Restoring the mind While there is time…
"And the one sitting on the throne said: "Behold, I am making all things new" (Rev. 21:5).
From the Book of Acts we learn that the Athenians spent their time in nothing so willingly as in listening to something new (Acts 17:21).
The Russian poet Fyodor Tyutchev, dying, asked: "What is the latest political news?"
People, by their curiosity, are actively interested in news, which is often a cocktail of gossip.
And although "there is nothing new under the sun" (Eccl. 1:9) and everything new in its essence is "old well forgotten", we still live in time, so we analyze the historical mistakes of the past so as not to make them in the future.
In the Old Testament Book of Leviticus (26:10) there is such advice: "...And you shall cast away the old before the new."
In Italy, for example, when celebrating the new year, it is customary to throw away old furniture and things and get new ones. Therefore, on New Year's Eve, it is risky to walk the streets of Rome, as something can fall on the head of careless pedestrians.
Even to the prophet Isaiah, the Lord said: "Behold, the old things have come, but I will speak new things, I will let you hear about them while they grow up" (Is. 42:9), "Behold, I will do new things" (43:19), "Now I have told you news and secrets, which you did not know" (Is. 48:6). In the final chapters of the book of the prophet Isaiah, we read about God's plans: "For behold, I will create a new heaven and a new earth, and the former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind!" (Is. 65:17).
The Apostle Peter wrote in his Epistle: "...we, according to His promise, are waiting for a new heaven and a new earth, where the truth dwells" (2 Pet. 3:13). Apostle John sees this with spiritual eyes: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth" (Revelation 21:1). The capital of this new land will be New Jerusalem.
The new creation of God will reach the new heaven and the new earth, new people with pure new hearts, who speak new languages, have new names and new bodies. This restoration first of all touches the heart and the mind. In the book of the prophet Ezekiel, a heart transplant operation is predicted: "I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit in you, and I will take out of their body a heart of stone, and I will give them a heart of flesh" (Ezek. 11:19).
How will this be accomplished? Conscious rejection of the previous sinful way of thinking and living, renunciation of the kingdom of Satan, of idolatry, as the Word of God advises: "Put away all your sins with which you have sinned, and create for yourself a new heart and a new spirit" (Ezek. 18:31).
Thus, a believer should, trusting in the healing hands of the Heavenly Surgeon, participate in the creative process of his own renewal.
Once upon a time, Jacob, on his way to Bethel, that is, to the House of God, buried all the idols and foreign gods under an oak tree.
When Christ came to earth, people asked each other: "What is this? What kind of new teaching is this, that He commands evil spirits with authority, and they obey Him?" (Mark 1:27). Greek philosophers are interested in the apostle Paul: "Can we know what kind of teaching you preach?" (Acts 17:19). The one who accepts by faith this teaching of the New Testament and the commandment of love becomes a new creation: "Whoever is in Christ is a new creation; the old has passed away, and the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:17). This teaching is not clear to everyone, because it makes no sense to pour new wine into old wineskins. In the Epistle to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul calls on believers to "put aside the former way of life of the old man, which is wasting away in seductive lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, created in the image of God, in justice and the holiness of the truth" (Eph. 4:22-24). Restoring audio or video recordings is simple: the old information is erased and a new one is applied in its place. In the same way, information is recorded in computers, on diskettes. The new replaces the old.
But you have to look at the root. One man decided to be baptized with his mouth open. He was asked, "Why?"
"That my tongue may be baptized," answered this Christian.
But the fact is that the mouth speaks what the heart is filled with. If the heart is impure, unregenerate, then the language will remain old, pagan, as they say, Chaldean. You can worry about hygienic cleanliness of hands and dishes, but if the source from which water reaches consumers is contaminated, then diseases are inevitable.
That is why the source of heretical lies causes spiritual "poisoning". In the book of the prophet Jeremiah, there are complaints that people "left the source of living water and made themselves broken reservoirs that do not hold water."
