What is God’s goal for our thought life? “to think with the mind of Christ”
In our previous lesson, we cited a possible reason why God usually does not simply remove temptation from us. What was it?
“We would then still be just as vulnerable to all the similar attacks in the future.”
Read Psalm 107:13-16. What should always be the response of the former captive?
“Thanks to the Lord for His wonderful deeds and for His unfailing love.”
Glance back to the five-part illustration on page 202. Contrast the first and last picture. For a moment, don’t look at the three in between. In the space below, note every detail that has changed positions.
“The Cross is where thoughts were,
“Thoughts are bowing where the person was,
“The person is where the Cross was,
“Truth has replaced Lies,
“The door is gone, and the Cross is bigger”
Now read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. Yes, again! Do you see what has happened? The figure in our illustration has gone from captive to captor. Now glance at Illustrations 2, 3, and 4. In your own words, and from your best recollection, how did the person go from captive to captor?
“He or she stopped bowing to the lies, stood up and agreed with God that they were lies, tore down the lies and put up truth in their place, and captured the thoughts in the room in his or her place.”
Our well–trained thoughts of Illustration 4 are somewhat like a well-trained dog. We can’t just shout, “Sit!” and expect the dog to stay there for a week. We’ve worked a long time to get that dog to sit; but once it learns, it’s still not going to sit forever.
…a catalyst to victory in all parts of life: starve the flesh and feed the spirit.
Read Romans 8:5-8. List every fact given about the mind that thinks according to the Spirit and the mind that thinks according to the flesh.
According to the Spirit
“mind set on what Spirit desires
“life and peace
“submits to God‘s law
“is pleasing to God”
According to the Flesh
“mind set on what sin nature desires
“death
“hostile to God
“doesn’t submit to God‘s law
“cannot please God”
Underline each phrase below describing an activity that feeds the Spirit.
“studying Scripture
“listening to Christian music
“attending a Bible study
“having lunch with a godly friend
“memorizing Scripture“
Let’s start catching ourselves when we’re thinking destructively and anxiously and see if we’re presently feeding the flesh instead of the Spirit.
Dearest Rachel –
It’s a strange thing to realize that, even if we think we’ve mastered the art of controlling our thought life (with God’s aid, of course), that illusion of control is only a momentary situation. As with the dog that can only sit for so long, we can only maintain it with constant effort and attention (you would probably add “and loving and feeding it,” but I think that’s where the analogy begins to break down a bit).
I wonder if you ever believed you had your thought life under control; I admit that mine certainly isn’t. On the other hand, what that would have looked like for you must have been very different than it is for me. Judging from much of the content of your studies, there is a lot of concern over women thinking themselves unworthy of God and His love, and needing to be reassured of this truth. I can’t speak for males in general, but my experience hasn’t been like that. Not that I consider myself worthy of His love and acceptance; far from it. Rather, there’s an understanding that this is what He’s done for me; whether I believe it or not, it is what it is, and I might as well accept and appreciate it. My difficulty lies, not so much in wrapping my head around His love and concern for me, as much as merely taking that into consideration. Rather than the rocky soil of low self-esteem, my field is littered with weeds that choke the seed the Sower has scattered there, preventing them from growing fruit.
Even the things I focus on that might be considered good things in life might be overshadowing what is best for my life. The various disciplines, both mental and physical, that I impose on myself – and the underlying reasons behind my attempts at doing so – aren’t necessarily geared towards Him and His glory and purpose for me as much as my own goals and ambitions, and I’m not sure if I ought to jettison them for something better, or if they are still somehow good enough (especially in the lack of an obvious “something better” for the moment).
As for yourself, I wish I knew what it might have been that troubled you, and if I could have done better to remedy those things for you – or would that, like God not removing us from the world, merely have left you vulnerable to future temptations?
Letters to Rachel 