July 11 – Your Mind; God’s Thoughts (Colossians 3:1-10)

“Put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”(Colossians 3:10)

IN WORD:
When we are born again, we are spiritually renewed. The Bible makes that clear. We are a new creation — the old has passed away and the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). What does that mean for our hearts? Though they were hard and resistant to God, they are now soft and inclined toward Him. What does that mean for our minds? Paul tells us here. We are given a new knowledge.
This new knowledge isn’t just a change of opinion. It’s an invasion of truth into our once-deceived souls. Now we have a radically new perspective, a vital understanding of who God is and how His Son has saved us, and a new means of making decisions. We also have a kindred wisdom with our Creator, an ability to think His thoughts and live His life. We are in a holy process of becoming like Him.
Isn’t that amazing? While many cults and false philosophies make us gods unto ourselves, Jesus makes us humans with God’s mind. It’s a foundational principle of Christianity: We who were fallen and dead are now inhabited by the One who is risen & alive.
Does that mean our thinking will never err? That we will never disagree? That our logic will be infallible? Obviously not! But it does mean that, to the degree we submit our thinking to Christ, we can have His mind. We can be led & guided, renewed & transformed, crafted ever increasingly into the divine image.

IN DEED:
Are you aware of God’s goal for your thought life? It is perhaps the most challenging battleground for a Christian. We all too easily give in to depression, negativity, deception, misconceptions, and all sorts of false perspectives. God changes that, if we will let Him. He wants us to think like Him. You do not have to convince Him to do so — He loves to. Shed the old and embrace the new. Be conformed to His image daily in your mind.

“Think through me, thoughts of God.” -Amy Carmichael-