Thinking like Christ

He became to us a reproof of our thoughts; the very sight of him is a burden to us because his manner of life is unlike that of others, and his ways are strange…Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray, for their wickedness blinded them, and they did not know the secret purposes of God. Wisdom 2: 15,21-22

Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus, who… humbled himself and became obedient unto death. Philippians 2:5, 8b

The first passage above is from the book of Wisdom written around 200 B.C. You really have to read the whole chapter- it is a remarkable prophecy of Christ’s suffering, death and rising. But it also is a testimony to how different God’s ways are from our ways of thinking apart from him.

And that reality has been challenging me in recent weeks during my times praying over Scripture. The Lord wants to renew our ways of thinking about everything! Take as one example Jesus’ question and teaching to the disciples found in Matthew 16:13-27. Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?” Peter responds by the revelation of God, “You are Christ, the Son of the living God.” The Lord then goes on to explain his mission as Messiah and how he will suffer, die and be raised on the third day. Pete got the revelation that Jesus was Messiah, but when it came to the revelation of His mission, he could not comprehend how that had to do with Jesus, in fact he also would have feared what that would mean for him as lead disciple! I imagine Peter thinking to himself, “If you Lord, who are Christ, are to suffer and die, then what about me your follower?! Jesus in fact went on to say, "if anyone would come after him, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

Like Peter, I recognize within myself patterns of thinking that are not yet subject to the Lordship of Christ. Thoughts that essentially continue to preserve my self life. Thinking that is not consistent with what I profess. Just like Peter, I can say by the grace of God, “Jesus, you are the Christ, the Son of God!” But when he tells me that his mission also requires, death to self, I recognize areas of my mind that clearly are resistant to Him and need renewal! I want to say, God forbid!-just like Peter.

The Lord wants us to be his witnesses from the inside out. Like the passage from wisdom, he wants our manner of life to be unlike others, because we are growing in oneness with the Lord.

Some practical ways to co-operate with the Holy Spirit transforming our thinking

The good news is that the Lord knows exactly where we don’t have the mind of Christ and wants to transform our minds by the renewal of his Holy Spirit within us! (Romans 12:2). He is for you and He is the one who can change your mind!

In order for this to occcur it means hanging out with the Lord in daily personal prayer and Scripture.

It means being with Church as we celebrate the Liturgy and receiving his Word and His Body and Blood.

He wants to break strongholds of our thinking by his divine power (2 Cor. 10:4-6). That means if there are areas where evil spirits are influencing our thinking, we have authority in our Lord Jesus to renounce and give up fellowshipping with those patterns of thinking.

For our part he wants us to surrender to him. We need to talk to him daily and make a practice of surrendering to his leadership of my entire life. We can ask for his light to reveal the darkness within and to then renounce thought patterns that are not consistent with who He is and who we are. It is also wonderful that we can take advantage of the sacrament of reconciliation for more power to hold firm in our resolutions to draw closer to the Lord!

One last thing, St Paul’s exhortation to have the mind of Christ is spoken to Christians, the church and not just to ‘me and Jesus.’ A very important support to being a disciple of Jesus today is having some brothers or sisters who you can fully reveal yourself to. Trusted Christians who you can share and pray with, and turn to in times of trouble and times of joy. As we share with others with the desire to live for Christ, his light works through to transform us, and bring us more completely into the image of Christ, being fully who you were made to be in Him.

Jesus wants to teach us his ways that are not of this world, but which turn the world upside down and right side up, so that we see things as they really are, and can offer others more of his fullness of life which we are increasingly living!

The value of relationships in Jesus our Lord!

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! - Psalm 133

This summer I had the opportunity to go on vacation at the ocean with two close friends in Christ, John and Martin. All of us are single men at this stage in our lives.


By the way, here in the Baltimore area, the way to say you are going to the ocean is, “I’m goin danny oshun!”

I wanted to share this blog to encourage and cause you to consider the value of community for your life as a Christian. I want to simply share some of the dynamics that occurred naturally for us because of our commitment to one another in Christ.

The week was really a remarkable time of renewal and retreat for all three of us. It was all rather spontaneous and lightly scheduled but because of our unity and friendship it allowed for a very meaningful time together as brothers in Christ. We were able to spend some early morning quite time off by ourselves, followed by a time to begin more personal prayer by gathering together to enter his presence with praise. Singing contemporary worship songs and offering verbal praises spontaneously.

Then, later in the morning we would head for the beach! Our times there were spent resting, reading, swimming, bronzing, walking and generally having a blast.

Over excellent dinners that Martin prepared, we shared our lives and afterwards had fun entertaining ourselves, playing guitar or watching movies or the Olympics. John has an enormous repertoire of tunes stored up in is brain and fingers, so one evening Martin and I got to hear a concert of Paul Simon tunes. Again it all would happen quite spontaneously.

The degree of loving support and honesty we share with one another is a wonderful and rarely encountered relationship dynamic. I am extremely grateful to God for giving me brothers likes this!

The three of us are part of a larger small group of men and women that meets a couple of times a month. We affectionately call our group, The Cracked Pots! You can’t join the group unless you walk with a limp in life - sorta like Jacob on his return trip to meet up with his brother Esau after God had helped bring about some needed life experience and personal change! We have been meeting together for a number of years praying and sharing our lives together. It is a very important value in my life to be part of a group like this that shares the same Christian world view and convictions. Beyond this group the three of us have met as a men’s group for quite a while now. There are a number of circumstances in each of our lives that have led us to recognize the importance of meeting regularly together as men. The level of our honesty and openness with one another has really helped to grow in the Holy Spirit. When one of us is struggling with certain circumstances or specific temptations we know we can call one another for support and to be reminded of the truth. We also pray regularly for one another and at times pray over one another seeking the Lord for his direction and words for that person. All of this was foundational to why this vacation together was so excellent.

Being part of some small group of brothers and or sisters in Christ is a wonderful blessing that is part of the provision the Lord Jesus gives us as his church, for the journey. If you are not part of a group, pray and consider becoming part of or starting one!