Following on from the previous blog “Fortify your minds”, and considering that, for us Christians, the task of fortifying our minds is not optional but essential for a victorious and productive Christian life, here are some key points to digest in this lifelong quest of constant renewal of our minds.

1. The task of fortifying your mind is an individual one – one that you cannot leave to anyone else but you. It is after all, your mind, and only you have authority over it and control what or who has free accesses to it. Only you have total control over the breadth and depth of whatever you allow free access to your mind. The onus is upon you, the individual believer. It is your responsibility to embark on a systematic campaign of renewal complete with targets and objectives to ensure that your mind is indeed provided with the necessary fortification required to live the victorious Christian life.
2. Fortification is a process one engages in during peacetime, on a regular basis, not when war has broken out.
   Fortification is a military term denoting the act of building military defences to protect a place or a position against attack. Once war has broken out there is no time to fortify but simply attempt to hold one’s position however fortified or not it may be. Fortification is a process that you conduct and engage in when it apparently seems there is no need for it, during peacetime, when all is well. However, its benefits and rewards are reaped in times of war and conflict, when the battle rages for one’s mind and faith is severely tested through trials and challenges. Now is the ideal time to build one’s faith and personal portfolio of trust through a systematic and comprehensive campaign of the renewal of the mind leading to profound transformation.It is the fortification conducted during peacetime, when everyone says “All is well!” and there seems to be no need for it that reaps massive dividends during times of battle.
3. Fortification is an essential process and act and not one that is surplus to need. Many a Christian folk are misled into thinking that a solid and robust engagement with God through His word is not required and unessential once one is saved. Indeed, our knowledge (or lack of it) of the word and our oft defeated Christian lives are no standards by which to gauge our eternal security. Our eternal security lies in our trust and faith in the all-sufficient vicarious work of Christ completed on the cross. However, the renewal of our minds leading to our transformation is pivotal to the quality and effectiveness of our Christian lives here and now on earth. Our individual ability to withstand the multiple (multifaceted) and ongoing onslaughts of the enemy in a world in which he rules is contingent upon the fortification of our minds with the word of God.
   A mind renewed is a mind empowered to overcome.
4. The benefits of fortification (in this instance) are not only limited to the defensive but most assuredly extend to the offensive too.
   The systematic and insightful ingestion of the Scripture not only guarantees our minds’ impregnable fortification against the darts of the evil one in its various forms but also represents the ground for our success in every area of life. Consider Psalm 1:1 – 3
   Blessed is the man
   Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
    Nor stands in the path of sinners,
   Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
   But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
   And in His law he meditates day and night.
   He shall be like a tree
   Planted by the rivers of water,
   That brings forth its fruit in its season,
   Whose leaf also shall not wither;
   And whatever he does shall prosper.When we choose God’s word for our reference point for everything in life over and above any other counsel that is available to us and allow it to permeate every fibre of our being (meditation), we gain an unimaginable and often inexpressible state of calm and peace that is impenetrable by the usual strife and struggles of life (blessedness). By this same act we also place ourselves in positions where God is favourably disposed towards us – when we continually submit to His law as expressed in His word.Furthermore, it is the person who takes delight and constantly meditates on (thinks deeply on and applies) the words of God, one who has developed a close and unremitting relationship with the word of God who remains vital and fresh at all times and unfailingly produces fruit at the appointed time. The benefit of fortifying our minds extends much more than simple defence into a vitality and freshness that unfailingly results in fruitfulness at the right time.This was the prescription God gave to Joshua in Joshua 1:8 – Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. God’s favour (and subsequent success) comes not from anything else but from delighting in the His law (His word, His instruction, His mind revealed – scripture) and meditating on it day and night. End of.If there was ever a formula for all round success, here it is.Grow a relationship with God’s word to the point where you take personal delight in it and it is faithful to reward you with an inner chill nothing else can provide and guaranteed success in every area of your life. (And whatever he does shall prosper.)

   In a world with a sea of choices where to get counsel from, when you make the counsel of God’s word your first and last port of call, you will never lose but stand to gain all the time.

A disciple of Christ Jesus is one who’s major preoccupation in life is the teachings of His master designed to permeate every area of his/her life (John 8:31). And the fortification of our mind is none other than our firm grounding and establishment in the words of Christ.