Training Your Mind

You are fully aware of the necessity of training. Whether you’ve learned how to play an instrument, speak a new language, get in shape or compete in athletics, you didn’t succeed unless you trained.

You may have tried to do these things, but you didn’t accomplish your goal without proper training. True change requires training, not just trying. The point of training is to rearrange your life around the practices that bring you the power you need to make the needed changes.

This principle is especially true for living in the kingdom of God. Jesus instructed his followers to seek God first and foremost. That requires an entirely new way of thinking and viewing life and the world. It’s easy to see that your priorities will need to be rearranged if you’re going to love God fully and think about him more than you think about yourself.

Prayer, worship, Bible study and serving are some of the practices of training yourself to think more about God. In seeking God first, He instructs us to set our minds where Christ is seated (Colossians 3:1-2) rather than on the stuff of this life. How easy is that? To do it, you must re-train your mind so that you begin to consider God throughout your regular day.

If you are going to be transformed by the power of Christ, you must give yourself to training your mind. A new mind-set comes from taking direct control of your thoughts. THAT requires strength beyond your own ability. And your Father is more than willing to help, simply ask Him.

Realize that these practices are not ways to accrue spiritual brownie points. God isn’t in the business of behavioral modification. His work is heart transformation and mind renewal. How are you working with Him?

The point of these spiritual practices, or disciplines, is to empower you to do the right thing at the right time and in the right spirit, every time. The end game is to enable you to love God with your entire being: heart, soul, mind and strength.

If you’re a good ways down the tracks in your relationship with Christ, then further training in prayer may be helpful. That’s why I wrote How To Ask God – for What He Wants to Give You ($12.99 at Amazon).

If you aren’t in the habit of reading the Bible each day for inspiration and guidance, then training yourself in this daily practice is a powerful next step for you to consider. I just published a devotional book that trains you to spend at least 10 minutes each day reading through the letter to the Colossians. The book is titled, Take 10 to Menó ($6.99 at Amazon).

My fear is that this article will seem like a slick way to sell my books. Believe me, unless you are wildly popular, writing books is no way to pad the bank account. My desire is to help fellow followers of Christ to live lives that are worthy of our King, “who calls you into his own kingdom and glory (1 Thessalonians 2:12).

Grace to you all,

Bill