Building Material That’s Not Needed: Renovate Your Mind Part 3

Now, that we have reviewed the two main categories of the voices influencing Emotions-Feelingyour thoughts; and God and the devil. I will like to bring to attention a subcategory. This category can go under any one of the main classification. The subcategory is you and your emotions.

If you’re are emotionally based and feelings led. Everything will be about you. I need, I need; You don’t know what they did: I’m going to tell them off: I’m going to get them back; I deserve; It’s not fair; It’s too hard; I can’t; why do things always happen to me; why do I need to apologize; no one understand what I am going through; I will never forgive them; I will never speak to them again. If any, all or some of these statements rolls continuously from your lips. You think, IT’S ABOUT YOU. Apologies, I need to tell you, it’s not about you. When you are renovating your mind, it’s about God, replacing your thoughts for His thoughts.

Everyone experiences emotions. Under certain circumstances, your feelings may be warranted and appropriate. It’s when you’re constantly charged with these feelings and allowing them to orchestra negative words, acts and behaviors. In those cases, your emotions are controlling you instead of you controlling your emotions. That’s wrong. If you quickly responded, I can’t do that; that’s just how I am; I can’t control my feelings, you may be correct. For you, alone, it may be difficult or impossible. With the grace of God, you can do all things. That is, if you are willing and truly ready to renew your mind.

… With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26 King James Version (KJV)

Ephesians 4:22-32 (KJV) gives detailed instructions on how to renew your mind. Each verse are steps in renovating your mind. It requires you to ask, lean and depend on God to accomplish these steps. The more you study and meditate on the Word. It becomes easier. Depending on the person, some of these interventions may be more difficult than others. The scriptures to support these steps can be found in the Lord’s Lane.

The first step is the willingness stage. You are to strip, shred, peel, and discard your old way of thinking. Previous ways of thinking are adapted from the world, society, government, relatives and your own way of thinking, reflecting selfishness, pride desires, overindulgence and lust.

This is the step to obtain a new and improved mental and spiritual state of perception. Renovating the mind is not a one-time event. It is a constant process throughout your entire life.

Take your old character and replace it with God’s character of being morally good with qualities relating to or coming from God.

Now, the specifics come into play. Stop lying. Many will immediately be offended and say, I’m not a liar. Or I don’t lie. Well, that’s not all together true. We have become so accustomed to little “white” lies we are not aware of how many are spoken. A lie is a lie no matter what color it is. For example:

  • Calling your job and saying you are sick when you want to go to a ball game.
  • Fabricating your resume, by adding untrue items to make it sound more professional.
  • Telling your children about Santa Claus or the Easter bunny. It sounds innocent, but these people or animals do not exist.
  • You are late for work because you stopped and got breakfast, but, you tell your superiors there was heavy traffic due to an accident.
  • Spreading invalidated information about your new neighbor, because you what to be in the know.

Ager is one of the passionate emotions. There are times anger is appropriate. But it’s the intensity, the length and in some cases, the person, you are expressing this emotion that can be damaging. Anger can be activated due to being upset or annoyed. Quick tempered, short-tempered and hot-tempered are the angers easily stimulated. These angers need to be researched by you and God and determine why you are so easily angered. Anger flares because:

  • It has become a coping mechanism to cover the true feeling of fear, embarrassment or pain.
  • Fearful of losing something or not knowing how to do something.
  • You must be in control when the ability is taken away anger is replaced.
  • You have been previously mistreated or abused, you spit out anger to protect yourself in the future.
  • You must always be right.
  • You must always have the last word.
  • You can’t take criticism.
  • You dislike when people disagree with you.
  • Your parent, guardian, or relative was an angry person. You feel like this is a great trait. Or you devolved the habit.

The Word tells us not to allow the sun to set on our anger. Ask God to help you in this area. He will guide you of ways to diffuse and release your anger appropriately. If you go to bed with this feeling, guess what, chances are, the next morning that emotion is renewed, ready for another day to keep you captured in the anger mode.

Don’t give the devil room for gloom. Any time any negative emotion occurs, the devil is present and ready to keep that feeling brewing. He whispers and suggests more adverse thoughts to keep you in that mood. Fight back with The Word, prayer or reciting scriptures.

  • You had an argument with your spouse. If you are attempting to calm down, the devil will remind you about all the bad things about your spouse, unfavorable things that may have occurred weeks, months or years ago. He will tell you that you should not take this and your spouse has no right. You will agree, thinking you are not to blame. If you listen to the devil and feed on his suggestions, your anger stays aflame. You will say or do things that you may be truly be sorry for in the future.

