Renewed In The Spirit

"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." (cf. Prov.23:7).
"Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the issues of life," (cf Prov. 4:23).  

We are not just spirits but souls, minds, wills, and emotive elements--we are complex creatures, not so easily analyzed!   We are musical, rational, contemplative, planning,  religious, and humorous creatures, unlike the animal kingdom.  We are complicated individuals that defy the principles of the animal kingdom because we are hard-wired to work, be creative, and worship--to have a purpose in life, fulfilled with meaning, and having a destiny in God.  Apart from God, we would have no meaning or dignity in life  Thus, our worth as humans is extrinsic and not intrinsic, not inherit but only because we are formed in God's image.

We are not animals who are merely seeking pleasure and avoiding pain while spending their purpose being in heat.  Have you ever observed an animal building a chapel? They are oblivious to the spiritual world and what really matters in life. We seek fulfillment that only God can make us complete in. We are incomplete apart from our destiny to know God.  But the downside of being in God's image is that we are capable of sin and moral behavior and accountability and have capitalized on that freedom by sinning and rebelling against God to show our autonomy and independent spirit. We don't naturally believe in God but are people of unbelief, skepticism, sarcasm, and doubt.  We don't want to even believe in God apart from an act of grace to soften and quicken our souls.

But note that we must come to a change of heart to be renewed in our spirits. This is by regeneration. If we could come to faith in God apart from it, it's not necessary and we don't need God--we just have a flesh wound in our nature, not a permanent defect from our Fall in Adam whereby we are in solidarity with Adam and cannot not sin; i.e, being incapable of not sinning.  Yes, that means all we can do naturally apart from grace is to sin!  Sin separates us from God and He will not even hear us apart from repentance and faith.  Not what must be pointed out is that we think with our hearts and with our minds--not to go by emotions alone apart from reasoning.  We alone are capable of spiritual thoughts and to think on the divine level, contemplating the Almighty and the eternal nature of God--God has put this eternity into our hearts, to wonder of the afterlife.

This means we can be renewed in our thinking or get our thinking straightened out both spiritually and intellectually.  We can become enlightened and informed; i.e.,, we can become illuminated with insight and educated.  Everything isn't a matter of proper facts and data, but of knowing God.  The goal is to know God and apply this knowledge.  To have this mind which was in Christ! What we fixate our thought life on makes all the difference and we have a volition that can decide this ourselves--we are all culpable to control our own thought life and not let it be controlled by our worst impulses or lower nature and instincts.

We must realize to focus our minds on Christ and dwell on spiritual things that are productive and positive influences for good. We must be responsible that the kind of input we give our brains influences our behavior and conduct.  Thoughts are the souls of the act!  And we must note that we reap what we sow,  we must guard our thoughts in Christ to get aligned with His will. We are all a lost opportunity away from throwing away our lives and wasting our brains, a terrible thing to exploit or misuse--no one has the right to live life without purpose or goals.  As they say in tech language, GIGO or garbage in equals garbage out. What we can expect is only as good as the exposure we get from the divine and the influences they have.

Ultimately, the end result depends upon cultivating the fruit of the Spirit, for we are incapable of cleaning up our act and self-reformation, of saving ourselves.  We are morally degenerate and this can be proved by experience.   We cannot deny our own reality. We all need an enabler to live a fruitful life in the Spirit and that Enabler is Christ, our Advocate, Comforter, and Counselor.  He is on our side and finds a way to come to our rescue as our Savior. We can only guard the spirit of our minds in Christ and say no to the flesh before we can say yes to Him.   We must not live in denial and stop thinking we alone can produce good works apart from God; our righteousness then is God's gift to us, not our gift to God.  It is a known fact that the nature we feed is the one that will predominate in our demeanor, behavior, and disposition. To sow to the flesh yields the fruits of the flesh!  That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Only walking in the Spirit is the way to defeat the powers and weaknesses of the flesh, to walk in the inclinations of the flesh is evil. Thus, we are responsible to feed our minds with that which is good and pure and of good report, anything virtuous that no one can deny being a positive influence or force for good.  But remember, our God is not just a force or influence, but a Person to know, not even a creed to believe--we must put this faith into practice and turn our creeds into deeds because the faith we have is the faith we show!  The reality of faith is not the profession of it and we all start by the shaping of our minds into Christ's image being converted to the Way of the Spirit or to be wholly devoted and focused on Christ, not self-absorbed.

