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Advent 12: My Mind ...

Thursday, Dec 12, 2013. If you are faced with particular problems, or with some particular challenge, your mind can be quite focussed on the problem. That is not necessarily bad, since we need to focus to find solutions and to reach something. But we can be nearly obsessed with it …

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What does my Mind do with Me? …

Our mind can rotate around the problem, like in a trap, like in a never ending loop. We can be completely absorbed into the difficulties, into the sad things, into what is not as we would like it to be.

Recently, I talked to a good friend. She had some terrible experiences in her marriage recently, and is still in the middle of this, still struggling to get her mind around what happened and what can be the next steps. So her mind walks around the problem, and she struggles to give it some positive line, to find hope, to find a future. It is very natural that you do not just walk over a severe breach of confidence and trust, and that a torn heart will suffer. But still, we cannot let our mind and our heart be complete trapped with what others did to us.

I must say, that I observe the same phenomenon in my life. With some things, which are important to me, but not to some others, I experience problems. And my mind finds himself trapped in negative thoughts about the situation. It is not as severe as with my friend, but still quite significant, since it influences my whole working life. And I realize how our mind can come back to some things again and again, even if we would like to let them stay aside.

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Set your mind on things that are above! …

The bible talks about our mind and how we should focus, for example in Colossians 3. Let us hear to what the Apostle Paul tells us: 1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your1 life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:2 sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.3 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. 12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.** 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Paul writes this, since our choices and our decisions matter. We CAN set our mind on the things from above. And we can stay trapped in negative thoughts. We can reach something by following the biblical teaching. And God will not stay inactive, but support our obedience by his miraculous possibilities. Let us listen and do! (Roland Potthast) ... more texts

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