From Pursuing the Christ by Jennifer Kennedy Dean
"For the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set of the Spirit is life and peace."—Romans 8:6
Incarnate Word, You came to set my captive thoughts free and to captivate my restless mind and anchor it in You.
Without You, my thoughts were entangled by the dictates of my flesh. They poisoned and polluted my life. My thoughts were infused with the stench of death, corrupted, decaying, marching steadily toward the grave. The power of death spread to cover every pursuit, every relationship, every dream.
Then You came. Softly. Barely a ripple in the course of mankind’s doings, yet a rip that reverberated through the heavenly realms and changed the balance of power for all eternity. With a battle cry that sounded to earthly ears like a newborn baby’s whimper, You set in motion my redemption. The sound heard in the heavens that first Christmas moment was a victory shout that rattled the enemy’s forces and insured their defeat.
I was death’s child, sin’s slave. No future but the grave. A mind managed by my flesh. Until You.
Jesus, thank You for recasting my thoughts into the mold of Yours. “But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). Teach me how to receive that gift in its fullness. Make me so moldable that You can transform my heart completely until its thoughts and intents are reflective of Your life in me, Your peace in me.
Having a mind that is set on the things of the Spirit brings life and peace. A set mind is established, fixed, focused, immoveable, determined.
Your mind is set on me. Your heart has been fixed on me since before the world began. Your thoughts never wander from me. From before time began, You set Your mind toward the Cross and, with never-wavering love, took on earth’s trappings for no purpose but to save me from death and its force in my life.
A Redeemer grew in Mary’s womb; a body was knit together that would house the Prince of Peace. All the power heaven holds was contained in a construct built of earth’s stuff—all for the determined purpose of overcoming the death that held me in its thrall and made me its captive.
Jesus—my life, my peace—teach me to set my mind on You with the same kind of evidence even a hint of the determined and relentless focus with which Your mind is set on me.
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