davidbowerkingwood

What is the Default Position for your Mind?

During the course of the day our thoughts can be pulled in many directions by circumstances; there are many responsibilities each of face that require decisions and actions on our part. There can also come a time when we get a break from the demands of life and our thoughts can wander for a moment; at those moments where is your mind naturally inclined to go?

And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. Hebrews 12:1b

Does your mind have a default thought pattern that emerges when the pressures of life have abated for the time being; you get a few minutes and your mind goes where? The answer to that question may be more important than you realize as it could be an indication of who is in control of your mind.

The natural question is who is vying for control of your mind; is your mind up for grabs, is it a sort of battlefield for control of your thoughts and actions? As a Christian there is more fact than fiction to that question as you are inhabited by opposing forces; a nature to sin and the Holy Spirit.

Paul tells us we are no longer under condemnation but does that mean the battle is over? Unfortunately not, as long as we occupy our mortal bodies we will be required to engage in battle with the enemy. I have covered this in more detail in the series To the Soldiers in the Spiritual War.

Paul points out the nature of our warfare and the only effective defense we have available; in Ephesians 6:10-17 it is written:

^“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

If we are to stand our ground this is our only effective defense!

What are the Alternatives?

As Christians we have a choice, something the unbeliever does not have; we can let our sin natures control or we can let the Holy Spirit control in our lives. If we are to be successful in letting the Holy Spirit control in our lives it is important we know the enemy and the nature of the enemies attack against us; armed with that information we can fashion a sure defense against attack. Paul cautions us in Galatians 5:16-18

^“16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

Unconfessed sin is the way the enemy gets control over our thoughts; unconfessed sin quenches the power of the Holy Spirit and lets our sin nature dominate our thoughts, (keep in mind that everything that is not of faith is sin). Confession of sin restores the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the power of our sin nature is quenched. The thought patterns of the sin nature and the Holy Spirit are diametrically opposed to each other and therefore easy to recognize:

The Sin Nature

^“19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

The Holy Spirit

^“22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited,provoking and envying each other.”

In Summary

In the privacy of our minds we can examine those options and realistically assess which is our customary default position. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have people speak of us as they spoke of Stephen, “…..they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit) Acts 6:5 What an amazing compliment, “full of faith and the Holy Spirit” could any Christian man or woman ask for anything more?