Scripture confirms how “the spirit of life” in each one of us comes from God and our body comes from the earth. (a) [see end notes for all Scriptures] God has designed each person to live and function in this life as a natural ‘and’ spiritual person. While both of these sources of life will eventually return to its source, (b) what about our natural and spiritual ‘health’ during this life? How can we improve our life and those around us?
Renew & Improve
Our bodies consist of eleven different organ systems. Each one is made up of thousands of cells, a total combination of an estimated 37 trillion. Cells are created in our bone marrow from the food we eat, mature in 22 days and go into our various systems as nutrients, and die after 90 days. In every moment of each day, thousands of cells in our bodies die and are replaced by new ones.
How amazing! Our life giving cells are coded to die, so that new cells with fresh nutrition can replace them as renewing life. New cells support and restore life as a method of repairing, rejuvenating, and renewing our health. While elements of our body die each day, they are also designed to heal, renew and restore themselves daily. We really ‘are’ what we eat and ‘become’ what we continue to feed ourselves.
Why is this important? Since we are designed to live as natural and spiritual people, our natural nutrition is a mirror of our spiritual. Just as the quality of the food we eat improves or hampers our physical health, our spiritual intake affects our spiritual health. We are healed, renewed and restored spiritually by the quality of our spiritual nutrition. What is feeding your spiritual health?
We are healed, renewed and restored spiritually by the quality of our spiritual nutrition.
Receiving Renewal from God
Since God is so complex and we are only limited reflections and resemblances (image and likeness) of His character, attitude and personality (CAP), we all look a bit different and are gifted with diverse abilities. While a birth defect or a tragic event can impede us physically, our CAP is only limited by our willingness to renew and improve into better expressions of His heart.
Each time we interact and receive input from God, 
our spiritual wellbeing is renewed. There are many ways we can receive renewing nutrients from the Spirit of God:
- Re-birthed into an awareness of God’s love and care
- Renewed by the reading, preaching and teaching of Scripture
- Refreshed by immersions (baptisms) in God’s Spirit
- Revived daily by a fellowship with His presence.
When we partake of good spiritual nutrition and dwell on God’s magnanimous heart of love, we transform daily into more mature children of God. When we stop eating good, natural and/or spiritual nutrition, we can greatly diminish a healthy lifestyle.
Scripture instructs us to: “Be renewed in the spirit of your mind (God consciousness).” (c)
When we partake of good spiritual nutrition, we transform daily into more mature children of God.
Adjusting Our Mind
The renewing of our spiritual life involves adjusting and improving what we think and believe; “For as he thinks within himself, so is he.” (d) Our soul, “who” we uniquely are as a person, is a combination of what our ‘mind’ thinks, ‘emotion’ feels, and ‘will’ believes. Yes, ‘who’ we are as a soul is a combination of our thoughts, feelings and beliefs.
We must caution: do not confuse your brain with your mind. Your soul’s mind is much more than a physical organ. The physical brain is active when we think and feel, like the gut is disturbed when we think or feel something is amiss, our thoughts and feelings are much more than a physical function.
Scripture says our soul should daily: “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind (what we think), so you may prove what the will of God is.” (e) “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds.” (f)
It is our mind that directs our ways and results in our deeds. Much of our actions are directed by our natural mind as we deal with natural needs and desires. Simultaneously, our spiritual mind and perceptions of God and His ways affect our maturing process of becoming better people. (g)
We are to: “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,” (h) The KJV says ‘mind’ rather than ‘attitude’. What is the mind/attitude Scripture is referring to? To not think of ourselves more highly than we should or reduce our value as children of God!
So we ask – do our perceptions of God and His ways lead us to treat others in divisive or in inclusive ways? (i) Are we ignoring God and hampering our renewing process? Perhaps you have settled for what you were taught years ago. Our spiritual perceptions, understandings, and beliefs should be regenerating, not “dying on the vine.” (j)
Today, I encourage you to take a step forward to improve your spiritual perceptions and to lend godly insight to those around you.
Our spiritual perceptions, understandings, and beliefs should be regenerating, not “dying on the vine.”
a) Genesis 2:7; b) Ecclesiastes 3:20; 12:7; c) Ephesians 4:23; d) Proverbs 23:7; e) Romans 12:2; f) Jeremiah 17:10; g) Ephesians 5:10, 17; Colossians 1:9; h) Philippians 2:5-7; i) 1 Corinthians 1:10; j) John 15:1-4;
Keith Carroll, “The Relationship Guy”
Relational Gospel Founder