Renewing the Mind: Strategies for Teaching and Learning

The thirst for learning is so apparent in young children and each new day provides a platform for exploration. Renewing the mind is not just a spiritual process, but a physiological one as well. When you intentionally change the way you think to align with God’s Word, it literally creates new connections and pathways in your brain to make that process easier and more preferred over time. This article explores the concept of renewing the mind, particularly in the context of teaching and learning, offering strategies and insights for Christian educators and parents.

The Imperative of Mind Renewal

In Romans 12:2, the Bible urges us to “be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” This isn’t an obscure verse, but one that is often used as a one-size-fits-all answer for just about everything. But when someone asks, “How do you actually renew your mind?” the specifics of how to do it are rarely explained. Renewing your mind according to Romans 12:2 means interpreting life through the lens of God’s Word and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, rather than through the lens of your experience, woundedness, trauma, preferences, or the opinions of others. It’s a fundamental shift toward seeing the world, yourself, others, God, and especially what’s possible from a Kingdom perspective.

Understanding Transformation and Renewal

To understand “how to renew your mind,” we must first understand two words in Romans 12:2: “transform” and “renew.” “Transform” is “metamorphosis,” which is the process of something old into something new, like a caterpillar into a butterfly. That’s the purpose of renewing your mind: it’s to manifest the new life of Christ in you. This brings us to “renew,” which means to “resume to an original position after an interruption.” When you said, “Yes!” to Jesus and were born again, you became a new person in Christ (see 2 Cor. 5:17). This means Jesus’ identity became your default, original position: made new, made right, made whole and made holy. Anything contrary to who Jesus is, such as fear, temptation, stress, condemnation, and so on, is an interruption.

The Significance for Christians

Unless a Christian learns to renew their mind, they will continue to walk in defeat, struggle, and confusion, as they desire to experience a Spirit-led life yet, have no understanding of how or tools with which to see that life manifest. This is the predicament of most believers who live lives of religious obedience and obligation yet void of any real Spirit-led power. Without renewing your mind, the only two options are to wait, hope, and beg God to change you or to work, sweat, and strive on your own to achieve the results you so long to experience. Renewing your mind aligns your mind with the truth of God’s Word by learning to recognize the lies of the enemy, replace them with the truth of God’s Word and then reinforce that truth every time the enemy comes at them with those same lies.

The Battlefield of the Mind

The mind is the biggest battlefield, because it reflects what is going on in our heart already. Their minds were filled with lies and distortion of truth and inappropriate, depraved, and perverse thinking, but their minds were also weak and lazy. So, their minds are not only undisciplined and regularly wander into sinful territories, but their entire way of thinking and perceiving the world is obscure. Because their minds just wander around and their ability to understand is obscure, they don’t have the life of Christ in them. Because there is no life of Christ flowing in them, they completely lack knowledge and moral guidance. Society today wants to combat moral depravity with more education. These were Christians that were living in delusion and stubbornly refused to see the truth. Their behavior still reflects the person that died with Christ. There is a struggle in the process of being renewed, just as a caterpillar must struggle to exit the cocoon as a butterfly.

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Practical Strategies for Mind Renewal

Renewing your mind, then, is simply the process of getting back to your original position in Christ by interrupting the interruptions. And you do this by thinking on and speaking God’s truths. For example, to renew your mind from feeling fearful, think on and declare 2 Timothy 1:7: “I have not been given a spirit of fear, but I have power, love and a sound mind.” Or to renew your mind when confronted with condemnation, think on and declare a verse like 2 Corinthians 5:21: “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.”

The 5 R’s for Renewing Your Mind

After helping many believers renew their mind to the truth of God’s Word, an easy process was developed. The 5R’s for Renewing Your Mind are:

Recognize: Intentionally “capture” each thought that comes into your mind and compare it to God’s Word and His promises for your life.
Replace: If the thoughts you’re having don’t agree with God’s Word, then replace them with promises from God’s Word. It can literally be as simple as asking the Holy Spirit to bring to your remembrance a scripture that is opposite of the lie you may be faced with currently. You can also just do a quick internet search for scripture verses based on the lie you’re trying to replace. Remember, thoughts are like seeds and whatever you allow to be planted in the garden of your heart will bring forth a harvest in your life.
Reimagine: God created you with an incredible imagination to see, sense, feel and create new realities in your mind before they ever come into the physical realm. It’s one of the primary ways we co-labor with the Holy Spirit to release His Kingdom in and through our lives. As you are replacing new thoughts based on God’s Word, imagine in your mind’s eye what it would look like, feel like to experience life within this new reality.
Reinforce: Every time you are flooded with those same types of thoughts that don’t agree with God’s best for your life, simply reject and replace them with God’s Word. One way you can accelerate this process is to write down your newly created Biblical affirmations on note cards, laminate them and carry them with you for easy access. You can also post them in places that you see often like your office wall, your desk, your car, or even your bathroom mirror. This can feel tedious at first, but as you do so in the context of gratitude, faith, and expectancy God’s presence will infuse this process, making it become more and more natural. Create affirmation statements based on God’s Word that, along with your visualization exercises, continue to reinforce the truth of God’s Word inside your heart.
Rejoice: Now that you know the truth of God’s Word and have started replacing the lies of the enemy and reinforcing God’s truth in your heart every day, make it a normal part of your daily habits to thank God for this ‘new normal’ that is yours in His Kingdom. Gratitude opens the door for us to understand and receive all the good things God has for us as His children. It creates the lens through which we see the world, ourselves, God and all that’s possible in Him.

Neuroplasticity and the Renewed Mind

Renewing your mind is not just a spiritual process, but a physiological one as well. When you intentionally change the way you think to align with God’s Word, it literally creates new connections and pathways in your brain to make that process easier and more preferred over time. Through the process of neuroplasticity, your brain can literally be reconfigured to align with the truth of God’s Word and thus create the solutions, strategies, and opportunities that best align with God’s plan for your life. Remember, in Proverbs 23:7 KJV “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Your thoughts (which ultimately create your beliefs resulting in your actions) literally create the boundaries of your life.

Renewing the Mind for Teaching and Learning

Renewing the Mind for Teaching and Learning is a self-directed study course, returning the mind to the natural function of “teaching” and “learning.” The classroom once again becomes fresh, powerful and spirit-filled. This in-depth study, a succinct overview of the basic method and philosophy of the Principle Approach®, is fundamental in preparing you to teach and leads you to a refreshing new perspective on learning and reasoning. Begin the study today, and renew your mind so that the “causes of all life and learning can be viewed through a Biblical lens.”

The Principle Approach®

This course is taught online periodically throughout the year. The Principle Approach® emphasizes a Biblical philosophy of education, begetting a fresh approach to both curriculum and method. Start “renewing your mind for teaching and learning” with a group of like-minded leaders, educators and patriots. This book explains Providential History, Principle Approach philosophy, curriculum and methodology and is easy to understand and use. No additional materials are required.

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Combating Anti-Biblical Forces

How can Christian parents combat the anti-Biblical forces that assail the family daily? Consider renewing your own heart and mind-as a parent and a teacher-for teaching and learning Biblical principles with classic American Christian methods of education.

God’s Word as Foundation

God’s Word must become the foundation of your worldview.

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