Stay!

Dearly beloved of God, you know your own heart. When you fill your heart with the Word of God and begin to think like He thinks about you, you will have confidence towards God and be at peace, but, being people, at times we may be more influenced by what other people think about us.

Small minded people talk about people. Average minded people talk about events. Great minded people talk about God and His Word. Have you ever heard that before, beloved of God? Don't worry about what small minded people think or say.

At times we do not think straight. We get overwhelmed by our emotions, hurt because of how we are treated by others, even crushed by what we hear others say about us. Stop!

Think in the same manner as Jesus Christ thought; he thought about everything in the same manner His Father thought about it.

He controlled his thinking, instead of his thinking controlling him. How do we do that? We do it one thought at a time. We lead one thought captive at a time.

People are very taken with their pets; they even try to teach them to obey certain commands. For example, if we had a dog, let's say his name is Domino [my kids named him,] we might teach him the command to “Stay.”

How does Domino learn to “Stay?” Repetition. Trainers tell us to practice with Domino every day several times throughout the day for a month if we want him to learn the command. It takes consistent repetition.

If Domino can learn to “Stay,” I should be able to teach myself how to stay my mind as well as he does. I want to stay my mind on the things of God.

How do we accomplish that? Do we learn a mantra, become one with the universe, or empty our minds and open up to the spirit? No, we teach ourselves to hold one thought in mind at a time.

Take one verse of scripture and memorize it. Then stay your mind on that scripture. Get a picture in your mind of what the scripture says, and think about it. Get your mind to “Stay” on that scripture. It takes practice, but if Domino can learn to do it, so can I.

I used to be terrible at it. I would start reading a paragraph and before I knew it I was halfway through the page, and could not remember the first word I had read.

It just takes the desire to do it and then to practice it. Before long you will master the skill.

As sons of God we should want to renew our minds to who we are in Christ. That is the context of Romans 12:2. The next verse says:

“So by the grace of God given to me, I say to everyone among you to not think beyond what you ought to think but to think with sober thinking according as God has distributed the measure of [the foundation for] believing to each of you.” The Working Translation, Rev. Walter Cummins.

In this verse “faith” or believing [Greek: pistis] “is used here by the figure of speech metonymy to refer to the foundation that God has given for believing or to refer to that which God has given to be believed. Compare with Acts 17:31.” Rev. Cummins, footnote in the Working Translation.

What is the subject in the previous 11 chapters of Romans? The subject is the gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ our Lord.

Our believing rests upon the foundation of the gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ our Lord. That gospel teaches us what Jesus Christ did for us and who we are in Christ as the result of his accomplishments. Every one of us has the same foundation upon which our believing rests. We each have the same measure to believe concerning Christ.

Now it is up to us to think on these things. We teach our minds to “Stay” on what Jesus Christ did for us and who we are in him as a result of his accomplishments.

Take the time to read the Word of God, to study it, and to get it in mind. Think about it. Before you know it you will be better at staying your mind than Domino.

Then, when troubling thoughts begin to disturb you, grab yourself by the ears and say, “Stay!” The key to being transformed by renewing your mind to who you are in Christ is getting it to “Stay” on the foundation of the gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ our Lord. We do it one thought at a time, dearly beloved.

Remember, you are the righteousness of God in Christ. “Stay!”

In Christ, you stand before God without any sense of sin, guilt, or condemnation. “Stay!

It was your Heavenly Father’s idea for you to have a standing “in Christ.” He made Christ to be God’s wisdom to you, His redemption, sanctification, and righteousness by the good pleasure of His will! He determined that you are holy, without blame before Him in love, and unimpeachable in His sight. “Stay!”

Dearly beloved and highly favored in God’s sight, think in this manner.

I will let you in on a secret, you can count on people being people, but you can count on God being God, too! He does not change.
So remember beloved, “Stay" and think in the same manner as Jesus Christ thought, and don't worry about what people think; they are going to be people. Think like God thinks about you.