American student Carlos Castaneda was collecting materials for a dissertation on the lifestyle of Indian tribes in California. For this, he met the elderly Indian Don Juan, who set the following condition: the way to the "kingdom of Mescalito" lies through a pipe, that is, drugs. As a result of the four-year "study", the consciousness of the anthropology student was so deformed that he became completely disoriented in the concepts of good and evil and began to poeticize the black magic of the occult. This is how the books appeared, following which young people now go into the "non-linear reality" of narcotic trances: "Teachings of Don Juan", "Split Reality", "Journey to Ixtlan".
The Korean Moon, the Japanese Asahara, the Ukrainian Kryvonogov and all such "gurus" are trying to enslave human souls in order to poison them with their false teachings. Their goal is to penetrate the subconscious of their victims. To do this, they break through a crack in the mind, blinding it with the delusional brilliance of pseudo-spiritual musings.
Women like to change their clothes and try to dress in something new every day. But not all of them, like men, are ready to restore their wardrobe and change the withered clothes of the old body to the new body of the resurrection. Not everyone is in a hurry to get a new passport that certifies heavenly citizenship, "a white stone, and on the stone is written a new name" (Rev. 2:17). This is what the new passport form looks like, which is necessary to cross the border between the temporal and the eternal, for unimpeded entry into the New Jerusalem.
"I will make the winner a pillar in the Temple of My God, and he will not leave there; and I will write on it the name of the city of My God... and My name is new" (Rev. 3:17). These are the basic details or passport data of a citizen of heaven.
His new name and patronymic were entered in the new passport, and a stamp was placed about his heavenly residence.
A new name... Many people in the Bible received new names in place of old ones that no longer corresponded to their new position. For example, Jacob became Israel, Naomi became Marra, Simon became Peter, Saul became Paul. Noemen (pleasant), having tasted the bitterness of emigration and the loss of her husband and sons, began to be called Marra, that is, "bitter"; Saul ("hard work"), convinced that it is "difficult to go against the spit" of truth, turned into Paul ("little one") - an apostle who walked the path of humility, crucifying his "self" for the sake of the growth of Christ in the heart.
How does mind renewal work? First of all, it removes the veil from the mind blinded by the devil (2 Cor. 3:14-16; Eph. 4:18), opening it to the understanding of the Scriptures. A person begins to understand the Word of God (Mt. 13:23), which previously seemed to him to be a Chinese script, the nature of spiritual phenomena becomes clear to him (Rev. 2:2), he already thinks about heavenly things (Col. 3:2), compares the spiritual with the spiritual and judges everything (1 Cor. 2:13-15), has the "mind of Christ" (1 Cor. 2:16), thinks about the law of God day and night (Ps. 1:2) and even distinguishes falsehood from truth (2 Cor. 11:13-15).
Subduing every thought in obedience to Christ, the new person is "renewed in knowledge according to the image of the One who created him (Col. 3:10).
What gives a renewal of the mind?
First of all, by purifying our consciousness, it gives us the opportunity to serve God in a renewed spirit, "not according to the old letter" (Rom. 7:6). Christians become ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the spirit, who are clearly aware that the letter kills and the spirit gives life.
Further, they mature spiritually to the extent that they see the will of God, which favors them in everything: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may know that the will of God is good, acceptable and perfect" (Rom. 12:2) - instructs the Apostle Paul.
And, finally, the renewing of the mind leads to modesty and humility, and believers do not think more of themselves than they should, but think "with humility, according to the measure of faith which God has given to each one" (Rom. 12:3).
The renewal of the spirit of the mind leads to the fact that the mind serves the law of God (Rom. 7:25). Becoming partakers of God's being (2 Pet. 1:4), Christians can repeat following the apostle Paul: "And it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20). And if Christ is in us, it means that His character is also in us, His love is in us, His power is in us.
May the Lord bless us to become a truly new creation that sings a new song of praise, "Glory to God in the highest," and be renewed by the spirit of our mind, putting on a new person who is created in the image of God!
"There will be no more time" (Rev. 10:6).
"Therefore, while we have time, let us do good to all, but most of all to our own by faith" (Gal. 6:10).
