. Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37
Before sin becomes an act, it forms first in a thought. This is what we call being tempted. This is when we should cry out to God for help resist the sin. If we don’t then we will fall into the temptation and sin. God has given us a means to escape from sin’s lure and grip. It is the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. He convicts us. He calls us to turn around and change the direction of our lives.
Romans 12:1-2 says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Our minds are very important part of our spiritual anatomy. What role does our minds play in pleasing God and being tranformed inot the likeness of Jesus? We must train our mind to recognize and run from temptation and respond quickly to the Holy Spirit’s conviction. How can we train our minds to resist the temptation and to respond to the Holy Spirit’s conviction? First, we have to keep Jesus as our first love. Next, memorize scripture to help us. A good verse to memorize is Philippeans 4:8. Base everything you do by this verse. Its a great temperature gauge to see if we are staying the course of God.
How do we truly know if we have repented? John the Baptist warned people to ‘Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.’ Matthw 3:8 and In Revelations, 2:4-5, Jesus said to the church of Ephesus: I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. According to these verses the evidence in true repentance is having an outward evidence. Our behavior will change. If we truly feel bad about our sin, it will show itself. Depending on the sin and how long it has been apart of your life, will depend on the evidence over time. Change in behavior can happen instantly and some can take a while. However, the change will show in our behavior. Repentance is a change in mind that results in a change of behavior.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you! I pray that we will run to you right away when we are being tempted to sin. I pray that we will call upon our brothers and sisters to pray for us in the time of temptation. I pray that we are daily being aware of where our mind is at, what we are putting into it, through the things we read, listen to, and watch. I pray that when the Holy Spirit convicts us, we will repent right away.
In Jesus Name
Amen
