verses disagree with those
statements and thoughts.
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“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of
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this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
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your mind.” You can’t renew your mind and nothing
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change. When God’s Word renews our mind we
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become more enlightened, and in touch with God’s
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love, His ways, His thoughts, and His plans.
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Scripture continues – “Then you will be able to
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test and approve what God’s will is – His good,
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pleasing, and perfect will.”
Knowing and living in God’s will brings the more
abundant life spoken of. Peace, joy, passion for
souls, are the natural offspring of living in His will, no
matter the circumstances.
On the other hand, not knowing His will, will lead
people to try to figure it out of their own. If we think and
dwell on negative thoughts and circumstances, we will
not have peace, joy, or passion for life or change.
Life will be miserable, negative, and overwhelming.
God wants us to experience the fullness and joy of life
He sent Jesus to provide for all those who believe
in Him and receive it.
Satan, on the other hand, wants to stop us from
receiving all that God has for us. Because our actions
are a direct result of our thoughts, Satan’s strategy is
to wage war against us in our minds by bombarding
us with thoughts contrary to the truth of God’s Word.
He wants to deceive us into believing damaging patterns
of untrue thoughts, or strongholds, that we will allow
to influence our lives and hold us in bandage.
The Battle field is the mind and 2 Cor. 10:4,5 describes
the weapons of warfare God has given us “for the
overthrow and destruction of strongholds.”
It’s extremely important reading and is a great
source of strength. Please read it and God’s Word
and renew your mind daily – If you don’t mind!
a) Battlefield of the Mind
Joyce Meyer
Love in Christ Always,
Evangelist Ken Godfrey Jr.
Your Cross Outreach Ministry
Bye 4 Now!
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