Framed - Pt. 2 - Mind Frames Series

Framed

Pt. 2 – Mind Frames

As I mentioned last week I know that there are many forces trying to wield influence to shape us or frame us. There are billions of dollars spent each year in an attempt to frame our desires, our style, our wants and our likes. However, I also told you that although I know that your environment, your education, and even the region in which you were raised have a part to play in framing your world I am convinced that there is one factor that has more power and more impact on shaping your than any other. That determining factor is your mind or your thoughts. So we jumped off of Proverbs 4:23 and 23:7 which say:

Text: Proverbs 4:23

Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.

Proverbs 23:7 – “as a man thinketh in his heart so is he.

We talked about the mind games the enemy plays with us. That if we are not careful in tired moments he will trick us and paint pictures for us that seem to be right and true that are false and with those thoughts he sets us up for failure. We talked about the fact that our perception (true or false) determines our reality. That is why you have to have some folks in your life that can challenge your perception when you aren’t seeing correctly. We said that you have to be careful what you allow into your head because it can get into your feet causing you to run at the wrong moment. You will escape right at the moment of breakthrough. You will give up right on the doorstep of a miracle. I ended by telling you that you have to get your head right and everything else will follow. You will come out of all your problems head first. How do you picture yourself?

So today I want to go one step further and talk to you about mind frames. If our world is framed by our mind then what do we need to know about our mind frame?

1. Fixing the mind is a daily process!

We want a one stop run to the altar and our mind is fixed forever. We never really deal with our minds except on Sunday and then we can’t figure out why our mind frame is wrong. We want God to reframe what we have allowed to run amuck all week! Paul makes it very clear that this is going to be a daily process. You will have to deal with and work on your head daily.

We love to quote Romans 12:1-2 when it comes to dealing with behavior and actions but we forget that the instructions given reach further than that. These instructions carry over to our mind and in fact whether or not we daily present our minds determines whether we are able to adjust our behaviors. Let me read this to you and then take you to another passage that bears this out.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. - NIV

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

You have to present your mind to God every morning. Let Him have your thought processes, thought subjects, and imaginations daily if you want your mind to change. A few minutes once a week is not going to sufficiently change or frame your world. You can undo everything that we did in here with 15 minutes of unchecked or thought that hasn’t been renewed!

2. A daily mind fix will fix our behavior!

It is important to understand the daily nature of fixing our mind because if we would fix our mind daily we would also address our behavior! Many of us are fixated on our behavior. We are trying to get our behavior right and we struggle and we fail. This is why we generate lists of do and don’ts hoping that they will help us live better. However, we never seem to see the correlation between our thoughts and ways.