We all can even become optimists and say that it's not all that bad, but the point is not that we are not bad as we can be but as bad off as can be and need supernatural intervention from God, a miracle to change our nature of degeneration.  Let us, therefore, have our thoughts fixated on Christ and renewed in His image, and this can only happen by an act of God, we have no power to just turn over a new leaf, make a New Year's resolution, or an AA pledge that is going to change our minds.  We must be changed from the inside out. This is the divine formula: worry about nothing, pray about anything, and thank about everything.  Nothing is too small nor too big for God's heart and attention--it's all small stuff to Him.

The key to spirituality is to feed our spiritual nature, to put off the flesh, the old man, with its natural desires that war against the Spirit, and get to know our God more clearly [which is the sign of the believer and the goal of our salvation], to be able to follow Him more closely and to love Him more dearly as Richard of Chichester put it. Yes, we all have an ethic worth living out and fulfilling--to follow Christ, its essence.  We must have faith not one we can live with, but one we will die for.  This is how we bring Christ to the world by our witness and life that is the salt and light for a troubled world.

As a result, we will become new people renewed after the image of Christ, but also with a new lease on life to share this new experience in Christ. Then we will be able to recite with Paul:  To live is Christ, to die is gain.  We know of the goodness of Christ because we have tasted of Him: "Taste and see that the LORD is good,"(cf. 1 Pet. 2:2; Psalm 34:8) and we can know the proof of the pudding is in the eating and no one can persuade us otherwise.  To love Christ, then is to be preoccupied with Him who has priority and ownership over our lives.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Quench Not The Spirit!

"Live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature," (cf. Gal. 5:16).  

Paul exhorts us two things regarding the Spirit not to do:  quench not and grieve not. God feels our pains and when sin.  We are not to put out the Spirit's present fire nor to be a source of sadness to others or God, in that when we sin or go astray from the truth it hurts God more than us and He must chastise us to bring us back and get our attention (cf. Job 36:15).    We can quench the Spirit even in others by being argumentative, divisive, judgmental, or contentions.  Remember, the servant of the Lord must not quarrel (cf. 2 Tim. 2:24) and also that party politics can divide an otherwise healthy church--people have their personal and political loyalties too. 

It is wise to leave one's politics at home and be one in the Spirit at church, even loving those of the opposite persuasion.  It is a bad sign when you get bummed out going to church because of some offensive believer who chooses to parade or flaunt his freedom in Christ and take stands that are not harmonious or seeks validation for his personal agenda. Remember the axiom: bad news travels fast, especially gossip or useless information.

Some brethren can get a reputation for having an insider view or private heresy that he is nursing or even propagating.  One stipulation of the body is to have a basic agreement in foundational Christian doctrines (cf. Psa. 11:3) you would expect in any Christian church. The chief problem of division is that it encourages rogue leaders and failure to be submissive to the church program or discipline.  Members may not even know who to go to in times of need or who are the spiritual leaders.   

This is where lack of leadership, even hypocrisy come in and further erode the fellowship. A certain amount of self-discipline is expected and the church cannot be another playground to advance one's personal program but must get with the program. In sectarian spirit, the problem isn't lack of knowledge as if all believers need is enlightenment to get their thinking straightened out, but to learn how to show love, first to those in their own sphere of influence or circle of friends, within the church and then without.

