DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- SET YOUR MIND

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – SET YOUR MIND

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit, the things of the Spirit." (Romans 8:5)

How often do we hear the phrase, "He set his mind to do it and he did it." There is value in setting our minds to do something. It shows commitment and determination to accomplish a task. It is our focus. It speaks to the value of what we are intending to do.

If I set my mind on the things of the flesh, that will be my focus, and I will do what the flesh does. People live according to the flesh because that is what they choose to do.

There is an alternative – to set my mind on the things of the Spirit, what I know is God's will and purpose for me. The expanded phrasing of this would be, "but those who live according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit." It is an intentional focus of my will to serve the Lord. It is purposeful choices to do what the spirit leads, not what my flesh demands.

I am reminded of how Jesus worked this out in His life. Luke 8:51 says, "Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem." He knew that there would be pain, rejection, and a cross that awaited Him in Jerusalem. If He had succumbed to the desires of the flesh, He would have said, "No way am I going to Jerusalem." But He lived according the Spirit which called Him to put aside the flesh and set His mind on the Spirit in obedience to the Father.

In the natural, we set our minds to do a lot of things – to accomplish some task or reach some goal. May our minds be set in the spiritual realm also, to be resolved and dedicated to fulfilling God's purposes.

I have decided to follow Jesus. I have set my mind and purposed to do it. There's no turning back.

Love, Dad