What we feed grows and what we starve dies.
What do we want to grow in our life? It seems like a no brainer however we rarely step back and look at life as a whole and make decisions on where we want to grow and what we need to stop.
For those who are followers of Jesus Christ, we have a war waging inside of us between the flesh (old sinful self) and the Spirit (Holy Spirit indwelling in us that we receive at salvation).
Romans 8:5 ESV - For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
According to Romans 8 it is a battle of the mind and the Spirit. So how do we win this war? At times it seems hopeless however the bible teaches us how to wage war in a manner that will lead to victory. The bible teaches in several places how to win this war, we will look at one specific place - Romans 12:1-2.
Romans 12:1-2 ESV I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. [2] Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
In verse 2 it says - “Do not be conformed to this world”. Paul is telling us to not let the world influence us to the point that we begin to look like the world. We need to starve ourselves from bad influences. We need to starve ourselves from watching TV shows, listening to music, and watching videos that fill our mind with worldly things. What we put into to our minds eventually comes out. We cannot assume that this will not have an effect on us. We need to starve our mind of things that are bad influences that contradict the word of God. This is how we defend ourselves.
We go on the offense in this war by “But be transformed by the renewal of your mind”. We are transformed into a Christlike follower of Jesus when we RE-NEW our mind. We should put go things into our mind. We should meditate on the truth of God’s word. We should pray. We should worship and praise God with the music we listen to. We should feed our mind with kingdom honoring thoughts. What we put into our minds eventually comes out.
What we feed grows and what we starve dies. What are feeding into your mind and what are you starving? If you are starving your mind of the truth of God’s word and you are filling it with the lies of the world then eventually that comes out in your life.
Feed Godliness and starve the flesh. Re-new your mind with the truth of God’s word everyday. Start by praying and finding a devotional on the Youversion Bible app and start feeding your mind with the God’s truth. You will be transformed by it.
