Programming 101… Think.Like.Jesus!
But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:16
We have it but do we USE IT????
For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, Romans 8:6
What or better yet, WHO will we set our minds on?
Setting our minds… though I believe our choices (“choose you this day whom you will serve”) are MADE – proclaimed, stamped as the law, and expected to produce the fruits of life – in our hearts, or the place where the throne of free will resides. The mind is the computer – the operating system upon which, unless over-ridden with software changes and/or updates, all plans, tasks, and assessments are SET IN PLACE to accomplish the heart’s desire.
We usually examine our mind to reveal our “SELF”, i.e. our life choices, desires, and wishes. Though we can maybe see (more dimly than accurately) the ways and means to the end goal, asking a computer to DECIDE its own end goal will result in serious error messages.
However… we can assess the “settings” of our mind. The mind set on the flesh or the mind set on the Spirit. We can appraise our operating system and search the codes, synapses, and processes used to produce the end goals by appraising the fruit that grows in and around our lives. We can ask our minds just what they were/are thinking, but every answer must be suspected as only a “smile and nod” – a “Whatever you WANT it to be!” – or a wink to confirm “NO WORRIES!”.
But to find out our TRUE SELF, we must go deeper. Most call it the heart, some call it our soul, but whatever you call the deep place of your self, it is where the PROGRAMMER determines the program, where the THRONE and the THRONE AUTHORITY of our physical, emotional and spiritual life resides and rules.
So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you WALK NO LONGER just as THOSE WHO walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you LAY ASIDE the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and PUT ON the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Ephesians 4:17-24
Who is the PROGRAMMER?
You and only you… the only one you trust to want what is best for you?
Or God… the only one who not only desired the BEST for you, but gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, in order to make us His children.
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. Galatians 3:26-29
Unfortunately, old selves still want to play with the computer! We put on our new self and forget to change the settings (or don’t believe we need to). We forget to (or so I claim… “I FORGOT!”) GET OUT OF THE THRONE and PUT JESUS on it! When Jesus is on the throne in the CORE/center of our self, the Holy Spirit is THE PROGRAMMER and our mind will be SET WITH THE OPERATING SYSTEM OF GOD.
We will be renewed in the spirit of our mind, with codes, synapses, and processes that produce life and peace.
We will grow into and be trained to Think.Like.Jesus!!!! Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise,
We WILL BEGIN to dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8
In our day and age, we have “SMART PHONES” which tempt us to think we are “smart” because we have them. But… do you personally know and have authority over the programmer(s) who produced them? They have indeed made it look like WE control the smartness because WE ask it the questions and tell it what we need… as if WE are the programmer!
May I just remind us all… we didn’t design it – we cannot vouch for the complete righteousness of all the information, all the methods, all the end games it seeks – and yet, we TRUST that these hirelings – these programmer(s) we buy our Smart Phones from, have ONLY our best interests not their version of what those should be, at the center of their programming.
We pretend to have control over our SELF, however we put our FAITH in a myriad of people, places and things, EVERYDAY – ALL DAY LONG, (not the least of whom is ourselves), because NO ONE can do it all! If we were truly honest, we have very little control, and even what we do have, we sell or give away for the immediate gratification of rainbows, unicorns, and all things bling.
Yes, we can tell a lot about our SELF by the operating system we call our mind… the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.
Who’s your programmer?
Who programs your operating system?
Who controls your mind?
Choose you this day… but know this… Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Choose the One who really does control eternity! We can have the mind of Christ.
Programming 101… Think.Like.Jesus!
**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.