Below is a video that I made to help people understand what it means to renew the mind…what it is, how to go about doing it and why!
I hope it helps you.
Thanks again to Barb Raveling for her help in understanding how to practically apply the wisdom of Romans 12:2!
Summary:
Renewing the Mind is, simply, thinking God’s thoughts after him.
First, choose a renewing of the mind goal. Why? Because it is our thinking that causes us to act. If we want to act differently and see different fruit in our lives, we need to start where actions are birthed–in our thoughts! What do you want to think differently about? The scale? Your body? Food? Your marriage? Your job? Probably, for our study coming up, you will want to select something that has to do with food, eating or weight, but it is your choice. Maybe you are an emotional eater, so you need to think differently about processing emotions. Maybe you don’t feel like you trust God. You might want to renew your mind about God’s character. So first thing, you want to pick a renewing of your mind goal.
Secondly, select times of the day when you will proactively choose to think God’s thoughts about whatever it is. First thing in the morning is a good idea for most of us since it might set the tone for the entire day. If you struggle in your marriage, you might also want to plan a renewing of your mind session for just before you see your spouse. If it is about food, you might need a mini-renewing of your mind session before you eat each time you eat! Let’s dive in and do this for all we are worth. Give it just a few weeks of diligence and hard work and you will be amazed at how you are impacted! You can also renew your mind in the middle of giving in to behaviors that are counter to your godly goal or after you have given in. It is best to plan a time before that happens, of course! But even if you “blow it,” you can renew your mind about whatever it is after the fact and it will help!
Thirdly, select strategies for actually thinking God’s thoughts after him. In this video, I share some ideas for that, but it is by no means comprehensive. You can use Barb Raveling’s I Deserve a Donut app. You can read scripture or review memorized verses. The bible is clearly where God shows us his thoughts, so it is a safe place to land to find things to think about for renewing your mind. If you want to be more specific, you can do what I have done. On an index card, piece of paper, on a file in your laptop or your cell phone or iDevice :-), you can create a file or jot down a list of TRUTHS about whatever it is that you want to think differently about. Then, each of the times that you renew your mind, you would read those things…preferably out loud. Pray over them and ask God to work them deeply into the soil of your heart and mind.
Also, in the video I say one of the things I like about 0 to 5 eating is that it is easy. Then I talk about Barb’s app and mention that 0 to 5 eating is hard. What I mean by that, is when I am tempted to stray away from it, THEN it is hard. That is when I need to stop myself from whining about how “hard” it is. It is always going to be hard to obey. But the principles are easy, simple, and doable!
I hope this helps clarify what renewing the mind is! 🙂
Have you ever felt like you have clung to the Lord as never before, faithfully offered yourself to Him for His purposes? Have you taken captive wayward thoughts and pursued peace for all you are worth? Have you experienced HIS joy in you and actually begun to experience in reality His promise of the abundant life instead of just merely “making it through” each day?
Have you then found yourself totally blind-sided “out of the blue” by something that you had no warning about and wondered if you had been walking around with a Divine Target on your back that said, “Kicketh Thou Me!”
You are in good company.
2 Chronicles 31:20-21 says: This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God. In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered. Hezekiah was a good, right, faithful, obedient King according to this passage.
All of this and, yet, we are told in 2 Chronicles 32:1 After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. Maybe you have done everything you know how to do to love, honor, serve and obey the Lord and yet somehow you are now inexplicably under attack. In spite of everything that you have done, how you have clung to the Lord, pursued him for all you are worth, you now find yourself a target for a “Sennacherib.”
Our Sennacheribs can come in various forms. They can come in human form 🙂 or as a series of circumstances, for instance.
Here is a mini-bible study for you that I hope can encourage you. Feel free to share your answers in the comments section if you like. We can dialog a bit about it if you want. Blogs can be interactive! Let’s do it if you want!
1. Read 2 Chronicles 32.:1-22. Make two columns. In one column list all the things that Sennacherib (and his people) did, his tactics, his motives. In the other column, list all the things that King Hezekiah did.
If you want to share your insights in a blog comment, do so by summarizing the character of Sennacherib and the character of Hezekiah. Compare and contrast the type of men each represents.
Compare and contrast their ultimate end.
2. Have you ever felt like the tactics used by Sennacherib have been used against you? Has anyone ever tried to get you to doubt what you were convinced the Lord had said to you? Has anyone ever attempted to undermine your trust in God or in godly friends? Have they attempted to demoralize you? How did you respond to these assaults?
3. For Thin Within participants, how does this story apply to your situation when you consider the earthly, wordly wisdom offered by the media, well-meaning friends and family about how to break free from ungodly eating patterns and body image compared to what God is trying to develop in your personal life? Are people trying to get you to doubt what God has said to you? Based on this passage and the example of King Hezekiah, what are some tactics you can employ to remain true to what the Lord is leading you to do?
4. WHO is it that provided (and provides) the victory?
5. Some might think, “Well, that is all well and good. But why didn’t God protect Hezekiah and the people from the attack of Sennacherib in the first place?” How would you answer this question?
How does this story and your answer to question 5 apply to your personal life and your desire to “do the impossible” in the strength the Lord offers?
6. Who (or what) is your Sennacherib? By what do you feel assaulted right now? What tactics are being employed and for what purposes? What can you do practically speaking to resist allowing your “city” to be “taken?” 7. In verse 22 we read: So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them on every side.
Journal a prayer of response to the Lord thanking him for the fact that he takes care of you even as your Sennacherib comes at you. Use the time to praise Him for all you can learn even when you have been faithful and He allows an assault from the enemy.
Hope this mini-bible study encourages you in some way to cling all the more to Your Faithful Lord and King!
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