What Am I Feeding My Mind With

In Philippians 4:8 I read, “Brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (NIV)

I can learn a lot about a person’s physical health by simply looking at their physical diet. Are they eating a variety of whole foods? Are they eating a lot of fast food? Is their diet full of foods that help them grow strong and have energy, or is the food they consume wearing them down?

The same is true spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. I can know a lot about my spiritual, mental, and emotional health by looking at my mental diet.

Consider hours of talk radio, cable news, soap operas, social media, and binge watching is the equivalent of mental junk food. It’s not healthy for me. In fact, it’s poison. It is wearing down my ability to live a life of purpose.

Proverbs 15:14 says, “A wise man is hungry for truth, while the mocker feeds on trash” (TLB).

I have a choice—and every day, I must choose to feed my mind with the best thoughts.

Philippians 4:8 gets specific about the kinds of thoughts that are best for my mental, emotional, and spiritual health: “Brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (NIV).

Does this list of things describe what I think about most of the time? If I’m honest, the answer is “no.” My mind doesn't naturally go to these things because I am human and sinful.

So I have to train my mind to think thoughts that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. How do I do that? By doing it! I have to practice filling my mind with these things by reading the Bible, meditating on it, and memorizing it. I have to hunger for it.

How I think determines how I live. What I put in my mind is going to affect every area of my life—so I need a steady diet of truth from God’s Word.

Spirit-Led Thinking Will Lead Me to Life

In Romans 8:6 I read, “If your thinking is controlled by your sinful self, there is spiritual death. But if your thinking is controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace.” (ERV)

Making changes in any area of my life requires that I change the way I think. That’s because my brain is where God’s Spirit works.

God’s Spirit works through my mind! Often we use the metaphor of our heart being the place where God works. For example, we say, “I invited Jesus into my heart.” But my heart is really just a symbol for my brain. My brain is where I think—so it’s in my mind that God begins the change process. It’s where the reset will actually take place.

The Bible says in Ephesians 4:23-24, “Let the Spirit change your way of thinking and make you into a new person” (CEV).

I was created to be like God, but that doesn’t happen instantly. To grow into someone who’s more like Jesus, I’m going to have to go through a lot of change and I’m going to have a lot of resets. So becoming a new person in Christ starts with changing the way I think.

When Satan suggests an idea in my mind, that’s called temptation. When God suggests an idea in my mind, that’s called inspiration.

It’s my choice every moment of life which ideas I’m going to hold on to and which ones I’m going to reject. Whether I accept or reject a temptation or an inspiration is all up to me. I get to choose what ideas are going to control my life.

Romans 8:6 says, “If your thinking is controlled by your sinful self, there is spiritual death. But if your thinking is controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace” (ERV).

God wants me to live a full, meaningful, purposeful life. He wants me to grow in faith and spiritual maturity. But it’s my choice each moment of every day. Will I choose the way that leads to life?

So daily I must consciously choose to center my life on God, find and use God's Word to discover His guidelines, and then follow them. In every perplexing situation, I can ask, "What would Jesus want me to do?" When the Holy Spirit points out what is right, I should do it eagerly.

The Battle for My Brain

In James 4:1 I read, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” (NIV)

Every second of life, there’s a battle in my brain. There’s a mental battle going on right now! It could be between right and wrong, between what’s easy and what’s hard, or what’s healthy and what’s unhealthy. 

All my negative emotions—stress, depression, anxiety, loneliness, fear, jealousy—are a mental struggle. All of my internal and external conflicts start in my mind. 

James 4:1 says, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” (NIV) This battle goes on even when I sleep, in the form of restlessness and or bad dreams. It’s a battle 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

This battle is constant and intense because my mind is my greatest asset. I am my thoughts, will, emotions, and soul. Without my brain, I’m not me.

The Bible says in Romans 7:22-23, “I love to do God’s will so far as my new nature is concerned; but there is something else deep within me . . . that is at war with my mind and wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. In my mind I want to be God’s willing servant, but instead I find myself still enslaved to sin” (TLB).

However, because I follow Jesus, God’s Spirit is in me. It’s part of my new nature. That means that Satan can’t control my mind, but he can make suggestions.

The only influence Satan has in the life of a Christian is that he can put thoughts in my mind. He can get my attention—and that’s a pretty big deal, because whatever gets my attention gets me. Once he puts a thought in my mind, I have to decide if I’m going to accept or reject his suggestion.

Needless to say, there’s a lot going on in my mind and all of it will eventually show up in my attitude and my actions.

I can ask God’s help for me to choose right over wrong, healthy over destructive, and his truth over Satan’s lies. The good news is that God is ready to give me the power I need through the Holy Spirit! 

What’s Slowing Me Down?

In Hebrews 12:1-2 I read, “We must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won't let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete.” (CEV)

When I realize I need a life reset, eliminating anything unhelpful or unhealthy is an important step.

If I want to change my life, maybe I need to unplug my TV for a few months or cancel your streaming service subscription. To really change my mind, I have to stop the junk that’s coming in over the Internet. I may need to take a break from the pressures and comparisons and useless information on social media.

I may need to confess a sin. Am I doing that regularly? If not, then unconfessed sin is building up and that’s going to affect my relationship with God, which means it affects every area of my life. To have a successful reset, I need to get rid of anything that has come between me and God. In other words, I need to get rid of my unconfessed sin.

Things in my life that are unhealthy and unhelpful may look like a bad attitude, certain books or movies or music, distractions, hobbies, or habits.

What do I need to get rid of or let go of to help me reset and focus on Jesus as I run my race in life? 

