March 21 I Monday

Joshua 7-9

Luke 1:21-38

“I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”  —John 10:10

What is the premise we base our well-being and happiness on? For some, it may be in nurturing a close, loving family. Others are absorbed with careers, financial prosperity and status. Many people just want to be able to do what they want when they want, and some want to make a difference in giving all they can for the benefit of others.

      The mind is crucial in the process of living the life we want, but there is only one premise we can build upon that guarantees fulfillment. Every person is called by God to live a life directed by His Holy Spirit within us. Many people reject this, of course, but as Christians, we have been made regenerate by a miracle of God in our hearts and are made holy by a process that includes our minds. We change our minds about God, ourselves, about sin and the way we live; about our meaning and significance, our responsibilities and role in life. In this adjusting of the mind to the will of God—which is through repentance—we become regenerated and are made new with the Spirit of God indwelling us. This means our priorities change, and we begin to live the life we were called to live.

      The mind is our place of understanding, but the heart is our disposition toward life, people and God. Our consciences are God-given barometers that read whether something is right or wrong. In Romans 2:14-15, Paul says that Gentiles, who do not know the law of God, have a built-in awareness of right and wrong. This is a legacy of the fact that God created us in His image. In the Bible, the heart combines the mental and the moral. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says, “the heart is used figuratively for the hidden springs of the personal life.” What we know in our minds is filtered through the disposition of our hearts.

      Proverbs 23:7 in the NKJV translation says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” and that is the deep hidden springs of our personal lives. The heart is our throne room, and when indwelt by the Spirit of God, the kind of living that flows out will be one that increasingly reflects the righteousness of God. The only way to come to God is through Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ is the only premise upon which God intends we build our lives. We are not promised a trouble-free life, but “life to the full,” which is made complete in Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Dear God, thank You for the life of Jesus. I pray He becomes more and more the essence of my being and everything I build my life upon. Thank You, Lord.