Pursuing the Heart of God – Day 52
Renew Your Mind
Father in heaven, You have made me a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me (Psalm 51:10). I now submit my mind to Your spirit for complete renewal. Lord, give my mind a makeover, so that I may think and act according to Your will and ways. Lord, let me not focus on the way the world thinks and reasons, but only as You would have me think and reason. Show me what I must do to renew my mind.
A Message from God’s Heart to Yours:
Dear sweet child of Mine—that’s what I want you to hear today—you are My child. Your identity in Christ makes you My child—it completes you. You are uniquely you because I created you in My image and yet different than every other person on earth. Your identity as My child gives you access to all of Me and all that I have. You lack nothing.
You were bought a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), the death of My Son, Jesus Christ. Your redemption was purchased by the blood of Jesus, nailed to a tree, for the sin of all humanity. Your identity in Me became secure when you invited Jesus in to your heart, confessing Him as your Savior and Lord. I placed My Holy Spirit in your heart to seal you as My child, to speak to you on My behalf, to guide you, comfort you, and give you My wisdom. He reminds you of Scripture and interprets the Word of God for you.
You have been given the mind of Christ. One way to renew your mind is to meditate on My Word. Read it, ponder it, digest it, and live it out. You may speak to Me about My Word any time. My Word is living and active (Hebrews 4:12). My Spirit will illumine it for you and make it come alive with meaning for every situation you face. Know My wisdom and My will for your life when you spend time in My Word. Discover My character and My love. Hear My instructions and My commands. Allow it to permeate your mind and revitalize your thoughts. Take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Set your mind on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:5-6). You are no longer of this world. You are a stranger to it. Do not live, think and act as the world does. The world causes you to focus on yourself—put yourself first, take care of yourself, please yourself, do whatever makes you happy. This kind of thinking is opposite of kingdom thinking. I say, put others ahead of yourself. Live as Christ who did not come to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20:28). Humble yourself and serve others in love.
Do not take care of yourself and live independently from Me, but depend on Me for everything. I desire an intimate relationship with you which means that you put Me first, seeking Me and My will before you run ahead making your own decisions and your own plans. I desire only the best for your life. Your plans may be good, but are they My best for you? Begin a new practice of seeking Me first in all you do. Refresh your method of operation. Seek Me first. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with your whole heart (Jeremiah 29:13).
Allow the Spirit of truth to transform your spiritual heart. You may have believed some words that were not true about yourself. You may have bought into the lies of the enemy; an untrue identity. Let the Spirit expose the lies and replace them with the truth—you are a child of God, you are loved, you are radiant, you are smart, and you are talented. Renew your thoughts with the truth by tuning in to the voice of My Spirit within you. Let Me renew your identity in Christ. I will refresh your mind and restore your soul. Remain in Me and be rejuvenated daily.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit who renews my mind, refreshes my spirit and restores my soul. You are an awesome Daddy, and I am so blessed to be called Your child. I love you, and I desire to walk with you and talk with you daily. Please share Your heart with me now regarding my personal circumstances. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Two-way Conversation with God:
- Father God, You have adopted me as Your very own. Please renew my thinking along those lines. Tell me more about my personal and individual identity in Christ. (Record every word you hear.)
- Jesus, my Savior, You have made me a new creation with the mind of Christ. Please renew my mind and correct my thinking. How do you see me? (Write down all the thoughts He gives you.)
- Holy Spirit, create in me a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Teach me how to re-connect with You to refresh my thinking and my actions according to God’s will. (Journal all the impressions and thoughts He gives you.)
Review God’s thoughts and impressions you’ve sensed and written above. What Scripture comes to mind as you review your notes? Use the concordance of your Bible to look up an impression from God’s Word. Record the verse or passage here. Write all insights and encouragement the Holy Spirit illumines for you as you read God’s Word right now.
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, I am grateful for Your Word, Your Spirit, and Your love. Give me the desire to meditate on Your Word, to connect with Your Spirit, and to understand the depth of Your love for me. Renew my mind, heart, and strength as I pursue a more intimate relationship with You. Thank You for speaking to me daily and refreshing me with Your words of loving kindness and encouragement. Continue to show me more aspects of Your character and Your heart. In the name of Jesus, my Lord, I pray. Amen.
Supporting Scripture:
Psalm 51:10-12, 10Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing sprit to sustain me.”
Jeremiah 29:11-14, 11“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. 14I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.”
Matthew 20:26-28, 26“Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Romans 8:5-6, 5Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.
Romans 12:2, Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20, 19Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
2 Corinthians 3:17-18, 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes form the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 4:16, Therefore we do not lose heart, though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5, 3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Hebrews 4:12-13, 12For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
Titus 3:5-7, 5He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit 6whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
1 John 5:6, This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
2 John :2-3, 2because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever: 3Grace, mercy, and pace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.
3 John 3:4, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
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