"Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:2).
When I turn on the television, I have a menu of possibilities to fill my mind. Every channel presents people and places to tap into. Then there's Facebook (or Twitter), ipods, text-messaging, youtube (I know I'm just scratching the surface here). Technology brings the world into my home, making it easier to be molded by its values. To think of me first. To focus on pleasure more than on Jesus. To think my worth is measured by my clothes or the car I drive. I may not always realize it, but these channels are training my thoughts and shaping me.
Technology's influence is so pervasive that I must consciously train my thoughts in a new direction. Not just once or twice a week, when I show up to church, or when I sit down with my Bible and breeze through a few verses. As I move through my day, I must intentionally focus on Jesus. One of my favorite author says it so well--"The mind must be stored with pure principles. Truth must be graven on the tablets of the soul. The memory must be filled with the precious truths of the Word. Then, like beautiful gems, they will flash out in the life" (Messages to Young People, pg. 69).
It's deadly to just float with the tide. Communion with Christ demands vigilance, to "reject every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). There's a lot of "stinky thinking" out there, twisted half-truths, ideas riddled with the world's viewpoint. It's easy to get swept away in the current if we're not filling our mind with something better. Without soaking our mind daily into God's Word, we won't be able to tell which thoughts are garbage and which are the beautiful gems. And sometimes, we need to filter out what's coming into our minds. We may need to "pull the plug" so to speak of some of the technology out there so we can "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33).
When I began my Communion Walk, I chose to close the doors that bring temptation into my home. My mind is in training. And the time I used up by watching TV or DVD's is now devoted to listening to peace filled music, sermons on Audio-Verse or youtube, by writing to friends. Taming technology has made it possible for me to meet with Jesus through the day. Sometimes it happens when I'm driving on one of my errands or washing dishes (no dishwasher at our house). I praise Him out loud for my blessings or sing a hymn that fills my heart. Whenever my hands are busy and I'm all alone, I think about what the Lord showed me in the morning, when we were together during our Quiet Time. It's a daily choice to "keep the Lord always before me," and I have a long way to go, but the more I do it, the easier it becomes. My mind is learning to be His mind; it's filling up with His thoughts. And the claws of temptation are losing their grip. But most of all, heaven seems within my grasp. I can almost reach out and touch it because my thoughts are there.
Can you keep heaven in your heart today? "Think that it can be done; believe that it can be done. Act it, and you will find that you are brought into a purer atmosphere; you are breathing the atmosphere of heaven" (Sermons and Talks, book 1, pg. 205).
My Prayer
Dear Lord, I choose to train my mind to walk the Communion Walk with you. Teach me to keep my mind fixed more on You than in the world, this virtual world that demands so much time. Train my thoughts, train all of me to fasten upon Jesus Christ and His kingdom of truth and righteousness. In Jesus' precious name, I ask this. Amen.
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