"TIME-FUL OF THE MIND"

Ethelda Bartlett
There is a Spirit of Distraction in our world.  It is not new.  It has been here since the beginning of time.  It is one very effective tool that the enemy uses to rob us of our Blessings.

In this generation we have reached a new digressive level, a mental decline.  We are not only giving undue attention to unimportant things, but actually glorifying the disorder itself.   Where children in the 50's lost their tonsils to the world of medicine, children in the 90's have lost their abilities to focus and concentrate.   The same child who does not have the ability to be attentive in school, which affects his future life, is the same child who is in the top-ten at playing computer games.  He also possesses unlimited knowledge of the world of fantasy.  The scales are not balanced.

Adults participate in time management classes because they cannot discipline themselves to make the right choices.  Every human, regardless of age, is engaged daily in the battle of the mind.   The bombardment of modern technology has caused an overload.  Allowing oneself to place too much emphasis in the wrong areas has always had this result.  We all come to the place where we need an upgrade.

Eve was so caught up with the produce that she forgot the producer, even when reminded of Him, she could not accurately recall what He had said.  The distraction of the "tree" always lures us to choose knowledge over life.  There is precise instruction in the Word of God, the Bible, regarding our responsibility to the care of our mind.

It seems through careful study that this is one area that is left up to us.  Life is choices and choices occur in the mind.  We have to determine what we will allow to inhabit our mind.  The enemy will divert your attention anyway he can.  You know if you decide to spend time in prayer that the phone will ring.  There will be an emergency develop everytime you choose to get better acquainted with Christ through His Word.  You have to be determined and watchful, allowing your desire to drive you onward, casting aside both mental and physical interference.

A little practice will have you quickly recognizing all the tricks.  For those who are not observant and alert to the mind-games, a condition develops where the distraction becomes a crutch, resulting in an excuse for not aggressively moving forward in your spiritual walk.  The enemy now convinces you that you have no control over the situation, and a wedge has been driven into your mind separating you and your deliverer.

It is very popular today to look for inherent reasons that prevent us from making right choices, passing the blame to a remote obscurity, rather than accepting responsibility.  This is humanistic thinking.  If you want to look back into your heritage, don't stop your search for answers in recent generations, but let the eyes of your understanding be enlightened.  Allow the eternal light to shine the truth into your heart.  Know that you are part of an eternal plan that is destined to win! What you have access to in your spirit is the predominant force in your life, if you choose it to be.  All things are possible, nothing is withheld, and Peace Of Mind  is one of the free gifts offered for making this choice of setting your affections at a higher level.

The mind can play with us, it is very convincing, and seldom is the message positive.  That is why Phil.  2 gives us instruction as to how to change modes.  We have to desire the "Mind of Christ".  He operated with humble strength, unpretentious power, and aggressive submission to the will of His Father.  His purpose was not to gain a reputation or take credit, but to give Glory to God.

You have to get to the Tree of Life no matter how many fruitstands the enemy erects by the side of your road.  You may have to pass through distractions equivalent to a California "swap-meet" or a twenty-five mile long flea-market, but you are focused.  There is a longing in your soul that drives you onward.

Psalm 42:1&2 creates a good picture image.  This animal is thirsty, it will not stop for ANYTHING  until the thirst is satisfied...  so is my soul after you O God.

Our minds can even be totally absorbed with good things.  There is a great quest for knowledge of "Prophecy" both in the religious and secular world.  This obsession reaches the point of excluding the one who is the Beginning and the Ending and everything in between.  Jesus said, don't worry about a thing, I will take care of you, and the church world is in a frenzy trying to equate world events with Biblical Prophecy in order to determine a time frame.

Whatever happened to Matthew 6:25-34?

Y2K has become a god, everyone is bowing and worshipping, filling their time with knowledge about things to which no-one has the answer.  Why? Have we forgotten that there is a True God who is all-knowing, all-powerful, and Love personified? He promised to never leave us.

Our faith is being transferred to world events when we have direct access, a fiber-optic connection to the inventor of this world.  The transmission of light by internal reflection perfectly describes our connection to Almighty God.

Our goal should be to make sure that our time is full of the mind of Christ not mindful of the times.

There is nothing we can do to change our physical world, but a there is a world of work we can do to change our physical approach.  We cannot figure things out carnally.  The wisest man who ever lived gave this advice.  " Wisdom is the main thing..  get it..  but don't get it without understanding.  Prov.  4:7

Cultivate the Mind of Christ, you will see things very differently.

1.  Gird up the loins of your mind.  Support and protect the place where the reproduction of your thoughts occur.  Gird also means to clothe or invest with power and authority.  We clothe ourselves by getting into Christ, for it is "In Him" that we live and move and have our being.

Acts 17:28.  It is His will for us to have a powerful and sound mind.

We are the sons of God, there is great power in a name.  Phil.  2:15

In this world you generate respect according to the power of your name.  Do people know that you are a child of the very source of this worlds goods and the world itself? Consider your heritage in Christ, be mindful of your resources.

Almighty God knew that our minds would become fatigued, stressed and even burned-out.  He knew we would need a new thought processor, one with power to sort things out quickly and efficiently, one that was capable of cutting through masses of information and directing you to right choices and priorities.

He is our Father, the giver of perfect gifts.  He has the latest version in spiritual technology.  He wants to install the "chip" called the Mind of Christ.  It will give you revelation and knowledge  that you were unable to imagine.  If you accept this gift you will become compatible with Phil.  4:8 and your memory will be "full" of these things.  You will have an updated and powerful system.

You will be renewed  in the spirit of your mind Eph.  4:23

Your "fullness of time" will erupt in a river of life that will minister to the needs of others..  Exemplifying the God you serve.