Let’s talk about loving God with your mind and really committing your mind to God.
When you get saved, you commit your heart to God. You love Him with all your heart, and that’s great. Now you need to say, “Lord, I want You to affect my mind.
“I don’t want You just to affect this invisible heart of mine. I want you to begin to change the way I think.” As He changes the way you think, your life will be absolutely revolutionized because it will change the way you live.
The Bible says that you become transformed by the renewing of your mind. I want you to take five minutes and memorize Romans 12:1-2 right now.
Some people pray, “God, please change my life. Please change what I do. I’m so sorry.” Let me tell you right now that God has already given you the ability to change your life in every area, and He has told you what to do.
You say, “Lord, I love You with all my heart.” He says, “Good. Now I want you to love Me with all your mind.” The way to do that is to put godly things in your mind. He says that your life will be transformed by renewing your mind.
Your mind has been corroded over the years. You live in a world that is full of sin, full of garbage, full of hatred and evil. Everywhere you turn, radio stations, newspapers, magazines, movies, and TV programs offer sin, sin, sin. These things have been crammed down your throat since you were born.
But now you have really come alive because you’ve been born again. You have a new spirit, a new heart. God wants the newness of your heart to affect the way you live by affecting your mind.
Maybe you’ve prayed a prayer like the one above and then gone out and thought something bad. You may think, Oh, I guess I didn’t really mean it. Sure, you did.
It’s just that your mind has been brainwashed with a lot of wrong ideas ever since you were a child. Now you need to renew your mind.
What does it mean to renew your mind? It means to begin thinking God’s thoughts instead of the world’s thoughts. Think about the truth instead of a lie.
Feed your brain the stuff that God thinks instead of wasting time thinking about what you saw on a billboard, a bathroom wall, or a television program.
Your life is changed when you begin to think differently, and the way you live is transformed by renewing your mind.
We are talking about making a commitment this week, a commitment to say, “God, I’m going to give You my life. I’m going to give you my mind. I want my mind to be a sanctuary for things that you think, not things that the world thinks.
“I make a commitment and a decision to put only things in my mind that are going to push me to grow toward You.”
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Ron Luce was the co-founder and president of Teen Mania Ministries from 1986-2015. Ron and his wife Katie dreamed to raise young people who would change the world.
Ron received his bachelor's degree in Psychology and Theology from Oral Roberts University and his master's in Counseling Psychology from the University of Tulsa, along with an honorary doctorate from Jerry Falwell of Liberty University. He is a sought-after speaker who has traveled to more than 60 countries and has made numerous media appearances, such as Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family radio broadcast, CNN, The O'Reilly Factor, ABC Nightline, The 700 Club, Trinity Broadcasting Network, and the Sean Hannity Show. Ron has also written 35 books for teens, youth pastors, and parents and continues to speak at leaders' conferences helping parents and pastors understand the plight of today's youth and showing them how all of us can be part of the solution.
Ron and Katie currently live in Garden Valley, Texas, with their son Cameron. They have two daughters, Hannah and Charity.