However, while it is important that as we aim for personal holiness, we need to be careful that we don’t impose our standards on others or judge others who do not share our aspirations. We were “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph.
God calls us to nothing less than holiness (Eph. I wonder why that is? When was the last time we heard a message about keeping our hearts and minds pure? Many modern Christians seem to have lost the desire to live holy and helpful lives that are consecrated to God. In several of Paul’s letters, he urges the believers to live their lives in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ (Eph. As representatives of Jesus and his Kingdom, we need to set high standards for ourselves in regard to faith, love, generosity, and holiness. We can guard our hearts and minds through holy and consecrated living.Īs well as virtuous thoughts, we also need to live virtuous lives. Set your minds on things above, not on worldly things. Colossians 3:1-2 3. Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. If we are constantly desiring worldly things, and thinking worldly, shallow, and mean-spirited thoughts that don’t include God, we are letting our guard down. whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or worthy of praise – think about these things. Paul continues this theme of a guarded heart and mind in the very next verse: Paul promises that God will guard our hearts and minds when we submit everything to him in prayer (Phil. We can guard our hearts and minds through prayer and noble thoughts. Rather, we need to be wise about God and his ways, and lead lives that are informed, guided, edified, and empowered by his Word and his Holy Spirit. 14:20.) We do not need a comprehensive understanding of the Kingdom of Darkness to be able to recognise and defeat its forces. Paul says in Romans 16:19 that God wants us to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. Solid food is for the mature who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. As the author of the Letter to the Hebrews has said, We can guard our hearts and minds through the knowledge of God’s word. The Bible gives us good advice about how we can guard our hearts. I want to understand and interact with people in our society in relevant, meaningful, generous, and loving ways, but watching and listening to unwholesome programs, and thinking about ungodly and worldly things, can give the enemy a faith-destroying foothold into our lives. If I want to be saturated and empowered by the Holy Spirit, the last thing I want to do is to suppress him with ungodly and ungracious clamour. There are lots of television programs, movies, music, and magazines that I won’t watch, or listen to, or read. I take guarding my heart and mind seriously. Above all else, guard your heart, it is the wellspring of life.
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