We all must learn to walk in the Spirit not to give in to the desires of the flesh, which has a tendency to divide and conquer just like the devil's chief strategy (cf. 2 Cor. 2:4).  There may be feuds or even bad blood in the body to be reconciled, even in the most harmonious of churches.  Now, we may have trials, tribulations, adversities, afflictions, or tests of our faith and we must settle the lordship issue of giving ownership of our lives over to Christ.  The joy comes only when we own Him as Lord and the fellowship of His suffering.  We can defy our circumstances, live above them, and even praise God for our trials because they build character and patience.  The more we yield to God's sovereignty, or give Him lordship, the freer we are--slavery to Christ is the way to be set free as Christ said: "If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed."

A key dictum of St. Augustine was "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity."    We are never to find a case against one another that we hold a grudge. It's not that those who disagree with you need a lecture or to become informed as much as you need a lesson in loving those you disagree with and in your tolerance of them.  Once we learn to stay in fellowship by keeping short accounts with God, coming clean, and being sensitive to the Spirit, we can then be a blessing to others and contribute to the growth of the body and not just be one to get a blessing.  

This is where fellowship and family come in to play: we are one body in Christ, one in Spirit, and one body to work together for all as a community being sensitive to the needs of the body, submitting to one another in the spirit of love and cooperation   Some of us may need an awakening and to be encouraged in the Word or the fellowship of the body but the same Spirit dwells in each of us and we  are all partakers of it and made to drink of the same Lord (cf. 1 Cor. 12:13)

We are exhorted to constantly seek His face and presence by drawing near to God (cf. Js. 4:8) as Brother Lawrence, the seventeenth-century Carmelite monk, wrote in his book, The Practice of the Presence of God. We can do as he was wont to do and always take it to the Lord in prayer but be supported by the giving or our burden to Him and admitting our needs--nothing too trivial nor big for God.  We can know that the Lord is near and experience His anointing too--when we become sensitive to the leading of the Spirit.  

What we must learn is to acknowledge and praise God for who He is and thank Him for what He's done--that's worship. then we will experience intimacy with God and find joy in the circumstance because we are in a win-win situation with God who is on our side (cf. Psa. 56:9) and we are more than conquerors through Him (cf. Rom. 8:37).  In sum, if we learn to walk in the Spirit not quenching it, we will have the fruit of the Spirit manifest in joy.        Soli Deo Gloria!

What Spirit Do You Have?

"We know that we are the children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one" (1 John 5:19, NIV).  
"... And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ" (Rom. 8:9, NIV).  
"So the preaching about God flourished, the number of disciples in Jerusalem multiplied greatly, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith" (Acts 6:7, HCSB).

The world is possessed with the spirit that works in the sons of disobedience (cf. Eph. 2:2) and the spirit of error.  They don't know the truth to set them free (cf. John 8:32), which God perchance may grant them (cf. 2 Tim. 2:25).  There is the spirit of the world that we possessed before salvation and followed according to the course of Satan and his minions and authorities. We are set free from his power and he cannot touch us (1 John 5:18), for we are more than conquerors.  Satan is a liar and the father of liars (cf. John 8:44), and all men are born liars (cf Psa. 116:11) and follow suit.  There is only one true God who cannot lie (cf. Titus 1:2).

Christians possess two natures:  the old man and the new man after Christ's image.  The one we feed the most assumes the most authority over our lives; there are no carnal believers by nature, but believers can become temporarily carnal and struggle in the flesh. The two spirits are not like the yin/yang of Eastern philosophy, but evil is only a perversion and deprivation of the good.  There is no such thing as pure evil because it is a parasite on the good and the deception is that it may contain an element of truth, just enough to inoculate one from the real thing and make him immune to the truth. We must always be vigilant to exercise the authority, being watchful in the same, that we have in Christ's name to tread on the enemy and claim our victory in Christ.  We need not live in defeat or even become defeatists.  "The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God..." (Rom. 8:7, NIV).

