Why you need to renew your mind
“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks…” ~ Luke 6:43-45 ESV
And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” … But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander ~ Matthew 15:10-11, 18-20 ESV
The word “heart” from these two portions of the scriptures is translated from the Greek word “kardia” which means the “thoughts or feelings (mind).” Its Hebrew word is “leb” which stands for “the inner part of a person and refers to our will, mind, consciousness, emotions, and understanding.” It, therefore, doesn’t refer to the physical heart that pumps blood into our bodies, but rather to our inner being; the core of who we are. In essence, your heart is you; who you are. If your heart is full of negativity, that’s exactly how you will behave and feel about everything and everyone around you, or rather, how you will respond to life. That’s why the above scripture says that “no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit…” There is no way you can bear good fruits if all that fills your inner being is bad.
“…For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks…”
If the source of your thoughts is incorrect, your thoughts are also incorrect and your conclusions and beliefs are erratic, defective and corrupted. The result is a life of error and limitations. Unless you renew your mind with the word of God, life will remain unfair to you. You will keep seeing and perceiving life, your world and God through the lens of your pains and negative experiences. If you want to change your life, your thinking must change.
Juanita Bynum says in her book “Matters of the Heart” “Our minds need to be transformed constantly by a process of renewing. Whatever we do now, should not conform to this world’s way of thinking. In order to be transformed, we must renew our minds every day. When the renewed mind lines up with conversion that is in our hearts, we become new creatures inside out. The only way our renewed minds can fail to come into harmony with our new hearts is by our choice. We must choose whether to follow the stubborn habits that are stored in our memories or to submit to the wisdom that flows out of our new hearts.”
The word of God is the only true key and knowledge that we need to renew our minds. It’s the truth that will free us from errors, false information, and beliefs that limit us and constantly keep on pulling us backwards. A mind without God’s truth is a mind full of death and this means that whatever emanates from such a mind brings nothing but “death” into our lives. We need the original knowledge of God. The enemy succeeded in deceiving Eve because he manipulated the word of God. He gave her corrupted word. What God had given man was original knowledge, but the enemy manipulated it for his selfish reasons, and he still does it today without much struggle. For us to function as we were originally meant to, we need God’s original knowledge. You must discipline yourself to read and study the word of God for yourself and allow the Holy Spirit to work on your mind. Unless we receive the original knowledge from God of who we are, we will only exist, but lack real life.
For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. ~ Romans 8:29 ESV
Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls ~ James 1:21 ESV
