Page 20 - Robeson Living Winter 2020

The Value

of a

Renewed Mind!

By Pastor Charles Locklear

Jesus reminded his followers that the highest calling upon There is a war constantly going on to capture our minds. Sa-
their life is to love the Lord thy God with all my heart and tan cannot steal our souls, but He will never be content to al-
with all my soul and with all my mind. The Apostle Paul in low us the freedom to have a clear and converted mind. Our
his letter to the Christians in Rome reminded them that we Salvation is secure, but our testimony is being constantly
are not to be conformed to this world but be transformed challenged and threatened. It is in our best interest as be-
by the renewing of your mind that you might prove what is lievers to guard our minds so that our behavior matches our
good and acceptable and the perfect will of God. He also testimony. Our Christian Faith demands that we have minds
instructed new believers to stop thinking in the same way be- that reflect the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives.
fore coming to Christ and that now they should be renewed
in the spirit of their mind. As we face a new year, it is important that we make a de-
termination to renew our minds, so that we might have the
The Apostle is strongly suggesting that our minds need con- courage and the assurance that will be so desperately needed
stant and continuous attention. The mind is a powerful tool to face the challenges that are before us. Our world is facing
that God has made a part of human creation. When used challenges today that we have never seen before. Those
properly, the mind can have a positive influence on every who are Christians are not exempt from these challenges. If
part of our being. It has been shown that a healthy mind can you would like to be confident of Victory and joy in the days
contribute to a healthy body, and that a positive mind can ahead, let me suggest you think about these three things.
contribute to positive relationships with those around us.
Our lives are shaped to a great extent by the condition of our What kind of year would you say that 2020 was in your life?
minds. As a result, a good mind will lead to good behavior, Did you make some tragic mistake? Did you experience
and a perverted mind will lead to a perverted behavior. We failure over and over again? Did you discover fault within
are to a large extent what we think and how we think. yourself that you didn’t know existed? You cannot change
the past. You cannot undo mistakes. You cannot act like
If your desire is to live a life that is well pleasing to God, they did not happen, but what you can do is forgive yourself.
then it is absolutely necessary that you have a godly mind. Regardless of what others think or say, you have the power
To have a life that pleases God we must have a constant and to free yourself from the guilt of past mistakes. Forgive your-
continual renewing of our minds. As long as we live in this self and move forward and rid your mind of the guilt of past
flesh, we are subject to the influences and the temptations mistakes
of the flesh. Despite our absolute determinations to do our
best, we know in advance that we will experience failure and Perhaps this past year you experienced hurt or disappoint-
disappointment in ourselves. It is truly amazing how quickly ment by the actions and words of others. If others have of-
and how often we are tempted to think or do something we fended you or treated you with disrespect to the extent that
know in our mind is not right to think or do. you can hardly stand to see them or perhaps even the men-
Page 20 Robeson Living ~ Winter 2020