If we think of our mind as a computer, the Holy Spirit would be the anti-virus. Once the Holy Spirit is uploaded to the human hard drive, that “mind” can then affect all the computer’s systems, taking out harmful information and replacing it with good, functional applications. The mind of Christ rewrites our hard drives so that we are capable of understanding and interacting with God Himself. We gain new desires and qualities like humility, compassion and other Godly fruit. We have a new purpose that is aligned with His.
Day 1 is dedicated to the mind. It’s meant to align yourself with the Master. Here, we look at life from our Savior’s point of view, having His values and desires in mind. To think God’s thoughts and not think as the world. It is a shared perspective of humility, compassion, and dependence on God. The phrase “mind of Christ” or “mind of the Lord” comes from…
Key Scriptures:
Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor? Isaiah 40:13
For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:2
Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ Matthew 22:37
Prayer:
I understand that Your ways are higher than mine. I ask for you to quiet the temptation that goes through my mind. Lord, help me arrest every thought and make it obedient to You. I choose to direct my thoughts to You, turning away from the thoughts of this world. I will think thoughts that are true and holy. My desire is to have Your mind. To have Your perspective. Let my mind be in You today. In Jesus name, Amen.
Worship:
My Mind Is Made Up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVCdjjD52Zg
Souled Out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y-HW8l_6ik
Sparrows
More Than You Think I Am
Thy Will Be Done
In the book of Mark, we find Jesus sitting by a well while His disciples went to a nearby town for food. When they returned, they saw Jesus talking to a woman about spiritual things, and they were amazed. Jesus teaches them a lesson here about seeing. They probably passed right by the Samaritan woman on their way to town. It appears they never really saw her. It’s amazing what we don’t see when we are not looking.
In Joshua, we find a great example of seeing the same thing two different ways. You see, the Israelites needed to conquer Jericho in their quest for the land of Canaan. Moses sent 12 spies to check out the land and the people that inhabited it. When the twelve spies returned, 10 came back with a negative outlook saying, “We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” But Joshua and Caleb only saw a land flowing with milk and honey. How is it that 12 men viewing the same land saw 2 different things? Joshua and Caleb were looking through God’s eyes. We must remember to look at every obstacle through the lens of God’s unlimited strength and resources.
Day 2 is dedicated to the eyes. The eyes of faith are moved only by God’s Spirit and His Word, not by what we see through our human eyes. When you see things through the eyes of faith, God always is bigger than your problems. Paul prayed for his friends in Ephesus to have their eyes enlightened so they would have a more intimate relationship with their Heavenly Father and “know the hope to which He has called you” (Ephesians 1:15-19). The older I get, the more I am convinced of the vital importance of seeing our Heavenly Father correctly. Too often, even long-time Christians see God incorrectly, causing everything in their life to become blurry as well.
Key Scriptures:
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light”. Matthew 6:22
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings from the wicked who are out to destroy me, from my mortal enemies who surround me.
Psalm 17:8-9
Prayer:
God, open my eyes and give me a new vision of Your love for me. Open my eyes to see people as You do. Help me to see them with Your eyes of compassion and love. Lord, help me to not be moved by what I see. Help me to see how big You are and how small and insignificant my problems are. I want to see everything clearly through Your lens of love. In Jesus name, Amen.
Worship:
Fix My Eyes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXGuWHb5INk
Open The Eyes Of My Heart Lord
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idQ1n3cdgfo
Eyes On You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljX1ZlcNmm0
See A Victory
Did you know one of the two hardest bones in the body is found in the human ear? Did you also know that the inner ear is the circumference of a pencil eraser? But out of all the facts regarding the human ear, might be that your sense of hearing depends on tiny little hairs deep inside the inner ear. We could probably go on and on about the anatomy of the ear and how sound waves work. We could talk about cleaning and how to take care of your ear, but we are not working out the physical ear today. Human ears hear many sounds and different pitches with each sound but there is a different kind of hearing. The bible alludes to this kind of hearing. Actually, Jesus quotes several times, “He who has an ear, let him hear.” He was referring to spiritual ears. Spiritual ears are imperative for spiritual understanding. When heard with spiritual ears, there is a willingness to accept the words of God. Without spiritual ears, His words are simply words.
We all want God to hear and answer our prayers, but are we being obedient to listen to Him? Sometimes that means doing things that are uncomfortable, like kneeling in the laundry room in front of your children to pray for someone. When you’ve taken the time and are intentional to be obedient to God’s call, He can’t help but listen to yours. Your cries cause Him to give you His full attention, to forgive your sins and to heal your land. Because of the power of the Holy Spirit living inside you, you have ears that hear but you are responsible to listen, to be attentive to what is being spoken to you.
Today, we will work out our spiritual ears. We will take time to listen! Weather it’s a loud and clear voice from God or a still small voice, the goal today is to hear. Hear through the word, prayer, worship and quiet.
