A Mind Set On The Gospel

The Glory of God
My God is immense beyond imagination. He measured the entire universe with merely the span of His hand.
He is unimaginably awesome in all of His perfections, absolutely righteous, holy, and just in all of His ways.
He has also been unbelievably good and merciful to me as the Creator and Sustainer of my life.
Every breath, every heartbeat, every function of every organ in my body is a gift from Him.
Every legitimate pleasure I experience is a gift from His loving hand to me.
All that I am and all that I have I owe to Him and to His goodness.
My life in every way is, and will continue to be, utterly dependent upon Him in whom I live and move and have my being.
This wonderful God is the most supremely worthy Object of admiration, honor, and delight in all of the universe;
And He has created me with the intention that I might glorify Him by finding my soul's delight in Him and by living in joyful obedience to Him in all my ways.
A Gospel Primer for Christians by Milton Vincent
pages 57 and 58

Lately I have been reminded of how much I so desperately need to be speaking the gospel to myself every moment of every day. It is this gospel that so radically transforms my heart and mind---nothing else in this world has the power to do so. If left up to me, I would die in my sinfulness. But God, being so rich in mercy, has completely saved me and transformed me into a new creation in Jesus Christ. Milton Vincent says in his book, A Gospel Primer, "There is simply no other way to compete with the forebodings of my conscience, the condemnings of my heart, and the lies of the world and the Devil than to overwhelm such things with daily rehearsings of the gospel." I have noticed that when things go well and every thing is easy I am not nearly as diligent as I should be to meditate on the glories of the gospel....I am quick to fall into laziness and complacency. But God, being the loving Heavenly Father that he is, knows that we need to be reminded of our desperate need of Him. This is where I am...needing reminders of my desperate need of Jesus. And God, in His kindness, is not allowing things to be easy right now. He is choosing to teach me humility. He is teaching me to rest in Him and His timing and His sovereign plan. And each of these difficulties causes me to run and cling to my Savior, and, because of this, I am so thankful for them. I find my heart agreeing with the psalmist, "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word. You are good and what you do is good; teach me your statues....It is good for me to be afflicted, that I might learn your statues. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces." (Psalm 119: 67, 68, 71, 72) So, lately I have been striving to "take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." (2 Cor. 10:5) I am asking God to give me a teachable heart that is sensitive to His Spirit's leading. I am desiring to be drawn out my own sinful thoughts and feelings and saturate my mind with the holy Word of God. Listening to myself just leads to more anxiety and sin, but setting my mind on the truths in the Word brings life and peace....oh so much peace. This is a fight every day. It does not come naturally or easily to set our minds on what is holy, pure, and good. But thank God that He keeps drawing us back and supplies us with His strength. And, the more we focus on the wonder of who He is and His great work on the cross, the more we desire Him and find our delight in Him. Jesus is all that we need and all that we long for. Praise God for such a sufficient Savior!