This Month’s Theme:
Set Your Mind on Christ
Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.
Romans 8:5-6
Artist’s Reflection
The mind is a powerful thing. Our thoughts can determine the trajectory of our day, week. Our entire life, in fact. This may sound ominous, but as we learn more about our brains and how God has created them to be, we see that the malleability of our brains allows us to shape our thoughts and intentionally develop a more positive mind.
When we choose to dwell on His word regularly, speaking it over ourselves & the world around us, God is able to shape our lives and guide us according to His perfect will.
I battled with my thoughts for many years, through depression & eating disorders. I have felt the difference between a mind of death & a mind of life. Our minds and souls need to connect to the right source regularly–to hear His voice in order to remain healthy. When we feed our brain Christ-like thoughts, it will flourish like a properly tended garden. Just as His Word says, ‘the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.’
So if you will join me in fixing our thoughts upon Him, over time we will feel chains break in areas we didn’t realise existed, as He challenges the dark and nurtures the light. I pray for freedom to flow through you and set you free, in Jesus’s name.
—Lydia Ellen
Join in the Conversation
What’s been on your mind lately? How has God been speaking to you?
If you think this is leading up to guilt-tripping on not reading the Bible or thinking about God, it’s not. No amount of scolding or psyching ourselves can steer our minds towards the life and peace that Jesus offers. We need to humbly, earnestly, ask the Holy Spirit to do the work we cannot do—to renew our minds and reshape our desires.
If you’re finding it hard to tune in to God’s Word and experience Him, ask the Spirit for help. Say a prayer, and surrender everything—all the thoughts and struggles that distract and weigh you down.
Then get into a comfortable position, open your Bible to a familiar passage, and start slowly from there. Don’t rush into any insight. Simply let God remind you of who He is. Let His words wash over you, and ask Him to bring these words to your mind over and over, every day, until you finally taste and see His goodness again.
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Topics to Explore
Facing the desires and failings of our flesh
Asking God to reshape our desires, dying to sin as Jesus has died, giving up on trying to save ourselves, understanding grace, pursuing repentance and restoration, experiencing earthly pleasures without guilt, surrendering our idols
Setting our minds on the Spirit and things above
Praying for renewing of our minds, (re)defining purpose and meaning in life, combating spiritual forgetfulness with remembrance and thanksgiving, sorting out our daily priorities, experiencing God’s peace, storing up treasures in heaven
Knowing the Spirit
Learning about the Spirit through Scripture, cultivating habits of prayer and meditation, seeking wisdom and guidance, practising daily dependence and surrender
Join in the Fun
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