Key Verses:
“If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.” “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you-and even more.
Mark 4:23-24
He whose ear listens to the life-giving reproof Will dwell among the wise.
Proverbs 15:31
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear”.
Matthew 13:16
Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding. Proverbs 2:2
Prayer:
Lord, I confess my need for real change when it comes to my listening skills. Your Word says we should be “quick to listen” (James 1:19). I want to learn to listen well as I pray. Father, please help me become a better listener. I commit to setting aside time during prayer to just be still and listen. I pray as I embrace those quiet moments. I will hear from You in a fresh new way. I also believe through actively listening to You, I will be able to be a better listener for others. Thank You for reminding me to simply be still and listen.
Worship:
I’m Listening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef52AmdVwYI
Listen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl742pn7bnw
Whisper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD_xQNhBlfM
Word Of God Speak
The average heart is the size of a fist in an adult. Your heart will beat about 115,000 times each day. It pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood every day. The human heart weighs less than 1 pound. However, a man’s heart, on average, is 2 ounces heavier than a woman’s heart. The fairy fly, which is a kind of wasp, has the smallest heart of any living creature. Whales have the largest heart of any mammal. The heart can even continue beating when it’s disconnected from the body? In this workout, we are conditioning the spiritual heart. Unlike the physical heart, when the spiritual heart is disconnected from God, it stops beating and stops pumping the blood of Jesus through your spiritual veins.
One of today’s key verses says everything flows from your heart – your hopes, your dreams, your fears, your anxieties, your anger, your forgiveness, your humility, your peace, your greed, your generosity, and your love. Yes, everything that makes you who you are is in your heart. So, above all else, your heart needs a guard – and God is your guard.
God’s love is stronger and deeper than human love and emotions. In God, you have a close friend who knows you and understands you better than anyone. He sees your heart and desire to be good; He sees your struggles and how you are drawn to things that aren’t good. He is always there to listen and help when you pray to Him with a sincere and humble heart. “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.” Psalm 34:15
Key Verses:
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. Luke 6:45
Prayer of David:
Teach me how to align my heart with Yours. I recommit myself as a man/woman after Your heart. I choose to seek Your face (Psalm 27:8). In difficult times, open my heart to receive Your revelation. Hide me in the shelter of your tabernacle (Psalm 27:5). Reveal deeply to my heart Your love for me. Rescue me in the midst of difficult circumstances, and bring me into a spacious place (Psalm 18:19). Teach me to enjoy life the way you desire. I choose to be confident in Your love. I am Your Bride. “I love you, O LORD, my strength”(Psalm 18:1).
Worship:
Lord I Give You My Heart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHMjhz8aHTw
The Heart Of Worship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-Zp586pvZg
Run To The Father
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcpeLDp0Foo
Tell Your Heart To Beat Again
There he was, sitting on a stone at the top of a hill. Front row seats overlooking the battle. All Moses had to do was keep his arms raised so Joshua and the children of Israel would defeat the Amalekites. But his arms grew weary. Every time they fell, the children of Israel would start losing. So, Aaron and Hur stood on each side of Moses, holding his arms up until sunset as Joshua and the children of Israel won the battle.
There is an article from the Associated Press written by Rob Maaddi. The story was about a 29-year-old wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles named Jason Avant who raises his hands to heaven after each catch of the football. As the story unfolds, Jason is celebrating much more than catching a pass or scoring a touchdown. Maaddi writes, “Jason was 12 when he started selling drugs. He went to elementary school, high on drugs and alcohol. Jason soon joined a gang on the South Side of Chicago, surviving shootings and running from the police. Yet, somehow with a praying Granny, Jason escaped that life unlike so many of his friends.” On May 4, 2003, Jason met Jesus and his life was changed forever. He turned his back on his former life and began to study the Bible even more than his football playbook. Jason testifies today, “When I lift my hands up, it’s me saying ‘Lord, I know where I could be, and I thank you for where I am.’”
If we take lessons from these two stories and apply them to our everyday lives, we can win battles and celebrate the goodness of God just by the lifting of our arms and hands to Him. Could it be that easy? Biblically, the act of lifting your arms and hands to God is a sign of surrender. Moses had to surrender to God in order to win the battle. After the battle, Moses built an altar and called it “The Lord is my banner.” Let your arms be a banner for the battle belongs to the Lord.
Key Verses:
Every time in the bible, the arm denotes influence, power, a means of support or conquest. The arms of Moab (Jeremiah 48:25) and of Pharaoh (Ezekiel 30:21) are broken. The arm of Eli and the arm of his father’s house are to be cut off (1 Samuel 2:31). God’s outstretched arm delivered Israel from Egypt (Exodus 6:6, Deuteronomy 4:34). His arms also support (Deuteronomy 33:27) and protects (Isaiah 40:11). Many other passages of scripture are quoted showing how the power of God to redeem, judge, protect and even punish is expressed by the idea of “the arm of Yahweh.”
