Titus 2

Two weeks ago, Mom wrote regarding worldviews [emphasis mine]:

…there is a need for continual examination in our notions, thoughts, and concepts. Why do we do what we do? What do my choices tell me about my understanding? Learning what scripture teaches is vital; embracing what is now being referred to as a Biblical worldview is essential. We must also understand that such foundational truths are under continual assault from the enemy of God. Nothing the world has presented to us is fully true.

As people left on our own, our conclusions are erroneous. That’s why God gave us His Word! We need to renew our minds, and not just once, but daily… hourly… minute by minute. On every side we are bombarded with thinking that is contrary to Truth: in ourselves, from the world around us, and from the enemy of our souls. This is why meditating on Truth– the Bible– is so important.

If you’re like me, you don’t have much time when the house is quiet and there is time to stop and consider a scripture verse, or record your thoughts regarding its application to your life, or sit quietly and pray for change accordingly. In fact, if you’re like me, you spend the majority of the time the baby is sleeping and the children are pleasantly occupied frantically looking for your Bible, only to eventually find it inside your daughter’s toy diaper bag (incidentally, you’re sure you didn’t put it there) just as the baby wakes and the children begin asking for lunch.

Or maybe you’re not a bit like me– maybe when you close your eyes at the end of your day and realize you haven’t spent any good quality time in the Word, the reasons for this are totally different than mine– but you’ve got the same dilemma and conclusion just the same: I am missing opportunities to grow as a disciple and student of the Word.

One thing I have found especially helpful in the area of renewing my mind through meditating on the Word is to take a few minutes one evening every couple weeks and find some scriptures that address a particular issue or two that I know my heart and mind need to be renewed in. For example, last fall when we first brought Aubrey home from the hospital, I was struggling with deep fear. I knew I needed to be renewed and brought to a place of peace. So I found a handful of verses that were ministering to me and I wrote them out on index cards that I taped on my kitchen cupboards.

Isaiah 26.3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, For in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength.

Psalm 34.4-7 I sought the Lord, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.

John 14.27 Peace I leave you; My peace I give to You; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

Another time, the Lord was challenging me regarding my personal struggle with wanting to make my life count and feeling as though I was wasting my time on what I– in my foolishness– considered stupid, mundane tasks. So I wrote out verses accordingly.

Matthew 16.24-26 …If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it. For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Luke 22.26 …but let him who is the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as the servant.

Philippians 2.5-8 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

I try to change these index cards at least once a month to keep them fresh. Sometimes I pull out old cards because I know I need review. Perhaps I need to be renewed again in the area of speech (I could probably leave those up year-round!) or confidence in His complete work on the cross or the hope of His second coming.

The point is not how you meditate, though. Maybe this method will work for you or maybe you’re blessed with quiet evenings several nights a week that you are able to spend in the Word. Maybe you have a mentor you spend time studying the Bible with on a regular basis, or perhaps you have a small group of close friends that you regularly get together with for in-depth study and personal application. The point is this: however you spend time meditating on the Word and allowing it to transform your thoughts and beliefs, do it and do it as often as you possibly can. No other reading, no other books, no other conversations will provide the foundation of the Biblical worldview you need. It His Word that teaches us how to live, think and be victorious, and that transforms our minds to think like He does.