While our soul resides in the body, we are subject to the laws of time and space. Everything "visible is temporary, but invisible is eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18), but there comes a moment when time is transformed into eternity, and then "time will be no more." And just as astronauts in space understand weightlessness, so we are destined to know temporality.
By reversing the vector of time, God will reunite souls with bodies and thus provide for the restoration of those human personalities that have been destroyed by death through resurrection. In that world where Eternity reigns, there will be no death, no night, no sickness, no suffering and no tears.
A certain Uri Heller, who lives in Israel, became famous for being able to stop the clock. But not the time! And God stopped the sun and time in the days of Joshua. The wise Ecclesiastes asserted that "there is an hour for every matter under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pull up what is planted" (Eccl. 3:1-2).
Benjamin Franklin observed: "If time is the most precious thing, then wasting time is the greatest waste." Oleksandr Suvorov echoes him: "Money is expensive, human life is even more expensive, and time is more expensive than anything else." But at the same time, many people are concerned with how to "kill time". In this way, they commit their spiritual suicide, because they saw the branch on which they are sitting.
One parable tells of a man who was chased by a predator and hanged from a tree over a cliff. And the roots of this tree were gnawed by two mice - white and black, symbolizing day and night. This is the allegory of our life. Day by day we draw closer to eternity, and this "time is short" (1 Cor. 7:29).
"The heart of a wise man knows the time and the right" (Eccl. 8:5), and the Apostle Paul calls on believers: "Be careful how you behave - not as unwise, but as wise, using the time, because the days are wicked" (Eph. 5:15-16). The apostle came from a lot of life experience. Once he visited the capital of Greece, Athens. And there, in the building of the supreme court, he preached to the Greeks, who considered themselves wise, about the meaning of life in the light of the resurrection of the dead. Unfortunately, few believed him.
"When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said: "Let us hear you about this another time!" (Acts 17:32). They believed that it was not yet time to think about this topic. Sometime later, later, closer to death, it would be possible to think about it, and now there is no need to poison life with sad thoughts about the afterlife.
If our contemporary is asked what he thinks about God, the soul and the afterlife, sometimes you can hear the same answer: "I will retire and then I will deal with these issues properly." Many people think this way today. However, the apostle Paul was a witness to this on more than one occasion.
Once Governor Felix invited him, as they say, "for a cup of tea" "and listened to him about faith in Jesus Christ." "And when he spoke to them of justice, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix was filled with fear and said: 'Go now, and when I find time, I will call you.'" (Acts 24:25). Unfortunately, Felix's emotional impressions soon faded, and he never found time for an interview with Paul and his salvation.
"For it is time to turn to the Lord," we read in the book of the prophet Hosea (Hosea 10:12). "Now is the favorable time, now is the day of salvation!" - writes the apostle Paul (2 Cor. 6:2). "Therefore, let us fear, while we still have the promise of entering into his rest, not one of you is late" (Heb. 4:1). People who have a tendency to postpone everything "for later" are very likely to be late. It's a pity for those who now declare: "There is no when, there is no time!" God will say, "It is too late, there is no time."
Soon the doors of the "ark of salvation" - the Church of Christ - will be closed - the fullness of time will come, the full number of Gentiles will enter, and there will be no time for salvation!
On the banks of the Niagara River there is a small rocky ledge, where on the edge of the rapid stream there is an inscription: "There is no further salvation!" Everyone knows that anyone who swims further will die. On the other side of the rock is death. The fast-flowing flow of earthly life is bringing us closer to the turning point beyond which there is no turning back. This is the end of the life path, beyond which is the meeting with God.
We build grandiose, "Napoleonic" plans for the future, we think about career and fame, just like Napoleon. But at that time it did not even occur to him that he would be defeated near Waterloo, exiled to the island of St. Olena, where he will die of cancer.