It is paramount that we periodically test the spirit within us to see whether Christ is present or not, especially during the Lord's Supper. "Everyone should examine themselves..." (cf. 1 Cor. 11:28, NIV).  We must always be on the watch for false teachers, a false gospel, a false Christ, and a false spirit (cf. 2 Cor. 11:4) because Satan seeks whom he may devour (cf. 1 Pet. 5:7) and we must test the spirits and contend for the faith (cf. Jude v. 3), lest heresy creeps in and corrupt the fellowship. The caveat we ought to heed is that Satan uses our vocabulary, but his own dictionary!  He preaches another Jesus, another gospel, another spirit. But those who know their God shall be strong and resist him (cf. Dan. 11:32).

Even Christians can become taken in by or buy into the wrong worldview and the philosophies of the devil:  winner take all; God helps those who help themselves; look out for number one; each man for himself; survival of the fittest; the law of the jungle; tit for tat; do unto them as they do unto you; being good without God, and even being moral and religious without religion or God as the moral center of the universe.  There are many crutches the world resorts to atheism as an excuse for sin; cynicism such as getting even, not mad; escapism, such as tripping out on drugs, escaping reality, and getting high; supernaturalism, such as dabbling in the occult; and humanism, or believing in self-help, that man can solve his own problems, and pop psychology; or believing in man-made rules and theories that contradict God and dethrone Him while exalting man, and making a name for himself.

We must always put these pseudo-philosophies into perspective and realize that the Bible is the only crutch that is truly reliable and will not fail us. NB: The point should be made that everyone has a crutch, whether they admit it or not just like everyone worships something or someone because that is what we are hard-wired for (worship) and it's only natural.

True spirituality is the only answer to our problems and we must know the Answerer via the Scriptures and spiritual sanctification. We must start with God to solve our problems, not start with man and try to escape God or deny Him.  The Bible is the only true and final authority that we can rely on and believe in without contradicting God's nature and being true to human nature.  And the way to become cognizant of the forces of evil is to "gird up the loins of [our] mind", know the Word (Ignorance isn't bliss!), have a foundation in sound doctrine ("Knowledge is power!" according to Sir Francis Bacon cf. Prov. 25:4), and beware lest we fall into temptation, for Satan "seeks whom he may devour" (cf. 1 Pet. 5:7) like a roaring lion--no one is immune!

We can overcome the forces of darkness and transform the culture, turning the world upside down like the first believers did to Rome with the right Spirit indwelling us; however, we must become renewed in the spirit of our minds not conforming to the course of this world. For thinking right and doing right can be distinguished, but not separated--they must go hand in hand! Some people just need to get their thinking straightened out.  We must long to do the right thing, not the expedient thing or pragmatic alternative.  We are happy serving others!

Finally, there's a way to confirm our calling and election and that we possess Jesus ("He who has the Son has life," 1 John 5:12):  by the Word of God coupled with the testimony of the Spirit ("The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the sons of God," cf. Rom. 8:16).        Soli Deo Gloria!

Brain, Mind, and Spirit

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Tim. 1:7, KJV).
"[The demon-possessed man] was clothed and in his right mind."
"At the same time my reason returned to me..."  (Daniel 4:36a, ESV).
"As a man thinks in his heart, so is he"  (Prov. 23:7).
EMPHASIS IN BOLDFACE MINE!

It has been said that we are what we think about all day and that we are what our thoughts make us are what we are. "We aren't what we think we are; but what we think, we are!"   Nevertheless, some misguided souls need to get their thinking straightened out, that's all!

