You may stop to rest and then continue the race. But don’t quit the race. You can win. So, persevere to the end and the prize will be yours. No quitting. Focus on the prize and continue running towards the goal.
The transformation
While running to get the prize, show compassion to people you meet. Forgive wrongs done against you. Let God avenge you, for he says, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay…” (Romans 12:19).
Meditate always on what is noble. No lies, no gossiping, no dishonesty, and don’t hate.
In Philippians 4:8 we read,
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (ESV)
God gave us minds so we can make decisions. But our minds degenerated, became corrupted and we glided down into the abyss of hate, murder, lies, fear, and all kinds of evil and negativity.
The Bible tells us to renew our minds by rejecting and discarding all evils. The Bible tells us to feed our minds with love, kindness, and righteous thoughts.
What we feed the mind leads to action. According to neuroscience, actions are performed when neurons connect to send and receive information or instructions. Neurons are cells within the nervous system. They send and receive information within our bodies. And our bodies act per the instructions of the mind. The Psalmist says in Psalm 139:14, “… I am fearfully and wonderfully made,” (ESV).
Neuroscience explains that when information is received, the brain sends the information to the action zone. The neurons interconnect with each other to send the information to the parts of the body where actions are to occur.
The mind is an action center. And our thoughts decide how we feel and act. You cannot succeed if you don’t believe in yourself. You must believe in yourself and act on your beliefs to achieve your vision. Though we cannot get rid of our emotions entirely, we can regulate and control how we react to situations.
Success does not come easily. So, continue running until you receive the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24; Philippians 3:14).
Thoughts have creative power. What goes on in the mind attracts reality. Inventions begin as thoughts in the minds of inventors. If you constantly believe that you will be a winner, and work at it, you will break through adverse circumstances and become a winner.
The body responds to the way we think, feel, and act. Proverbs 23:7 says, “As he thinks in his heart, so is he.”
Faith begins in the mind. And neuroscience explains that there is a special relationship between how our minds work and what kind of results we get. Faith and positive thoughts make us approach life and business with optimism. Faith motivates us to overcome self-limiting beliefs. Faith motivates us and helps us to conquer the challenges in life.
Repeating an action creates a pattern of behavior that is etched in our mind or the brain. The more you practice or perform an act, the more you solidify that action. And habit is formed. In later actions, the body follows the pattern that has been formed.
Faith motivates us to act. When we repeat actions, we train the body to learn to do the actions. Actions become easier by repetitions and eventually become automatic or almost automatic. The actions are then performed with little or no thought at all.
Faith invites the Holy Spirit to work in your spirit and actualize your vision. And you eventually become what you think and do. You become stronger by overcoming obstacles.
Information creates emotions, which in turn leads to action. Your eyes (the sight) and ears (the hearing) pick information for the brain to process. Processing the information leads to action, and action turns into being.
When you do something repeatedly, your body learns to do it better, more easily, and automatically. Your mind and body are now conditioned to work together. Any time information about the action is sensed, your body can subconsciously go into action, without you consciously thinking about it. Our thoughts, therefore, are translated into how we live, how we will succeed, or how we will fail.
The mind turns vision into reality as our thoughts create the emotions to stimulate our desires and actualize the vision. And the brain processes the information we feed it and creates a pattern of behavior.
Jesus said,
22 “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours,” (Mark 11:22-24; ESV)
You actualize your vision when you put your thoughts into action.
Meditate on God’s love and truthfulness. Believe that God is truthful and will perform what you ask him to do (Numbers 23:19; 2 Timothy 2:13). Learn to be good, kind, honest, and non-violent. The Holy Spirit indwelling you is comfortable with these characteristics and works unhindered in such environment.
The Spirit of God indwelling you transforms your spirit. Milk transforms water by making it become milky or whitish. So also, the Spirit of God indwelling you transforms you spiritually. However, the Holy Spirit cannot transform your spirit if you do not surrender yourself completely and if your spirit is contaminated. Desire God’s Spirit and yield your spirit to God’s Spirit, and God will transform you.
If you surrender to the Holy Spirit, He will direct your spirit. Yield to the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16-17) and He will fill your spirit with His power. He will enable you to speak and act in His power (Acts 1:8; Acts 2;4; Mark 16:17). The Holy Spirit helps us to be loving, kind, and truthful.
Neuroscience teaches that the mind decides how we perceive things and respond to challenges. Furthermore, neuroscience explains that our behaviors are developed through repeated actions. Repeating an action will ingrain it in the brain to become a habit. Ephesians 4:22-24 instructs us to shed off our former conduct, or behavior, and be renewed in the spirit of our mind, by feeding the mind with new information for actions.
The world is a jungle. It is a jungle of confusion, hate, anger, struggles, and all kinds of evil.
However, with God’s Spirit, we can become what we believe. We can make life great for ourselves. But only if we actuate our beliefs and practice God’s principles.
Press on – don’t give up!
Fire for fire ends in ashes.
Abigail Van Buren said, “People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes.”
Do not use violence to achieve a purpose. Patience may take the long route. But eventually it achieves success. Proverbs 25:15, “With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone,” (ESV).
And Proverbs 14:29 says,
“He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly.”
Mahatma Gandhi said, “Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary.”
Be tolerant and live peacefully with each other. Romans 12:18 tells us, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” (ESV)
Jesus taught us to be peaceful, loving, and forgiving. And Proverbs 15:1 says, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger,” (ESV).