Jason’s Prayer:
“Lord, I thank you for being with me yesterday, last week, and last year. I know where I could be without you, so I want you to be with me in my todays and go with me into all my tomorrows. I lift my hands to you in praise, honor, and thanksgiving.”
Worship:
In The Sanctuary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3yHO-md0tg
I Lift Up My Hands
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j6v4gUFbEg
Gracefully Broken
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FP9FYyYso8o
With Lifted Hands
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBEyUsB7olI
Praise You In This Storm
One of the largest muscle groups in the body is the stomach. In a 1996 article from the Ladies Home Journal titled, “How Smart is Your Stomach,” it was reported that scientists believe there is a brain in your gut. Dr. J. D. Wood, chairman of the Physiology Department at Ohio State University, actually calls the brain in your gut, “the little brain.” This belly brain is really quite large, equipped with a 100 million neurons that line the digestive tract from the esophagus to the colon. The brain in the gut, which is scientifically called the enteric nervous system, has as many neurons (which are information centers) as the spinal cord. The little brain is connected to the “big brain” by the vagus nerves, a bundle of nerve fibers running from the GI tract to the head. And, to the fascination of researchers, virtually all the classes of neurotransmitters found in the brain are also present in the gut.
Although the anatomy of the stomach is quite interesting and very important, I want to address the spiritual significance of the stomach. In spiritual terms, your stomach is the place where courage resides. Courage to make tough decisions—hard choices. It is said of a courageous person, “He has guts.” But our society is guilty of flab in the waistline. We don’t want pain—we want comfort—thus the loss of tone and a resulting bulge from our failure to be bold. Your stomach is also a place that rivers of living water flow from. It’s a place where the Holy Spirit resides. The Lord Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit who dwells in the spirit-filled believer’s belly… He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. John 7:38.
Key Verses:
The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.
Proverbs 20:27
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. John 7:38
The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. Proverbs 18:8
Prayer of David:
Teach me how to align my heart with Yours. I recommit myself as a man/woman after Your heart. I choose to seek Your face (Psalm 27:8). In difficult times, open my heart to receive Your revelation. Hide me in the shelter of your tabernacle (Psalm 27:5). Reveal deeply to my heart Your love for me. Rescue me in the midst of difficult circumstances, and bring me into a spacious place (Psalm 18:19). Teach me to enjoy life the way you desire. I choose to be confident in Your love. I am Your Bride. “I love you, O LORD, my strength”(Psalm 18:1).
Worship:
Lord I Give You My Heart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHMjhz8aHTw
The Heart Of Worship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-Zp586pvZg
Run To The Father
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcpeLDp0Foo
Tell Your Heart To Beat Again
The battle was grueling. Israelite soldiers led by Gideon had chased their enemies—the Midianite army and its allies—all night for a distance of some 20 miles! The Bible relates what happened next: “Gideon then came to the Jordan and crossed it. He and the 300 men with him were tired.” Nevertheless, Gideon and his men had not yet won the war. You see, 15,000 enemy soldiers still remained. After having suffered years of Midianite oppression, the Israelites knew that this was no time to give up. So, to eliminate the enemy, they kept up the pursuit.
We too are fighting a relentless battle. Our enemies include Satan, his world, and our own imperfections. Some of us have battled for decades, and with Jehovah’s help, we gained victories. At times, though, we may get tired of battling our enemies and waiting for the end of the fight. Although we have not yet won the complete victory, as Gideon did, we don’t stop. We keep moving forward! Jesus warned that in the last days we would face hard times and severe trials, but he also said that gaining the victory would depend on our endurance.
For our final workout, we will get on the “Spiritual Treadmill” to exercise our legs. This machine is designed to increase our endurance. In junior high I was on the track team. I could fly but did not have a lot of stamina. To gain better endurance, I ran 3 miles every day. When I started, I could barely run downhill for one mile. I had to endure a lot of pain to get to that level. The same is true spiritually. If I don’t go ahead and face the pain now, I’m left with the inevitable reality of having to face it again and again until I embrace the circumstances, learn the lesson, and gain the stamina. I can’t help but wonder how many times I’ve had to learn the same lesson, simply because I was unwilling to face the “painful” truth of what God was saying to me. God gives our legs hills so we can grow stronger.
Key Verses:
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31
Stand firm and you will win life. Luke 21:19
Let perseverance finish it’s work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:4
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:18-19
Prayer:
Lord, I thank you for renewed vigor. I am grateful for the Holy Spirit, who dwells within me and encourages me to press on. Help me to deafen my ears to all negativity that the enemy tries to use to slow me down. I will meditate on Hebrews 10:36 that says, “For you have need of endurance so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.”
Worship:
Good Fight
Move (Keep Walkin’)
Tell Your Heart To Beat Again
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F77v41jbOYs
Oceans
The Sun Is Rising
Moving Forward