Mind Management

'Above all else, guard your heart.' Proverbs 4:23 NIV

We hear a lot these days about time management, financial management and weight management—but what about mind management? Shouldn’t we be more concerned about managing our minds than managing anything else? Jesus guarded the gateway of His heart by refusing to concede in three areas:

 

(1) The agenda of people who wanted to use Him for their own purposes. ‘Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make Him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by Himself.’ (John 6:15 NIV) Most of us would delight in the idea of becoming ‘king’. Even if we refused the crown, we’d enjoy considering the invitation! Not Jesus.

 

(2) The naïveté of those who wanted to spare Him.When Jesus announced His death on the cross to the disciples, Peter objected. And when he failed to see the necessity of the cross, Jesus issued one of His harshest rebukes: ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.’ (Matthew 16:23 NIV)

 

(3) The scorn of those who didn’t know Him or believe in Him.Before raising a girl from the dead, Jesus said to the people in the house, ‘She is only sleeping.’ (Luke 8:52 GNT) And what was their response? They laughed at Him. Like all of us, Jesus had to face scorn. But unlike most of us, He refused to accept it. Note His response: ‘He put them all outside.’ (Mark 5:40 RSV) Doubt, criticism and scorn weren’t allowed in the girl’s house—or in the mind of Christ. How about your mind?

 

You are Loved!