Who Are You Listening To? Renovate Your Mind Part 2

The renovation continues. In HGTV: Renovate Part 1, the time to tune to the channel H.G.T.V and Hear God’s Tender Voice and renew (renovate) your mind is now.

Renewing the mind is taking your thoughts and replacing them with God’s thoughts. It’s the ability to stop, look and listen before reacting. Hear God’s tender voice and tune out your emotions, feelings and the voice of the devil.

Now, let’s review the voices in your head. I am not referring to mental disorders where different voices arise from multiple personalities or voices convincing you are the reincarnated Jason and you must kill all teenagers camping in the woods.

As you may already know, there are many voices speaking to you. One of your voices may be a parent, guardian or friend speaking good advice; reminding and instructing you to perform positive things in life. Or, derogatory words from unlearned, abusive, manipulating people resulting in humiliation, shame and guilt.

The two main categories are God and the devil. You will recognize all the other speeches, words or remarks will fall generally under these two main sources.

To attempt to keep this simple, if the words or statements in your thoughts are positive, uplifting, peaceful, graceful, and motivating or anything that aligns with an essence of goodness, that’s God’s voice or one of His representatives passing His Word to you.

Words of evil, conniving, pride, selfishness, shame, guilt, confusion or anything with a sense of wrongness, that’s the devil’s voice whispering negativity into your thoughts.

The different tone of the voices:

• God’s voice is calm, gentle and quick. It’s also quiet and fast. If you are not tuned in to hear Him. you’ll miss it.

And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire [a sound of gentle stillness and] a still, small voice1 Kings 19:12Amplified Bible (AMP)

• The devil’s voice is loud, going into detail related to wrong and evil. The devil knows the Word of God is calm and quick. The devil comes right behind God’s Word and instruction and steals it. Cunningly, he will convince you to do the opposite of whatever God told you to do.

Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved, Luke 8:12King James Version (KJV)

• How can I know the difference between the two voices?

In biblical references, we are the sheep. The Lord God is our Shepherd. The sheep will follow the Shepard’s voice.

⁴ And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. John 10:4King James Version (KJV)

Studying God’s Word is the only way to sharpen your sense of hearing to recognize and follow His voice. You must pray and meditate on His Word. If you think there is a short cut, there is not.

In HGTV: Renovate Part 3, feelings and emotions are evaluated.

Avenues of Awareness 

Reflection Road

You landed this great job. Your paychecks are more than you could imagine. The “tender voice” instructs you not to make any major purchases. There is not a loud voice, but loud temptations. Major department stores are having blowout sales. The “tender voice” says, wait. You buy a new wardrobe. A flyer in the mail informs you are pre-approved for a new car. The tender voice says, not now. Never mind your current car is paid for and in good condition. You go to the car dealership to look. Three hours later, you’re driving home with a state-of-the-art luxury car. The loud voice in your head, you deserve it. While driving your new car, wearing a new outfit, you spot the house of your dreams, for sale. The “tender voice”, this is not the time. A month later you are moving in. The loud voice say, it’s okay, people need to recognize your status in life. Things are great for six months. A recession hits. You lose your job. No other jobs are available. Now, you have clothes you can’t wear to work, a car you didn’t need and a house you can’t afford. The loud voice will tell you, if you were a child of God, He would have warned you. You agree and become mad with God, because you lost your job. Really? Who is to blame? Many after hearing warnings will ignore them and when tragedy hits will blame any or everyone. Don’t be that person.

Devil’s Drive

The devil know God’s Word and he knows you. Sometimes he will disguise his voice and make it tender and gentle, however if whatever the instruction given if it does not match with God’s love or Word, it is not God. Study the Word and know the difference.

World’s Way

The world does not tell, suggest or encourage you not to read. However, it offers flashy, self-satisfying and self-indulging temptations that influences and overwhelms you, not to read. The world will not broadcast not to read, because that would put bookstores and authors out of business. With electronic devices to include tablets, Smart phones, 3d televisions with surround sounds, who has time to read. Who wants to read when you can sit down and be entertained without thinking, turning a page or making notes? Reading has become a lost art for many, especially the youth. If the passage is longer than 144 characters (the length of a Tweet), many of our young people will not indulge. If they do take time to read, sometimes it is some trashy rag describing the lives of the rich and famous.

It’s not wrong have electronic devices. I’m not saying decompression or down time is wrong. Everyone needs relaxation and playtime in their lives. Everything in life there must be a balance. Balance your day to spend time with God, study His word and renew your mind. The devil’s biggest attraction is distraction. Don’t be too distracted.

Personal Pathway

I followed God’s tender voice and didn’t realize I was following it. Years ago, I resigned from a job. On my exit-out meeting, human resources highly encouraged me to keep my 401K or roll it over, if necessary. I listened with interest. Days later, all types of Investment Plan literature filled my mailbox, offering discounts and low rates, if I signed up with them. Again, I read with interest. To be truly honest, I did not feel right about keeping my 401K. Against all of the advice and literature, I cashed in my 401K. The money supported me during my unemployment. The economy took a nose dive. The recession hit. Many people lost jobs and portions or all of their investments. God protected me before I knew I needed protection. He allowed me to reap the benefits of my 401k. My funds were not lost or taken away.

Lord’s Lane

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27 King James Version (KJV)

 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. Proverbs 4:1King James Version (KJV)