Don’t steal. Most people may think they do not steal. Steal: to take something that does not belong to you in a way that is wrong. Or, to take something without permission. Stealing is not just a mere act of going into a store and taking something without paying. It can be an everyday act you commit without thinking.

  • Riding the clock is an act when you are not working, but you are have not clocked or signed out. This may occur generally at the close of the day. An hour before the time to get off. You stop working and began to take care or your personal business, or surf the net or converse with a co-worker. Riding the clock is stealing time.
  • Taking office supplies, home to supply your personal office.
  • Taking great quantities of sugar packets, napkins, condiments, straws and other “free” items, to stock your car or home because you don’t want to buy these items.
  • Lying on your tax return to get more money.

Now it’s time to deal with your mouth and the words coming from your mouth.

  • No more foul language or profanity.
  • Stop talking about others and spreading gossip, rumors and lies.
  • Cease to judge people according to your standards, and not God’s ways.
  • No more degrading remarks and cruel jokes.
  • Block saying negative things all of the time.
  • Being harshly critical.

Be a positive role model Let your speech be positive, encouraging, uplifting, truthful and kind. Be complimentary to others, so those are around you can learn from you.

When you are accepting God into your heart, you are sealed (marked, branded and secured) as one of God’s children. His Spirit comes to live inside you. When you say, act or behave in a manner contrary to the Spirit in your heart, you grieve (sadden or offend) the Spirit. You can actually feel this sorrow or heaviness of heart. When you did something and you know it was wrong, many may mistake it as guilt, but the Holy Spirit may be grieved.

This step is the final somewhat catch all intervention for all other evil speaking and bad behaviors. Put away all rage, animosity, slander, contention, clamor, abusive, ill will, spite and any wrong words, sayings and behaviors.

Learn to forgive. This may be one the hardest things for people to accomplish. Everyone has a story to tell about how they were mistreated in some type of shape, form or fashion. And many cases, some are worse than others. This is not to be taken lightly, trust me it isn’t. Forgiveness is not solely about another person, it’s for you; to release the anger, hurt, pain from your heart. It’s a cathartic process, purging your from all the strong emotions that is hindering your growth and the ability to move on. This is an area where you and God may near to have some one on one time with forgiveness.

Last but certainly, not least. Be kind and considerate to others. Make things about God and others. And God will make things all about you.

You will have strong and passionate emotions. This is not a process to never have them. It’s a process to control them replace your negative emotions with the positive gifts God has given.

Avenues of Awareness

Reflection Road

After reading this post, you may ask why I should renew my mind, what’s the point?

  • Do you want to continuously be ignorant and blind to God’s promise for you?
  • Are you tired of destruction and stress?
  • Do you want joy and peace?
  • Do you want to prove what is good and acceptable and the perfect will of God?
  • Do you want to discover your calling—your purpose in life.
  • Do you want to learn God, our Father is the wealthiest Father in the universe and as His the children and heirs we will receive a great inheritance. Not only in the afterlife, but in your everyday life.

If that’s not enough, I don’t know what will be.

Devil’s Drive

The devil loves for you to be out of control with your feelings. He can slide right in without any effort causing those feelings to seethe for days, weeks and sometimes years. Remember the devil comes to kill, steal and destroy. He wants to destroy you in any way he can. He will whisper in your thoughts you are justified in losing control of your feelings. He will make it all about you. He will work with pride and selfishness to get his point across. Don’t listen to him. Take control of your feelings. When you control your feeling you control the devil and ploys.

World’s Way

The world and its ways do try to assist with uncontrolled feelings and emotions. There are anger management classes (for the extreme angry person), therapy groups and of course all types of medications available. All I want to say (and there are exceptions to the rule) is before running to man, special group sessions and medication, turn to God, prayer, and the Word. One day therapy with God can be more effective, long lasting and cheaper than one year of therapy with a paid professional. Trust God.

Personal Pathway

In all of my church going and Bible class attendance, I was not instructed to renew my mind. I did not know, by the grace of God, I could control my feelings and emotions. I did not know the devil whispered negativity in my mind. I said what I wanted to say and if my feeling were not tamed, oh well. I never went out to vindictively hurt people. But looking back, I did hurt people by my unbridled tongue. By constantly renewing my mind, replacing my thoughts with God’s thoughts, this has been one of the greatest gifts for me. That’s why it is important for me to tell everyone to renovate your mind. It will bring, perspective, peace and prosperity.

Lord’s Lane

Ephesians 4:22-32King James Version (KJV)

22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

27 Neither give place to the devil.

28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

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