#projectC61920 Day 4: Mental Character

#projectC61920 Day 4: Mental Character

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  “Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have broken rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, That my mouth may declare Your praise. For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. By Your favor do good to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem. Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices, In burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.”
  Psalms 51:1-19 NASB
  
  
  This passage has always been a significant one for me. This was the prayer that David prayed after his session with Bathsheba. Many times, I would pray that this would be the state of my heart and mind toward God. While this passage displays an obviously appropriate spiritual posture for us to have, it also represents the correct mental posture that we should have as well, especially in our failures. For me, it is often so easy to focus on the fact that I have failed, to focus on my weaknesses and to embrace that self-loathing that comes from Satan. Satan wants us to hate ourselves, because after all, he hates us. And if he can get our minds into the state where we hate ourselves too, then we will find ourselves not in a state of repentance, but in a self-centered, self-focused mentality. 
  
  
  When I was younger, I struggled for years with deep-seeded depression. I saw myself as a constant failure, within an inability to measure up to others' standards that I had invented for myself. Inside, I took some small subconscious comfort in telling myself that by thinking so little of myself, I was actually being humble. But the reality was that this was just another form of pride masquerading itself as humility. This mental self-punishment did not bring me any closer to God or to other people. On the contrary, it isolated me further, destroying friendships and relationships that I had, and ruining future relationships as well. This was Satan's plan all along: distance me from God and others, fill my mind with lies, and make me feel so weak as if I were incapable of resisting any form of temptation at all, and then walk right in and claim his prize: my soul. 
  
  
  It wasn't until I was 16 years old but I saw the truth of Christ and became a believer in Christ. My eyes were opened to the truth that God knew every flaw I had, had seen every mistake I've ever made, and still, in spite of all that, He still loved me enough to send His only Son to take a punishment for me that I didn't even realize I had earned (Rom. 5:8). So I confessed my sinfulness to the Lord, I repenteded of my sins, and asked Him to come into my heart and forgive me. I thanked Him for what He did to save me. I was baptized about a year later. 
  
  
  Since that time, I've been far from perfect, from time to time. It's not that I've disregarded God's command to be holy (1 Peter 1:15), or that I think that my salvation gives me freedom to sin all I want (Romans 6:1-4), it's that I still battle with my sin nature. And I've failed many times in this struggle.
  
  
  Think of it like this: When a person gets a heart transplant, the condition that was going to kill him is cured. But that person has to take anti-rejection medicine often for the rest of their lives in order to prevent relapses into their previous condition. Christianity is a lot like that. God saves us from eternal consequences of our sin, but we still have to seek Him for the rest of our lives, otherwise, we won't be any more like Christ and it will get to the point where no one would even know that we were a Christian at all. 
  
  
  The Christian walk is, I think, an exercise in training our minds to understand God’s image of who we are. I think that as we draw closer to His image of us, we will both be humbled and honored. We are helpless, ugly, filthy creatures that have stained ourselves with the dye of sin. We are also creatures made in the image of God and that Christ has died a horrible death in order to save.
  
  
  So what do we do to get a correct mental picture? Just like previously stated: get in the Word. 
  
  
  ·      Romans 12:2 = Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
  ·      Romans 8:6-8 = If you set your mind on the flesh, you are hostile toward God and are not even able to subject yourself to God
  ·      Philippians 4:8 = Think about the right things. Let (or force) your mind to dwell on these things.
  ·      Psalm 119:18 = David asked for his eyes to be opened to the truth of the Word.
  ·      Romans 15:4 = Scripture is good for instruction and encouragement.
  
  
  These are just a few verses, but you get the idea. Fill your mind with truth, and you’ll be able to see who you really are in Christ. Perspective is one of the most important aspects of your mental life. It governs your reality, your goals, and your understanding of your own purpose. Guard your perspective and ensure you're getting it from the Word, and not other people or your own feelings. 
  
  
  #walkwithme