Purity of Mind

January 25th, 2017

Romans 12:2; II Corinthians 10:5

What does it mean to repent? If you said “to turn away from your sins,” you’re right—well, almost. In the Bible, the Greek word often translated repent means to change your mind. When we come to God, we repent: instead of embracing the false ideas of our age and conforming to the world’s standards, our minds are changed. The whole way we think is renewed.

God wants us to reject unwholesome thoughts; He wants us to bring them into captivity and obedience to Christ. In a world saturated with unholy images, ideas, songs, news, and entertainment, this is sometimes about as easy as taming a wild hyena! Still, purity of mind allows us to enjoy the blessings of God. Entertaining unholy thoughts blocks our spiritual senses from being able to see, hear, and feel what God wants to do in our lives. When we make a practice of rejecting such thoughts, we’re able to enjoy a healthy, meaningful friendship with Him.

Today, you may battle wrong thoughts. A thought or two may flicker through your mind that you know shouldn’t be there. As humans, we’re bound to have these moments. The problem is not having a single bad thought so much as dwelling on one. As the old saying goes, you can’t keep a bird from flying over your head, but you can stop it from building a nest in your hair.

Pray: Lord, it seems temptations are everywhere I turn, and sometimes it’s hard to keep my mind pure. Help me to have the mind of Christ and the heart of God. Renew my mind; I don’t want to conform to this world. Nothing means as much to me as a thriving relationship with You.