Let us Begin! RENEW 30-Day Devotional - Day #1 "What is the Mind?"

Thursday, October 01, 2015 Bryan Hudson 0 Comments

[NOTE: Excerpt from "Renew: Principles of Change for a Better Life." Get the ebook or book and Join In this 30-Day Devotional}

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According to Webster’s dictionary, the mind is: “That element of a person that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think, and to feel; the faculty of consciousness and thought.”

This is a good definition, but defining the mind defies a final definition because the mind is not fully

understood. The mind is not exactly the brain though our brain is obviously the bodily organ that hosts the mind. That said, the best source of information concerning anything is to consult its creator. On matters that involve my iPhone, I consult Apple. On matters that involve ourselves and our minds, we should consult our Creator--Almighty God, and His word, the Bible.

Biblically, the mind is also difficult to understand. The word “mind” is used in Old and New Testament languages of the Bible in many ways and within various contexts. For the purposes of this devotional, we will consider the definition of mind from Luke, 10:27, So he answered and said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.”

From this text, we will compile a definition of “mind” from two widely recognized resources for understanding biblical words; Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible and Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. Here is a concise definition of mind from these two resources:

The faculty of moral reflection; the faculty of thinking; a way of thinking and feeling thoughts, either good or bad.

From this definition, we can better appreciate how to love God with “all our mind.” We love God through how we think, reflect, and by the feelings/actions our thoughts generate.

From this foundation, we will consider renewal and principles of change for a better life.
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Reflection Question: What did you learn about the mind that you did not already know?
Key insight I gained today:
Today’s action item based on insight:
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If you were blessed by this or any other lesson during the RENEW devotional, feel free to share your insights and testimony with me using the "My Testimony" link below.