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“Winning the Battle for Your Mind”






 
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Special Edition of Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute: Talk #121
 
Day #5 Firm Foundation Devotional Lesson:
 
1 Peter 1:13 (NKJV), Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
 
(New International Version)  Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.
 
We find our minds in various states: We can be serious or silly. We can be insightful or shallow. We can feel overwhelmed or empowered.
 
Life is a mixture of experiences. What people sometimes underestimate is their capacity to summon mental focus when needed. The ability to do that is necessary is often called “personal power.” There are times when we need to lean into focus and bring skills forward.
 

The term “gird up loins” means two things: 1) It is procreative power. Humans have the ability to bring children into the world. 2) It is suggestive of the alertness necessary for sobriety and for setting one's hope. (Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words)
 
The word “sober" means serious minded.

 
For tasks that involve fulfilling some purpose of God, we need to place our faith in the hope of God's promises. We come to a place of alertness and readiness through prayer. This is my experience in preparing posts for this devotional. 
 
During the writing of this post, I made a mistake and lost about half of what was written during a time of God's inspiration. After letting my mind go to a place of disgust with myself for making such a “amateur” mistake, I summoned the focus to rewrite. God's inspiration did not leave when the mistake was made!
 
So, I had to “gird up the loins” of my mind, and get back to work!
 
Use your personal power (the ability to do what is necessary) with the help of the Holy Spirit. Tap the wells of “living water” (the power of the Holy Spirit) within. Summon your creative energy through God's grace. 
 
Jesus made all of this available to us when He brought “Grace and Truth.” (John 1:17)
 
 
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
 

1. What does it mean to “gird the loins of your mind?"
 
2. What does it look like when you summon your focus and tap the wells of Living Water?
 
3. Using these insights, in what areas do you need to use personal power to get something done?
 

 
ACTION ITEMS (What I will do with what I have learned):
 
 
------------------------------------
 

 
Get Your Copy of the Book:
“Winning the Battle for Your Mind”






 
 
 


SUBSCRIBE to the Firm Foundation blog to receive weekly insight and encouragement to your email in box
 
Visit and save this link to enjoy other Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute Talks.

 

DOWNLOAD KEYNOTE SLIDES
Ephesians 2:8
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Who Am I? 
Having God’s perspective on your life is most important. 
Society and popular culture what to fashion you into its image. 
God says, “I created you in My image [Imago Dei] and likeness.” (Gen. 1:27)
 
You Are God’s Masterpiece! 
A masterpiece is anyone’s best work. 
A masterpiece does not happen by accident. It is not the result of something random. A masterpiece is the result of an inspired plan.
You Are God’s Best Work! 
Your birth was the first miracle
Your re-birth is the greatest miracle
“….He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Eph. 2:10 NLT)

SPECIAL EDITION - Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute
June 21-Day Devotional Introduction, "Renewing the Mind."
INTRODUCTION & DAY 1 (June 1) - The Spirit of the Mind 
Today’s Reading: Chapter One of “Winning the Battle for Your Mind”
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. (Romans 12:2)
“Be renewed in the spirit of your mind...” (Ephesians 4:23)
For this devotional, we make a difference between “renewing the mind” and mental health. 
I am a mental health advocate, along with many others. It is important to recognize that the brain is a physical organ that can experience conditions like other parts of our body. Because the brain controls our body and is the center of thoughts, emotions, and sensations such as pain, it is obviously a very complex organ. Certainly, God is a source of strength for all aspects of life. He has also provided medical and human resources to assist with physical challenges we face, including the brain.
The word “mind” carries a lot of meaning and significance. One of the worst things we can do is take a simplistic approach as it relates to the mind and the human brain.
The purpose of this devotional is to help participants appreciate the grace of God to help us understand the positive power of renewal for what Paul called. “the spirit of your mind.” The “spirit” of your mind relates to ones attitude, disposition, or spiritual perspective.
Many of the best answers in life come from gaining both spiritual and natural understanding leading to applying principles that improve one’s life.
For example, we know the importance of handling finances well by using principles such as having a budget, keeping track of spending, and making good choices with our money. Those are natural things that we do. However, there’s also a spiritual side to handling finances. We can be affected by things such as covetousness, greediness, stinginess, and addictions to unhealthy patterns as it relates to money. 
1 Timothy 6:10 reads; “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
Here, the apostle Paul makes a spiritual reference related to something natural, such as money. Your mind/brain has both natural and spiritual dimensions. We will explore dynamics that relate to spiritual factors related to the mind.
“And be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:23-24)
So let’s go on this journey to allow the Lord to help us to become the best versions (“new man”) of ourselves!
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
1. In what ways do you need to become less conformed to the world and more transformed by the renewing of your mind.
2. As you experience renewing of your mind, what does a better version of yourself look like?
ACTION ITEMS (What I will do with what I have gained)
Get Your Copy of the Book:
“Winning the Battle for Your Mind”
 
