by From the National Institute of Health on Aging concerning Brain Health:
“An NIA-funded study of almost 3,000 older adults showed that healthy lifestyle factors — physical activity, not smoking, not drinking, following the Mediterranean-style diet, and engaging in mentally stimulating activities — can have important benefits. People who engaged in four or five of these behaviors had a 60% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s compared to those who only followed one or none. … In another study, older adults with higher levels of physical activity showed slower rates of cognitive decline. … Results from observational studies such as these can’t prove cause and effect, but they point to how a combination of modifiable behaviors may affect the brain as people age.”
The battlefield of the mind is a vicious battle faced by believers. Our minds are constantly bombarded with good and bad stressors, distractions, fears, etc. Amidst these, we are called to have “the mind of Christ.” How do we do this while our brains are processing more information in 30 seconds than the Hubble Space Telescope has in 30 years. Did you know there are as many neural connections in half a cubic inch of your brain as there are stars in the Milky Way. A quarter of a cubic inch of your brain holds 1.4 petabytes of data, equivalent to 14,000 movies. Despite this mind-boggling power, we are still incapable of grasping the understanding of God. Our only hope is a spiritual brain transplant with God’s mind, as Paul says, “the mind of Christ.”
We can have “the mind of Christ,” but only in Christ’s way. Philippians 2:5-11 sheds light on this where Paul said in 2:5, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” In 2:7 we must have a SERVANT’S mind. In 2:8 must have a HUMBLE mind. In 2:8 we must have a SACRIFICING mind. In 2:9-11 we must have an EXALTING mind. Working on these areas of our spiritual life will exercise the brain towards the godliness we were saved unto.
