“God’s word is to be fixed “between your eyes,” which is a rich but figurative injunction by God that His words should be “distinctly in view” and carefully attended to by His people at all times…The fact that Jesus later criticized the Pharisees for their extreme literal use of frontlets, or phylacteries, only reinforces the deeper, spiritual importance of putting God’s word in your mind and not as a prideful outward display of your “righteousness” to be seen by men (Matthew 23:5).”
(C.R. Carmichael – Sacred Sandwich) How important is it for the believer to cultivate his or her mind through regular, prayerful study of God’s word? It is supremely important when one is seeking to ward off a deterioration of thought that comes from repeated exposure to the buffeting of the Enemy and the toxic indoctrination of the controlling world mechanisms. This is why Paul taught the Church way back when:
Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2).…for we have the mind of Christ (I Corinthians 2:16).
Surely now more than ever, the apostle’s exhortation must be heeded by professing Christians. The dark forces against us appear more energized in this age of digital dementia where minds are becoming conformable to machines. We must be both mentally and spiritually equipped to defend against these mechanized attempts to subvert the mind of Christ. Paganism, once thought antiquated and impotent in civilized society, has arisen again, now perfectly joined with the world’s postmodern sensibilities, digital imagery and technological advancements. From that breeding ground we now see new counterfeit belief systems like scientism and transhumanism making inroads into the visible Church with the intent to promote man’s high-tech wonders and marginalize God’s holy word.
THE FADING INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE
Sadly, in recent years the machinations of these new world forces have had a negative impact on the cultural influence of the Bible. As Michael Horton rightly surmised a decade ago:
“As it was in the days of the judges, the kings, and the prophets, so it is in our day: there is a famine in the land for God’s Word… (W)e find ourselves immersed in a visual culture where words in general are both unimportant and viewed with a growing cynicism.” (Sola Scriptura: The Protestant Position on the Bible).
More than twenty years ago, my wife and I witnessed firsthand the creeping apathy toward the Bible and the spiritual fallout that comes from starving the mind of that nourishment. We were temporarily tasked with overseeing the teen youth group for our growing seeker-sensitive congregation while the overseers searched for someone to hire as a permanent youth minister.
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