When I didn’t know better, I thought that the Bible was just a religious book. However, after I got saved (started to believe in Jesus – that he paid for all my sins and was resurrected the third day), I understood that the Bible is extremely powerful. “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul; and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12).
Now we, humans 😊 are made of three parts:
1. Spirit (or the Spirit man) where we have our:
-communion with God, worship
-intuition or gut feeling (where the Holy Spirit speaks to us)
-conscience (distinguish right from wrong)
2. Soul or MIND is made of our
-free will
-emotions
-intellect
3. Body (the only physical substance, where our brain is also)
It is important to understand why God tells us repeatedly to spend time in His word, to read the Bible and meditate on it. In other words, to renew our mind with His word. But what does it mean to “be transformed by the renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:2)? It means that when we read (and ponder or mediate) upon the word of God, our mind is changing, a transformation takes place. Remember, our mind is our intellect, emotions and free will. Let’s make it practical for a better understanding: We are having a hard morning, feeling unworthy or not feeling well. As we start reading the Bible, we find out that we are precious in God’s sight, that He loves us, that He is for us and not against us. We also find out that “God renews our strength and makes us sore on wings like eagles; we will run and not grow weary, we will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
As we emerge ourselves in the word of God, our mind starts to change. The direct effect is that our emotions start to change also. After we find out the great things God has for us and how He sees us, our negative thoughts and emotions are changing into positive ones. Hope and joy start to fill our soul. We start feeling better and our mood changes.
Now it is important to understand that our mind is not the same with our brain. Look at the above classification and remember that our mind is our will, emotions and intellect (2). The brain is part of our body (3). As we start reading the word of God (Bible), we are renewing our mind. Our mind influences directly our brain. In other words, as we renew our mind, we are changing and re-programming our brain. Scientists are finally catching up with this, they call it neuroplasticity or brain plasticity. This is no small matter, because if we are used to think negative thoughts or worry excessively, we have the power to change that. God has given us the way: renew our mind with His word. As we actively do it, our mind starts to change, and consequently our thoughts are changing too. But we need to be consistent. Keep coming back to the word of God and allow it to change us. We need to be diligent about it! We don’t give up because we skip a day or two.
So much it is said about the benefits of exercise, which is great for the body (3). Well, spending time in God’s word is extremely beneficial not just for our body (3), but also for our Spirit (1) and our mind (2). It is the like working out. Our body will not change if we exercise just once per month. But if we work out regularly, our body will change, and our muscles will get stronger. It is the same with reading the Bible. As we renew our mind and start aligning our thinking with the word of God, our thoughts will start to change. We retrain our brain to think healthy, positive thoughts. But best of all, we get to know God, our Creator, learn some great truths about how God sees us and how wonderful we are.
Remember, change is hard. But nothing is harder than being stuck in a place that we don’t belong. WE DO NOT BELONG in a place of negativity, unforgiveness, bitterness, feeling sorry for ourselves. We have the power to change that by renewing our mind with God’s word. Just knowing about this, it will not do us any good. We have to read the word, receive it in our heart and apply it to our life. “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
I hope we are all encouraged to make time for reading the Bible. What good is to have the word of God if we never use it? Let’s be diligent and spend time in God’s word so our whole being (Spirit, mind and body) benefits from it! Remember, when we renew our mind (our emotions, free will, intellect), we change our thoughts (brain) and our body benefits also! Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. (3 John 1:2)