Did you know that your brain is capable of being diseased and will ultimately decay into dust?  There is such a thing as mental illness, in that the brain can have misfires, "mal-connections," or lapses to do bizarre behavior, and even lose touch with reality and have delusions. Most mental illnesses, such as being bipolar do not mean the person is "crazy" but that he suffers a disability of mood swing that keeps him from functioning normally in society and of adjusting to the culture and his environment. I do not believe in calling people nuts, crazy, wackos, out of their mind, coo-coo, beside oneself, gone off the deep end, off his rocker, mentally disturbed, suffering from mental issues, or especially insane (except in extreme cases which are very rare).  "He's lost his mind! (he may just be confused by the author of confusion)."

Stigmas are uncalled for:  In reality, people with mental disorders are less likely to commit crimes than so-called normal people, and there are many normal criminals out there too. Giving psychiatric help to criminals only produces mentally healthy criminals!  Christians believe mind or thought preceded and is over matter or creation:  "In the beginning was the Word...." Note this:  The brain and mind are connected but involve more than chemical reactions.

Our mind is different from our brain and is dependent upon it in the body we indwell but will be set free and glorified in glory.  Our character and personality, and not necessarily our IQ will remain intact and we will have nothing to complain or fret about.  Personally, I do not believe there will be retarded or even geniuses in heaven, but all will have perfect minds in perfect bodies like Christ. There are many diseases of the mind such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases that can greatly debilitate and do harm to one's living style and comfort zone.  But I do not believe our spirits can be infected by disease!

(Modern science is monistic or believing only in the physical and that which can be demonstrated, repeated, and proved by natural causes.  However, we Christians believe in dualism that we have a mind separate that is not material.  Unbelievers are just as human as Christians, but they are dead spiritually and lack a right relationship with God and man (definition of righteousness). Christians have a special dimension to life that is beyond just being conscious of the material world, but of God and spiritual things and concepts--this can never erode or fade away.)


We are vessels of honor and will never lose our fellowship with God the Father, Jesus the Son, the Holy Spirit, and fellow believers. This is something the devil cannot snatch away nor afflict us with. For example, we may lose short-term memory or ultimately memory of lifetime acquaintances, but we will never lose our knowledge of God or awareness of His divine presence within us.  Others cannot see our relationship with God except through the fruit we produce, but we can never be separated from the love of Christ (Rom. 8:39 declares that even disease can't harm our fellowship and security in Him).  God will never put His children to shame because they are vessels of honor and would rather take them home to be with the Lord than suffer at the hands of the devil like an unbeliever succumbing to his diabolical activity.

Talents can be neglected and deteriorate, but gifts are given and God does not take back what He gives: Philippians 1:6 that says He will finish what He has started in us and will not give up--so we should never surrender though it seems we are capable of temporary setback, failure, and unfaithfulness. No matter what trial we go through God is with us ("When you pass through the waters I will be with you..," says Isaiah 43:2).  Jesus didn't save our brains, but our souls and this includes our intellect because the will is driven by it (the will is that by which the mind chooses or the faculty of choice and referee driven by the intellect and emotions).  If our mind was destroyed we couldn't be "set free" or make choices!

Dr. Karl Popper with Sir John Eccles wrote a must-read and classic entitled The Self and Its Brain in which they distinguish, and separate these two entities of our being (we are a "living being" distinguished from animals and have the breath of life itself endowed by our Creator).  Having a mind makes consciousness possible, and this is subjective and not in the material world--there is something out there besides matter and that, of course, implies a Higher Mind, or God Almighty Himself as Creator. Consciousness and thinking are mental and not material or physical events!  Most psychiatrists believe we are just a bunch of chemical reactions and any disease of the brain can be fixed by some drug therapy and physical treatment---they deny the existence of a soul!

They also deny the personhood consisting of being a living soul and having any spiritual existence--Christians according to Freud and modern psychiatry are suffering from a neurosis or psychosis.  To distinguish the spiritual dimension, a relatively normal person can appear as a spiritual giant because of his "knowing the Lord" with his mind.  Our minds do remain intact as we enter eternity, and can operate independently of our brains, which are just part of our physical bodies and subject to defect and shortcomings.  Soli Deo Gloria!