A pastor friend of ours was
teaching on the belt of truth mentioned in Ephesians 6. He made the statement that truth brings order
to everything. As Christians, we already know that. Yet we don’t always take it
to heart and apply it to our lives. The simplicity of those words is
astounding. Every part of our Christian life is held together by the truth, the
Word of God. If we want order in our
lives, we will stay in the realm of God’s Word.
Numerous passages of Scripture
tell us the importance of the Word in our hearts and minds. Let’s look at a few
and see how to integrate the Word into our lives.
“For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may
instruct Him?
But we have the
mind of Christ.” (1
Corinthians 2:16, NKJV)
When we saturate our mind with
the Word of God and hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, we have the mind of
Christ. He is the Word. And the Word is
Life. And in that Life is Light. He is
all in all. (See John 1:1-4)
We have the written Word of God
to guide us and teach us. We also have
the Holy Spirit Who brings the Word alive to our present situations, reminding
us what God says. We activate the Word of God in our lives through faith,
believing what the Word says and acting accordingly. If we learn and act on
what the Word says, the Word will do His work through us. We will have His life
and light within us, no longer walking in darkness.
For anyone who wants to walk
according to the Word of God, there will be opposition. Most of this opposition begins in the mind. Satan
tries to steal our thoughts and divert us from the Word of God. He attacks our
minds with doubt, fear, unbelief, unrest, clutter, resentment. It is important
to fill our minds with what God says, not what the enemy says! When Satan makes
inroads into our minds, he causes us to feel
hopeless, fearful, confused or apathetic.
But those are feelings. They are
not facts. So we need to base our lives
on the facts of the Word of God. We need
to learn how to weed out the harmful, unsettling, useless thoughts and fill our
minds and hearts with life-giving thoughts.
“For though we
walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, For the weapons of our
warfare are not carnal but
mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every
high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every
thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish
all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6, NKJV)
Walking in the
flesh simply means our lives are dictated by our soul which is our mind, will
and emotions. But we can choose to be dictated by truth, by the Word of
God. That’s where the warfare comes in.
When Satan brings thoughts to our minds, we can entertain them and follow
through on those thoughts, or we can draw on the Word for direction, and then
bring those thoughts and feelings into obedience to the Word. No matter how we feel, we can choose to walk
according to truth. When we submit
ourselves to God, we are resisting the devil (bringing every thought into
captivity to Christ, the Word) and Satan will flee from us. (See James
4:7)
“God has not given us a
spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
“God is not the
author of confusion, but of peace”. (1
Corinthians 14:33)
When
Satan tries to plant
confusion, fear and feelings of helplessness in us, we need to uproot them
immediately before they begin to grow and bear fruit. Those feelings are not
born of the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God does not direct
us in that way. When those feelings come
to us, it’s time to stop and seek the Word. He gives power to overcome fear,
love that leads us in the path of the Father and a mind that is led by the
Word, which will bring a sense of peace and unity with Him. We can have a sound mind. One that is complete in Christ. The Amplified
Bible says it is a mind with “sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that
result in a calm, well-balanced mind and
self-control].”
Allowing our minds to wander without
restraint can be detrimental to having the mind of Christ. The default mode is
one of evil because it follows the pattern of fleshly feelings and desires
rather than the Spirit of God. Left alone our minds will entertain all kinds of
thoughts, many which will lead us in a wrong direction.
“And
GOD saw that the wickedness of man was
great in the earth, and that every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil continually.” ()
Our mind is the framework of who
we will be, what we will do, how we will respond to circumstances around
us. It creates, imagines, determines and
processes our responses to situations. It will guide us, or we will guide it by
activating the Word of God in us by faith. This framework is the structure that
determines the course of our lives. It
is either shaky and unsettled, or built on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ,
the Word. We are born in default mode,
but we do not have to live in default mode.
We have a choice.
“do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what
is that good and acceptable and
perfect will of God.”
(Romans 12:2)
Our minds are
renewed when we fill them with the Word of God.
Being conformed to this world means we are allowing our mind to run in
default mode. We are following our feelings and our own thoughts. But we can be transformed to walk in the
light of truth. The power of the Spirit
and Word in us transforms us, and the Word continues working mightily in us as
we are surrendered to Him.
“…Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water
by the word,
That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having
spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without
blemish.” (Ephesians 5:25-27)
The
Word works in us by revealing areas in our hearts that need to be changed. They are dealt with by allowing the Word to
cleanse us and bring us into agreement with Christ. As we act upon what we read
in the Bible, we are growing and being established.
Jesus spoke
these words as a prayer to the Father shortly before He was crucified.
“Sanctify
[set apart] them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” (John 17:17, NKJV)
We
are set apart from the world to live in the kingdom of God and to be conformed
more and more into the image of Jesus. Paul spoke to the Ephesians about those who lived in
default mode. Their minds were darkened
to the truth and they lived their lives in darkness and evil. Then he said
this:
“ But
you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been
taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that
you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows
corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be
renewed in the spirit of your mind and that you put on the new
man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”.
(Ephesians 4:20-24, NKJV)
Choose life, light
and order.
Be renewed in the
spirit of your mind.