When I Ask God for a Reset, Be Specific

In 2 Corinthians 13:5 I read, “Look closely at yourselves. Test yourselves to see if you are living in the faith.” (NCV)

Nothing will be transforming until it becomes specific. I can ask God anytime for a fresh start in my life. But I can’t just say, “change me.” He wants to know what I have in mind!

I cannot solve any problem until I first identify it as a problem—and that means I have to admit that there are problems in my life. The more specific I am about what I want God to change, the sooner it’s going to happen.

Today’s verse reminds me to: “Look closely at yourselves. Test yourselves to see if you are living in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5 NCV).

So where do I need a reset? What specifically would I like God to change in my life to give me a fresh start? 

The First Step to a Reset

In Isaiah 43:18-19 I read, “Forget what happened before, and do not think about the past. Look at the new thing I am going to do. It is already happening. Don’t you see it?” (NCV)

I am a product of my past. Shaped by the good and the bad things I have experienced. However, I’m not a prisoner of the past—I can be free!

That’s what Christianity is all about. Through Jesus Christ, I can be born again and start a new life. Jesus makes it possible for me to push the reset button and get a second chance.

Here’s what God says about my past: “Forget what happened before, and do not think about the past. Look at the new thing I am going to do. It is already happening. Don’t you see it?” (Isaiah 43:18-19 NCV).

God doesn’t want me constantly looking at or dwelling on the past. If I’m always looking in the rear-view mirror, then I’m going to crash! The only way I can move forward is to focus on the present and look forward to the future.

The rest of my life is in the future, not in the past. My past is past; it’s over. I can’t change it, so I shouldn’t dwell on it. Instead, start asking God to do something new within me.

I may feel like nothing new is happening in my life right now. This is because I’m not asking. James 4:2 says, “You don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it” (NLT). Look again at what that says: I don’t have it because I don’t ask for it.

If I’ve never asked God for a reset in my life, then all I need to say is, “God, I need a fresh start. I’ve blown it. I’ve made mistakes, and I need you to reboot my life.”

This is the first step to a reset. I just have to ask God for it! 

Everyone needs a reset at some point—because life is hard, and we all make mistakes. Am I ready for God to do something new in your life? Ask him for a fresh start, and he’ll give me renewed energy, a renewed spirit, renewed hope, and a renewed heart. 

Turning My Pain into a Testimony

In 2 Corinthians 6:4 I read, “In everything we do we show that we are God’s servants by patiently enduring troubles, hardships, and difficulties.” (GNT)

I often think that the world is impressed with my success and how I enjoy my prosperity. But in reality they're more impressed by how I, as a Christ follower, handle adversity.

When I go through pain, non-believers around me are watching me. They’re wondering what it means to be a Christian when I’m in the same kind of pain they are. Does it look any different?

The truth is, I have the same pain as everybody else. I just have a different source of comfort.

My successes shouldn’t give me as much credibility as much as how I handle my suffering. The more honest and vulnerable I am about the suffering in my life, the more powerful my impact will be to others.

The apostle Paul was a pro at using his pain to model his message. He says in 2 Corinthians 6:4, “In everything we do we show that we are God’s servants by patiently enduring troubles, hardships, and difficulties” (GNT).

My deepest life message will come out of my deepest pain. The world doesn’t need to see Christ followers who are perfect or have it all together. They need something real and authentic. They need to see Christians who are patient in pain, who walk faithfully in suffering.

Every area of my life where I’ve experienced pain is a testimony. Has God helped me work my way out of deep debt? That was painful—but it’s also a testimony. God has helped me patiently endure chronic pain. That’s also testimony. Anywhere I’ve had pain and experienced God’s help is a testimony.

I should not waste my pain; and don’t waste my hurt. People all around me are going through the very thing I’ve already gone through, and they need my help. They need me to comfort them.

The greatest witness of God’s love in all of history was not Jesus’ perfect life, his sermons, his miracles, or his stories. It was his suffering.

God can use my faithfulness in suffering to great effect in someone’s life. In fact, my faithfulness in suffering could be my greatest witness! 

Why I Need to Be Open About My Pain

In 2 Corinthians 6:11 I read, “We have spoken frankly to you; we have opened our hearts wide.” (GNT)

In order to help others who are in pain, I’ll need to be willing to share how my own pain got my attention. Pain is a warning light that tells us something is wrong and needs our attention. 

The apostle Paul experienced a lot of pain in his life and freely told the story of his pain to help others. When I’m sharing about my own pain in order to help others, I need to do these three things.

First, be open about my feelings. I won’t be able to mask my feelings and help others at the same time. Paul said to the Corinthian church, “We have spoken frankly to you; we have opened our hearts wide” (2 Corinthians 6:11 GNT). When I’m sick, do I tell others I’m not feeling well? When I’m down or discouraged, do I open up to people about it? Saying I’m “fine” is the easy answer, but it will never contribute to an honest relationship.

Second, be humble about my faults. Paul says in Galatians 6:5, “Each of us must bear some faults and burdens of his own. For none of us is perfect!” (TLB) Since I know I’m not perfect, don’t try to pretend I am. People don’t need me to be perfect. They need me to be real.

Third, be honest about my fears. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:20, “I do admit that I have fears that when I come you’ll disappoint me and I’ll disappoint you” (The Message). Have I ever been open enough to share my fears with someone, even when it made me vulnerable? The greatest Christian who ever lived admitted he had fears. That kind of honesty is required in authentic relationships.

The hurting people around me need to hear about how I’ve struggled and how God brought me through—but they don’t need it tied up with a pretty bow.

We all have feelings, faults, and fears. It’s time I share them for the benefit of others.