 

Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
 
Ephesians 2:10 (NLT) For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
 
A masterpiece does not happen by accident. It is not the result of something random. A masterpiece is the result of an inspired plan. We usually relate a masterpiece to artwork or some other work of an artist, whether literary, or music or architecture. Basically, a masterpiece is anyone’s best work. Not “best” in relation to someone else’s work, but only in relation to your work and potential.

Listen to Mother's Day Message by Patricia Hudson, May 12, 2024
"To Mom, With Love."
 

View 4K Aurora Video
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Psalm 19:1, The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork. Day and today utters speech, and night under night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.
 
This spring has featured wonders in nature. On April 8, there was a total solar eclipse by the moon, visible for 100-mile-wide band from Texas to Maine. On the evening of May 10th, going into the early morning of May 11th, was the Aurora Borealis, also called the Northern Lights. Unlike the solar eclipse, the Northern Lights could be seen by a large part of the northern hemisphere of planet Earth. What was unusual about the solar storm that created the aurora was that it was visible as far south as Mississippi and Florida. Usually, northern lights are confined to northern Canada and the Arctic Circle. As with the solar eclipse, we don't want to misread or spiritualize this natural event in nature. But what David wrote is true, "The heavens declare the glory of God." But for this event, the second part even rang more true, "The firmament shows his handiwork."
 
From our perspective, the firmament is the sky and atmosphere surrounding the Earth. Sometime before the evening of May 10th, charged particles left the Sun and collided with the atoms and molecules of oxygen and nitrogen in the Earth's upper atmosphere. This collision of the Sun's energy with our atmosphere produced light displayed in glowing colors of red, magenta, green, purple, pink, and blue. As I wrote last month, we don't worship created things. We worship the Creator. And what a Creator we have! 
 
As I stood in a field outside the city, away from city lights, I could see these colors dancing in the sky like an IMAX movie, 1,000 times bigger. From the northeast to the northwest, from the horizon to above my head, I saw these colors changing, shimmering, and moving. Through photography and editing, I could enhance the colors, but what I saw with my eyes was amazing. 
 
In this blog post, I've included a link to my photographs and a video of the Northern Lights. My message to you today is:  Just as there was God's creative light in the Northern Lights, there is light in everything God does in you and around you.
 
That light is three things. 
1. It is a reminder that what God does is bigger and better than anything men have done. 
 
2. Just as the Sun's energy from 93 million miles away can set our atmosphere ablaze with color, God's power is beyond comprehension. As the Bible says, "Is there anything too hard for God?" 
 
3. As John wrote, "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God...and the word became flesh and dwelled among us." 
 
His name is Jesus Christ. "By Him, all things were made, and without Him, nothing was made that was made." 
 
You are a creation of your Creator. You are far more magnificent than a solar eclipse and the Aurora Borealis. Look for God's light and let your light shine. 
 
God bless, have a great day, and be encouraged!