To Have the Mind of Christ

steps2successwithspiritualsolutions

February 27

Our Daily Walk with Christ Devotional- February 27, 2024

"And 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

As believers, we have a blessed advantage, Jesus Christ is our Friend, Savior, and King who tells us to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to God. When we renew our minds through prayer and study of the Scriptures, we invite the Holy Spirit to transform our minds to obey the will of God. To have the mind of Christ requires steadfast faith, surrender, and obedience.

To have the mind of Christ requires the study of the Scriptures and much prayer. The Bible provides us with knowledge of the characters of both God and Jesus. When we invite the Holy Spirit to our study, we not only receive spiritual wisdom, but the Holy Spirit teaches us how to apply God's Commandments and Righteous to our every day lives.

"Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). From prayer, we receive spiritual strength, guidance, comfort, answers to the perplexities of life, and most importantly forgiveness of our sins. Day-by-day, our thoughts change to reflect the mind of Christ.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." —John 3:16

To have the mind of Christ is to believe that God, the Father loves us. In Jeremiah 29:11, we are assured that God has "thoughts of peace, not evil, to give us a future and hope." Many believers are worried about the unknown future, yet, they fail to realize that events of the given day are also unknown.

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Jesus forewarned us of the hardships we would face every day, still, we do not have to worry when we place both the unknown and the known into God's hands.

To have the mind of Christ requires astute knowledge of His character. The Four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John provide us with the attributes of Christ's character, He was loving, humble, obedient, and possessed the Fruit of the Spirit: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).

Christ is our Role Model who taught us how to love and demonstrate kindness to everyone regardless of their lifestyle or belief system. Study John 8:1-11 [The woman caught in adultery]. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these" (Mark 12:30-31, NIV).

In difficult temptations, use silence, self-control, and prayer, not only will God intervene to resolve your battles, but the Holy Spirit will empower you with the strength to change and use His Divine power to produce daily spiritual growth. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10).

It is our character that must be changed into the Character of Christ. Although we cannot change ourselves without the Divine Intervention of the Holy Spirit, we must put forth the human effort of learning to love God and everyone who Christ died for.

"I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever." —Psalm 86:12

Christ loved, honored, obeyed, and reverenced His Father. We know this because of the countless hours He spent communing with God in prayer. Every aspect of Jesus' earthly life was guided by God's Divine will. Before Christ chose the 12 apostles, He spent all night in prayer alone with His Heavenly Father. One significant habit that we must embrace is to emulate Christ's prayer life of constant communication with God.

To have the mind of Christ requires total surrender. Our daily prayer is, God, I surrender myself to You. By praying continuously, we receive God's will and plans for our lives. We do not fulfill this command by speaking repetitious words all day long. We discipline our minds to make prayer our first response to all challenges.

Do not pick and choose the matters that you pray about, whether routine or out of the ordinary, like Christ did, present everything to God in prayer, and thank Him in the same prayer for His Divine Intervention.

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me," —John 14:6

To have the mind of Christ is to become one with Him as He became one with God in His earthly life. The love we were gifted with (2 Timothy 1:7) connects our hearts to Christ's heart. Intimacy with Christ is to have a heart-to-heart relationship with Him. We proclaim our love for Jesus, accept Him as our Savior, confess and repent of our sins, and we are covered with His righteousness.

"Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?" —Jeremiah 32:27

To have the mind of Christ is to have extraordinary faith and trust in the Omnipotence of God. Even when the people in the synagogue became angry, ["Their city was built on a hill with a cliff. So they got up, forced Jesus out of the city, and led him to the cliff. They intended to throw him off of it" (Luke 4:29).] Jesus did not fear nor did He have to rely on His Divinity, He knew that His Father would send angels to protect Him from all harm.

"…God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." —Hebrews 13:5

We prepare ourselves for the unpredictable day through morning worship, praying prayers of faith, "God, my life is in Your hands. Thank You for taking care of me and my family." Prayer is our lifeline to God, the Source of life. Pray often! Ask for Divine Intervention, guidance, wisdom, strength, and discernment of deceptive temptations and the power to overcome for today. Live for today!

To have the mind of Christ is to rise above our natural inclinations by surrendering ourselves to God. When facing opposition, if we pray, the Holy Spirit intervenes by giving us the strength to think and function above and beyond our human abilities.

Do not become offended by how you are treated. Christ is our example of living a peaceful and victorious life. Despite the harsh treatment, rejection, and hatred He faced every day, Jesus' joy came from knowing, "I have a Father who loves me with everlasting love."

"Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." —Romans 8:37

From our faith and total reliance on God's Divine Love and Sovereignty, we can enjoy our God-given gifts of happiness, peace, and contentment. With steadfast determination to have the mind of Christ, we will receive the same victory He received in His earthly life!

God, we thank You for Your amazing love and faithfulness. Jesus, we thank You for being our living example of surrender, obedience, and faithfulness to Your Heavenly Father. We ask for Your Divine intervention in every aspect of our lives. In Jesus' Holy Name, we pray. Amen.