Psalms 68-69, Romans 8:1-21 • Key Verse: Romans 8:5

Sometimes our minds are like dry ground, rutted by erosion, with grooves that channel the water that runs over it. Mentally, we always seem to follow the same grooves. We get into a particular way of thinking, perhaps seeing only what we want to see or thinking about only what we want to think about. Events, values and memories are forced into the same grooves, cutting them even deeper.

Paul used different imagery to describe the mental rut. He wrote that for some people, their minds are set on the sinful nature. Since their minds are set that way, they live their lives according to the sinful nature.

In contrast, Paul wrote, “Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” (v. 5). If our disposition is toward the things of the Spirit, our lives will show it.

In exasperation, someone may rebuke us with the words, “What were you thinking about?” That’s a theologically astute question! ft strikes at the heart of our actions, our mind-set. Through your waking hours, your mind absorbs an overwhelming amount of information. Like water over the ground, it will channel into the mental grooves of your mind-set. Your preoccupation must be the things of the Spirit.

What preoccupies your thinking,? Your mental grid must be spiritually oriented. Focus your thinking on the Word of God. Then, your mental pathways will develop a mind that is set on the Spirit.

Woodrow Kroll & Tony Beckett
www.backtothebible.in