Mind of Christ
Recently, Psalm 150 was read at my church. Psalm 150 is a psalm of
praise. I can’t remember which bible version Angela read from; however, I have the New
King James version; Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise Him in His
sanctuary, praise Him in His strong firmament, praise Him for His strong acts,
praise Him for His excellent greatness…. It’s important we praise God, for God
dwells in the praises of His people, as Psalm 22:3 states; "But you are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel." Israel, one who contends with God and wins,
that’s you and me.
Another
psalm - Psalm 1; blessed is the man who walks not in the council of the ungodly,
nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his
delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law he meditates day and night, he
shall be like a tree planted by rivers of water, that brings forth fruit in its
season, whose leaf also shall not wither and whatever he does shall prosper...
Notice the line rivers of water, many rivers flowing, not just one. To me, that
speaks of many blessings.
Why do I
bring this up? What’s important to God, should be important to us. God asks
that we praise Him, that we delight in His word day and night, meditating
constantly. At a previous church I attended, there was a member who persistently
reminded us; learn your scriptures, for the end times are coming and one day we
may not have bibles to open. I felt he was premature. We don’t need to know
scriptures yet. The end times aren’t here. These days I’m not so sure that the
end times aren’t too far away.
This man
has gone to be with the Lord now, but I got to thinking: What if he’s right? Even
if he was before his time, God asks it of us and so, regardless of this church
member being right or wrong, I began memorising scriptures which have significance
to me. I did it not for the end times, nor in fear of bibles being removed, but
because I want to do what the Lord asks me to do.
We are
united with Jesus, which means we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16
states; "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him? But we
have the mind of Christ." And so, I have the mind of Christ, for He is in me, as
a born-again believer.
Jesus never
said a gaff. He always said the right thing at the right time in the right way
to the right person. I want what Jesus has and to become like Jesus, I must
know the Living Word.
Sometimes
Jesus was just spoiling for a fight, in His desire to honour God. One could say
He was almost driven, to heal the sick, make the blind see, the lame walk and
to cast out demons.
Remember in
Matthew, when Jesus fell asleep on the boat and the storm came. The disciples
were afraid and woke Jesus asking; "Don’t you care if we perish?" They landed on
the other side of the waters and Jesus cast out a legion of demons from a man. The
demons went into the swine and over the cliff. Jesus and the disciples hopped
back on the boat and went home again. That was just Jesus, wanting to bless
another. I want what Jesus has, for when we bless others, we in turn are
blessed.
The power
of life and death are in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). What you say is what you
get. Decree and declare; good or bad, it comes back to you. Speak life. God’s
word is life. And so, I have memorised a number of scriptures, which I run
through my mind, day and night.
And then
there’s Pi. Do you remember pi from school? Pi is the circumference of a
circle, divided by its diameter and that number is infinite. No matter what the
size of the circle, the answer is always the same; Pi equals 3.14159265 ‘et al’
(and others).
I memorised
the first hundred digits of pi, while I was away travelling. I’d given my
testimony to my daughter’s church in Qld and told the congregation I can recall
a 100-digit number, frontwards and backwards (this in relation to having the
mind of Christ).
I got back
to my daughter’s after church and thought; gee it’s been a while. I hope I can
still do it. I certainly don’t want to lie to the church, or anyone for that
matter. Lizzie suggested the challenge - to memorise the first 100 digits of
the infinite number in pi. I worked on it, on and off throughout the rest of
the morning and I managed to do it, surprisingly quickly.
A friend
said she was going to test me on it. I mentioned my granddaughter will too, as
she always tests me (I’m learning Italian – very slowly – and she tests me
every time I visit). Kristelle tells I’m the ‘cleverest person she knows,’
which causes me to chuckle inside. She’s 11 and only knows people around her
age.
Anyway, the
more numbers I rattled off, the wider Kristelle's eyes went. As I reached the end of
the 100 digits, I thought her eyes were going to pop right out of her head. My
granddaughter was so impressed, she decided she wanted to learn it. She now
knows what pi is and has the first 15 numbers down pat; not too bad for an
11-year-old. Grandchildren; the treasures in our house.
Why do I
tell you all of this? We’re under the false assumption that as we age, our mind
deteriorates, but it’s not true. Our mind is a muscle and like any muscle, the
more we exercise it, the stronger it gets, even into old age.
I have a
number of friends now, who are starting to worry they’re becoming more and more
forgetful. Is it Alzheimer’s, is it dementia? The bible tells us we shouldn’t
worry, but give all our cares to God.
Some of you
may consider me old, however I’m not seeing it yet and while I’m not
infallible, I’m certainly not forgetful. I’m a writer. I love words and every
day I memorise a word or two from the dictionary, in the hope of broadening my
vocabulary and to aid my written work.
As I said,
I’m slowly (because like most of us here, I’m busy), so I’m slowly learning
Italian. I memorise my Italian words my dictionary words, my bible verses and run through them
day and night, along with the one hundred pi digits, doing my part to keep my
mind sharp into old age. When we do our part, God will do His.
And I
praise the Lord, that I have the mind of Christ. He asks not that we be
perfect, as He is perfect, but that we do as He does. What else does He ask us
to do, but partake of the body and blood, often as we may, in remembrance of
Him. So, go ahead and take communion in reverential fear today, while you acknowledge Him as the One True God.
*Photograph; Christ the King Church, Taralga
N.S.W.
Alexandra Grose –
An investigative photojournalist and author for over twenty years. Writing is
her passion and her dream and helping others achieve their dreams, through her
written work, is Alexandra's greatest aspiration.
#Integrity; truthfulness,
honesty and reliability, in all things.
I believe one
should....be truthful in everything you say and do. Keep all relationships open
and honest. Be reliable, punctual and organised and if you say you'll do it -
do it.
If you want to soar
like an eagle, make an effort, not an excuse.
Books:
Photographs:
http://www.instagram.com/alex_photographer_author
Blog:
https://alexandragrose.blogspot.com/?m=1
©2023
This work is based
on the belief of the writer. All she asks, is that you study and form your own
opinion, as to the validity of her beliefs. You can’t assume you’re right on
any given topic, you have to prove it.
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