The garden of our minds

Philippians 4:8 

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

God has really been speaking to me about my mindset.  People say that you start to become what you focus on, and think about the most.  Its SO true!  When we focus on the negative, we start to become negative people.  When we look at things with an optimistic point of view, we will start to become more positive people.  When we dwell on the things of our flesh, we begin to reap in those things. (1 Corinthians 10:3-6)  Its a battle!  The enemy knows.  He will try everything in his power to shoot us down.  To invade our thoughts with doubts, fears, insecurities, lust, hate, and all sorts of wickedness.  But you wanna know the truth?  We have MORE power and MORE authority through Christ, to overcome this battle of the mind.  He's given us His word, a double edged sword as He calls it.(Hebrews 4:12)  When we fill our minds with truths from there, that's when our mindsets will start to change from what WE want to what HE wants.

I look at it as if my mind were like a garden.  It takes a lot of working, pruning, watering, and growing to get to where you want to be.  Getting rid of the weeds that try to choke out the flowers.  If you become a sluggard, and forget to be on guard, these weeds will overtake your garden and turn it into a complete and crazy mess.  

How can we do this?  How is it possible to change our mindsets, when we are so imperfect?  We can't help it sometimes!  That's a lie.   We CAN help it!  We just get lazy sometimes.  We let our guard down.  We let Satan have a foothold.  
I was really struggling with this a few months back, asking God what I could do to change that.  I had been in the word, filling my head with the knowledge of God and the truths of His word, and I was STILL struggling.  One day I was reading and I came across this verse;


Colossions 3:1-2Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated
at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Now, every time I find my mind wandering away from the truth, or other thoughts not from the Lord start filling my head, I say this verse over and over in my head, and God takes it away.  Its because I'm turning my focus from the bad to the good.  We can love God by the way we use our minds.  By taking every thought captive in obedience to Christ we ARE loving Him.  He says in His word, to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart soul and MIND." (Matthew 23:37)Be alert, on guard, and start filling yourself with His truths.  Soak yourself in them.

Magdalena

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also"  

Matthew 6:19-21

God has been giving me a new outlook on life.  One that looks at others needs before my own.  One of simple living, in order that others may simply live.  Physically and Spiritually.  I wish to live my life simply living and loving like Jesus.  I pray that people would see that being walked out in me. I've learned that what used to be big sacrifices, don't look so big anymore.  When we start to have that mindset of simple living, we put aside earthly possessions and focus more on what we really should be focusing on.  Loving God and loving people.  And everything else just seems less important.
 I knew God was trying to teach me this, and wanted me to stop just talking about it and start actually living it.  On Friday (our last day at the mission) we went to the market in town.  Right away when we got there, my eyes directly went to a little old lady standing in barely rags.  She looked as though she may not have had a shower in months.  Her small feet were bare, filthy and blistered.  Immediately my heart went out to her.  She sat on a bench, not going around begging, but more just taking in everything around her.  I watched as people passed her with hardly even a glance.  My heart broke.  Are people really so blind?  As I was watching and hurting for this lady, I began asking God what I should do.  I don't know Spanish.  I'm so incapable of sharing the love of Jesus with this lady in a language I hardly even speak!  As I was asking God, a sweet young girl came up to me and grabbed my hand.  I asked her name, and she said "Luz"  (In Spanish means Light, which was exactly what she served to be that day.)  We walked to lunch together, and ate, but that lady was still on my mind.  I knew God needed me to talk to her.  I finally asked Luz to come along to help translate, and she agreed.  At first the lady stared at me like I was absolutely nuts.  She asked why I was stopping to talk to her, and I told her because God loved her, and so did I.  I asked to pray for her, and she hesitantly agreed.  She walked away in the middle of the prayer, and I started feeling frustrated.  I felt God beckoning me to offer her my shoes.  My $40 pair of Toms!  For those of you who know me, me and my toms are like inseparable.  But I listened, and told Luz that we had to go find her again!  When we did, and I offered her my shoes, she said no.  Then she said something that made me think.  She told me that she didn't need shoes because she was hungry.  Then I understood.  I was so worried about her having shoes, material things that I thought she needed, when really she only was asking for what she actually needed.  I knew why God had beckoned me to do that, because He wanted to use that to teach me.  It was an Abraham moment.  God was seeing if I was willing to make even that small sacrifice.  That day, I was able to bless this beautiful woman not only with physical food, but spiritual food.  After giving her a little bit for food, she looked at me with her beautiful smile and I told her that Jesus really did love her and that she was his child and that she was beautiful.  As we walked away from this woman, Luz looked at me and said "Now Magdalena is happy."  With the biggest grin on her face.  

God taught me so much through that.  We can live simply by holding loosely to the things of this world, the material things.  Our iPads, computers, clothing, phones, shoes etc... those things are of SO little importance.  They are nice to have, but once they start to take hold of our lives, we lose all meaning.  I want my life to be consumed in building relationships, first with God, and then, with people around me.  If we begin to pour into our relationship with God, we then can have the ability to pour it out to other people by loving the way Jesus would.  

For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.  

1 Timothy 6:7