Spiritually Minded

More thoughts on How to Be Spiritually Minded by John Piper:

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Being spiritually minded is a matter of life and death. Paul said in Romans 8:6, “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” The phrase “set the mind on the Spirit” translates a noun phrase, phronēma tou pneumatos—“mindset of the Spirit.” There is no good one-word English equivalent for phronēma. It is not just “mind” but also “attitude.” And not just “mindset” but also “attitude-set.” It is the frame and disposition of our mind. To say that we have a “phronēma of the Spirit” is to say that the Spirit is shaping our mind-attitude-set according to his own. It exalts Christ and values God and cherishes the Word of God and sees people and things with a relentless God-consciousness.

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Go to the hospital to pray with a dying man.

It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. (Ecclesiastes 7:2)
I did this last week and it had, as always, a sobering effect and blew away much worldliness from my mind.


Risk being thought foolish and weird.

It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. (Matthew 10:25)


Realize that millions of people in the other religions of the world are not looking for people with more American cultural coolness or techno savvy. They are looking for a “holy man,” a “man of God.”

The question will not be, “Is he quick-witted and fast-talking and clever?” The question will be: “Does he pray a lot? Does he know his holy Book, much of it by heart? Is he self-denying and focused on God? Is he powerful in his weakness?”