Renewing your Mind

About Renewing Our Mind

Renewing the mind need not be mysterious and difficult. We do it all the time but because we call it by another name, we don't recognize it as such. This is part of Satan's strategy to deceive us. When we are born into this world we have a mind fixed or set on the flesh because that is what happened in the garden. We all became spiritually dead and therefore controlled by our flesh. When we are saved, our spirit is quickened or made alive and we are a new creation¹. We are also made the righteousness of God in Christ². However, our mind is not part of that instant change as it is not part of the spirit, but of the soul (mind, will and emotions). Satan's deception is to get us to believe it was changed as a completed work like the spirit. We then come to the only "logical" conclusion we can reach…"There must be something wrong with me….I am somehow defective". This of course is not true but it is so easy for us to buy in to.

1- Changing your mind:
Yes, that’s right change your mind. Have you changed your mind lately? Renewing the mind is nothing more than changing your mind. You see, whatever we believe determines our behavior and life.³

2- The "Habit Trap" is a major source of deception:
Many people try and try and yet fail because they fall into the "habit trap". The habit trap is our self will, self discipline way of "fixing" a problem and it never works long-term. The “habit trap” says I will not or I will never be or do ( ) you fill in the blank.

There are two primary reasons this never works:

1- You can not replace a negative with a negative as in "I will not do whatever. We even get this in Sunday school, church, and popular Christian books. "Just stop sinning etc and you will be ok" The scripture says first "walk in the spirit and then you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh". Notice God's order of occurrence in the scripture noted.⁴ Turning and walking in another direction is also called repentance.

2- The second reason is the subconscious mind does not process negatives. It receives and follows all instructions we give it but it cannot process the negative. If we say "I will not ( )", the subconscious hears "I will ( )". And it learns by repetition. The more we say or pray "I will not" the more it hears "I will" and the deeper the groove becomes.

¹ II Cor. 5:17
² II Cor 5:21
³ Prov. 23:7
⁴ Gal. 5:16, Gen. 1:14,18