We are well into our 5-part series about the benefits and costs of living for Jesus full time. I trust that you are getting the big picture of Christ’s mission for your life and for our church. Jesus is the only hope for our world. You and I already know that and we get to experience him working in and through us each day and we get to tell others how they can be changed for the better as well.
On that note, you have heard me talking about ‘The 25’, adults and youth from our church family who are committed disciples of Jesus and are willing to help others to become disciples. I am praying that over the coming months we will have up to 25 people step up and make themselves available to teach someone else how to follow Jesus’ commands. You will receive a handout on the final Sunday of the series that you can fill out or you can click the button on our website and complete it there if you’re in.
Perhaps you have never been discipled and trained to disciple others. You can sign up for that as well. We believe that we will have many opportunities in the coming years to welcome people to faith in Christ from our community as well as those that we already have connections with in any number of ways. I encourage everyone reading this devotional to take time to pray and consider becoming part of ‘The 25’.
This Sunday I will speak about the importance of training your mind daily to think more like Jesus. There is a direct link between your mind and your heart, the command centre of your life that I talked about last week. Your mind is the doorway that determines what goes into your heart, both good and bad. What you do with your mind will affect the quality of your life. Your mind will constantly be under attack from the enemy for that very reason. Strongholds can quickly take root in your mind and block out your connection with Christ and diminish your spiritual vitality.
Read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 and think about what’s at stake for your life when you learn how to win the spiritual war being waged in your mind. What are the spiritual weapons with divine power that are superior to the weapons of the world? What are arguments and pretensions that can develop into strongholds in your mind if you don’t quickly demolish them? What does it look like for you to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ?
Why is spiritual training vital for experiencing life transformation daily? Training for anything makes us better equipped to take on the challenges faced. So how does a disciple of Jesus train himself or herself to be competent and confident to take on the assaults of the enemy on their minds? What are the things that we must sign up for and do regularly to maintain spiritual maturity? Read Hebrews 5:13,14 for an example.
My goal is to become a little more like Jesus today than I was yesterday. How about you? Let’s look at this deeper on Sunday. See you then...
Pastor Del