Overcoming ourselves

Thomas a' Kempis wrote in the 15th Century, “the hardest struggle is the struggle to overcome ourselves." I think that what he could have meant by this is that we are often our own worst enemy. We struggle with our faults, short-comings and sins, wondering if God could even love us. This can sometimes move us away from the embrace of our loving God. Thankfully we have Jesus who has paved the way for our salvation and he is the ultimate victor.  

What things in your life do you struggle with? 

Do you find that your mind plays tricks on you? Does your mind sometimes run away from you so that your biggest struggle is with yourself? If you can relate to this, then I pray that these scriptures help you today.

Jeremiah 1:19 - They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

Mark 9:24 - Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Feeding your mind

It is safe to say that most people recognise that our minds are incredibly powerful instruments. We can use our minds for great good or sadly for destructive purposes. What is important for Christians is what we are feeding our minds. If we feed ourselves a diet of negativity and criticism, then we will begin to live like this. However, if we choose to feed our minds with godly things, then we will reap a spiritual harvest.

 

Luke 24:38 - He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?

Jesus dealt with the doubts that arose in the minds of the disciples and when he shared the scriptures with them he was helping them understand all that they had learnt.

Luke 24:45 - Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.

 

Allow the Spirit to feed your mind with godly things so that your life will be led by the things of Jesus.

 

Living in Grace

D3LM3

The journey that seldom takes place

There is an important journey that seldom takes place in each one of our lives. It is the journey from the head to the heart. Or if you like, the journey from the intellect to the emotion. Someone once remarked that the longest journey we may have to make is that 18 inches from our minds to our heart.

You see there are many of us who are good at understanding things in our minds or even knowing 'facts' in an intellectual sense, but we battle to let this information sink deeply into the core of our being. As we are all aware, there is a massive difference between knowing about something and actually believing it with conviction.

Henri Nouwen wrote a simple prayer on this theme and I love the way he captures this idea:

"Dear Lord, 
Show me your kindness and your gentleness, 
you who are meek and humble of heart.
So often I say to myself, 'The Lord loves me,'
but very often this truth does not enter
into the centre of my heart."

Worth thinking about today, BUT even better if we allow these thoughts to transform our hearts.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Enough on your mind?

Do our brains have a limit as to how much they can handle? Some people would argue NO, but there are many others of us, who would definitely say YES. It seems that when we are busy or stressed, that our minds can't process everything and we simply forget a lot of things. Have you ever experienced this? It even begins to feel that we are losing our minds and that nothing seems to stick.

I wonder if God ever feels like this?
I wonder if God is so overwhelmed with trying to solve all of our problems and offer love, compassion and support to billions of people, that his mind is over-worked?
I know that God is Omnipotent, but I can still wonder about these things :)

Colossians 3:2 -Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

1 Peter 1:13 - Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.

Numbers 23:19 - God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind.

I am THANKFUL that we are never far from the mind of God and that God thinks about us all the time.

Have a blessed day

D3LM3

What's on your mind?

What has been on your mind lately? Have you found your thoughts drifting to a particular area or thing? Do you feel that your mind has become a 'dumping ground' for all sorts of things and that the things of God are battling to gain control?

We should remember that the bible speaks clearly about how our minds can control our actions. We need to try and do all we can to allow the Holy Spirit to keep our thoughts in control.

Colossians 3:1-2 – “Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

John Milton – “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.”

  

“  "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” – Proverbs 23:7

    Offer your whole body, mind and spirit to the Lord today. 

   Living in Grace

   D3LM3