The psalmist David tried to look into the outlines of his future: "Lord, let me know my end and the measure of my days, what it is, that I may know when I die. Behold, You have given my days as five years, and my age as nothing before You. Yes, every person is a vanity, no matter how firmly he stands! As a shadow is useless, a man walks; she fights in vain; gathers and does not know who will get it" (Ps. 39:4-6).
One - collects money, the second - collects books or paintings, the third - victories over enemies. Cesare Borgia said: "In life I have worried about everything except death, and now it caught me completely unprepared."
A wise man simulates his death. She always subconsciously and consciously thinks about her and not at all in order to cultivate anger, pessimism and a hypochondriac "inferiority complex", which are necessarily accompanied by the fear of death and have led many to the grave prematurely.
William Shakespeare wrote: "...fear leads to death, but we are shameful slaves to death, having surrendered to fear without struggle." Aptly said. Fear paralyzes the soul, robs it of its ability to resist death.
Leo Tolstoy once admitted with horror: "Forty years of work, pain and success in order to understand that only rot and worms will remain from me!" A little later, he began to look at death differently.
Fyodor Sollogub shouted: "To the frogs? In the swamp? I don't want to!"
According to their worldview, these people were not ready to meet death with dignity.
Field Marshal Suvorov died simply and courageously. Shortly before his death, he even asked Derzhavin what epitaph he would write on his grave.
Elder Simeon teaches us such a Christian death: "Now, Lord, you let your servant go in peace according to your word, because my eyes have seen your salvation" (Lk. 2:29-30). These were his last words. What is the secret of such optimism? In unwavering faith in the Savior Jesus Christ, who defeated death, removed its sting and provided us with immortality and eternal life. Also in the sense of fulfilled duty, when a believer has fruitfully used the time of life to accumulate capital in Eternity, collecting heavenly treasures of good deeds.
The son of David - Solomon - summarizes his instructions in the form of the following conclusion: "The conclusion of everything heard: fear God and do His commandments, because this belongs to every person" (Eccl. 12:13).
Let's listen to the prayer of Moses: "Teach us to count our days in such a way that we acquire a wise heart!" (Ps. 90:12). In the German Bible, these words are translated as follows: "Teach us to think about the fact that we must one day die, so that by thinking about it, we will acquire a wise heart."
As a rule, the psychology of a person who has been given a fatal diagnosis of an incurable disease changes fundamentally. She protests against useless talk. She asks: “Don't tell me anything about politics. I don't need to know anything about business and money. It used to be the content of my life, but now I don't have time for it. I want to prepare for Eternity. I regret that I wasted my time aimlessly. Now it cannot be returned."
And we still have a chance to change lives, to do good to our neighbors. Let's not lose it. Let's put the precious talent of time into circulation. Eugene Bersier said: "Time consists not only of hours and minutes, but also of desires and love. He who loves a lot will have time to do a lot."
A world bounded by a circle of disbelief,
In search of joy mechetsya.
God has measured each time,
To prepare for Eternity!..
Cherish time for eternity. The French sage Blaise Pascal wrote: "So that our passions do not harm us, we will act as if we had only a week left to live." And maybe even less...
In the saving ark of grace
God has been inviting us all for a long time.
He spent a lot of effort.
Only we don't care. It doesn't matter.
He is on his mind every moment
Domino and green wine.
The other changes everything in the world
For rags, for highs and porn.
The summer of salvation is already on its way out.
Grain is harvested before the spike.
You are still far from enlightenment.
Because you don't care. It doesn't matter.
But indifference will pay off.
And you can't escape from her:
Don't you want a paradise holiday
The ark will be opened without you.
I walked on German soil,
drove on the autobahns.
How we were deceived in the Kremlin,
how confused in the gray mists!
Like millions like me
they insisted that the West had already rotted.
Everything agreed: and the stench of lies,
and the smell of red vileness.
"Rotting capitalism" -
it is, they say, a legion of the unemployed.
And around - the radiance of faces,
sincere smile of carefree eyes.
Because they have them every month
help up to a thousand marks!
These facts are left in the shade
cool on "bourgeois ghosts".
Shops are palaces of goodness,
where there are no queues or shortages.