When the Lord told us we have the mind of Christ, he wasn’t kidding! Our brains are most magnificent.  Recent brain research confirms Scripture in so many ways that I continue to be impressed and astounded. Did you know?

1. Our feelings do not come from events, they come from our beliefs about the events.
2. Our brain goes to the most compelling picture.
3. Our brain kicks out anything it doesn’t recognize.

Scriptural and Physical Truths

I put together some of the ways Scripture speaks to the physical realities in our brains:  take some time to consider some other “matches” that you can identify!

• Scriptural Truth:  Romans 12:1-2:  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
• Physical reality:  It takes 90 days to create a new brain path which fully encompasses truth, rather than the lies that became brain paths earlier in our lives.

• Scriptural Truth:Romans 10:17: Faith comes by hearing the Word of God.
• Physical Reality:  Our brains need to “hear” words spoken to build new brain paths.

• Scriptural Truth:Philippians 4:8: Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
• Physical Reality: When we think about things that are true and honorable, our brain actually reshapes and becomes more whole.

• Scriptural Truth:  Jeremiah 17:5-6:  Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.
• Physical Reality:  When we turn away from God and trust our own ways, we often become    bitter which turns the dendrites in our brains into shriveled, black, prickly shrubs, which reduce our capacity to fully live into God’s design and dreams for us.

• Scriptural Truth:Jeremiah 17:7-8:  But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water.  Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.
• Physical Reality: When we trust the Lord and make him our hope and confidence, our brains create dendrites which blow like breeze in the trees.  We are able to weather struggles because our brains are healthy and adaptable to change and challenge.  We actually thrive because our trust is in the Lord.

Changing Our Minds

Remember the three statements I made at the beginning?

1. Our feelings do not come from events, they come from our beliefs about the events. If we can change our perception about our past or current circumstances, we can embrace a different approach to the situation, which brings life and hope back into our life. A joyful, cheerful heart brings healing to both body and soul (MIND, will and emotion)!But the one whose heart is crushed struggles with sickness and depression.Proverbs 17:22

2. Our brain goes to the most compelling picture. What’s our most compelling future?  I believe it is heaven, after all, it is the world we were created to live within. When God created the Garden of Eden, it truly was heaven on earth. Consider making a commitment to spend 1 to 3 minutes a day imagining heaven.  Quite soon, our brain will be drawing us to the life-giving aspects of heaven, bringing it to us long before we die.  We can truly partner with God in calling heaven to earth.

3. Our brain kicks out anything it doesn’t recognize. So, in other words, if something good happens to us, but we are expecting to be rejected or disappointed, we may not even recognize the good thing which took place.

For a Healthy Brain

I include below some of my favorite authors on the brain: check them out for yourself and continue to give yourself the gift of a healthy brain!

1. Dr. Daniel Amen - Founder and Medical Director of Amen Clinics
2. Dr. Caroline Leaf - Author of "Switch on Your Brain"
3. Steven Campbell - Author of "Making Your Mind Magnificent"
4. Greg Wingard - Author of "The Red Bucket Strategy"