June 26th

June 26th      

Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

“Easy for you to say!” If you were thinking that after any of these devotions this week, rest assured that it is just as much of a struggle in our house as it is in yours. We are on the same journey you are and will be working to make our brains more healthy as well. Here are some practical things that we can do to bring about the needed changes in our brains. Put negative/inappropriate thoughts on your radar and everytime you have one, stop and replace it with a new one. Pretty soon you will reinforce the new pathway and the old one will grow weaker. If you say that new thought or verse out loud it will reinforce the good pathway even more and your mind will be renewed even faster. I have found some of the verses listed below in this devotion to be very effective in breaking bad thought patterns. Every time I would replace a bad thought with reciting a verse. Remember the Word of God is alive and active and a useful tool!

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

God has given us this tool, we should use it.

Let’s look at this very useful section of Philippians again (reinforcement, remember?!)

Philippians 4:4-9 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

This passage really sums it all up well.

Rejoice ALWAYS! Why? Because the LORD IS NEAR to you! Don’t be anxious, talk to the Lord about it and let HIS PEACE GUARD YOUR HEART AND MIND. His peace guards your mind from the effects of stress. Chronic stress weakens the parts of your brain that involve wellbeing and resilience, not to mention its effects on your heart (literally) and the rest of your body. Then we should resolve to think about those good things that Paul lists in these verses. If you need help, start making a list of things in your journal that fall in to those categories, that way you will be able to recall them more easily. Even better -tell someone else about those good things.

We have all of the tools we need to live a healthy life for Jesus. We have the Holy Spirit, we have His Word, we have prayer, we have each other. Now we need to put these things in to practice, one day at a time, one thing at a time.

Jesus, thank you for giving me everything that I need to follow you. Help me to remember that. Help me to recognize bad thought patterns in my life and show me how to be transformed by the renewing of my mind. Show me how to surrender areas to you and let your peace guard my heart and mind. Thank you for not leaving me the way I am and for wanting to make me new every day. Thank you for being near to me.