May 2022
Nougat 25
So after yesterday’s nougat, a friend sought to share a ‘piece of her mind’ with me. Now let me hasten to say she was playing on words, she came in peace! For in the Caribbean there’s a Vast difference between “peace of mind” and “a piece of one’s mind”. The former is as it sounds – contentment during or after a harrowing situation; but the other is voicing one’s opinion or feelings on a sore topic or about an issue in an opinionated way. I confess it sometimes feels as though I have to give someone a piece of my mind to get peace of mind.
Today’s Holy Nougat
“With respect to your former lifestyle, you are to lay aside the old self corrupted by its deceitful desires, be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self—created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24 TLV
Based on the nougat, sharing a piece of our minds with another is more about our ‘former’ lifestyle when the desire was to live for self. We are being called however to a new lifestyle in Christ, where we give – not a piece – but all of our minds over to God.
I actually like the wording used here in the Tree of Life version; because it says the “‘spirit’ of our minds”. We might recall that spirit is often transliterated ‘breath’ and mind comes from a Greek root word that refers to our diaphragm (the pliable cavity that helps to regulate breathing). In this instance however, the Greek used speaks to our minds as our mental capacity and reasoning.
Nevertheless, if the pneuma of our reason center is God-breathed, then our very imagination center and thought-life are in direct submission to God’s Spirit. In short, with our every breath we need to let God’s Spirit dwell within us as with Jesus Christ. (Isn’t it ironic to find that yoga is about controlling our breathing?). If that’s the case then renewing our minds is easy – it’s as simple as breathing.
The further irony originates from the school of thought that the most revered name of God for the Jews, “YHWH”, is associated with our breathing. Thus, the artiste and musician Jason Gray proposed the following:
“Take a breath and breathe it out. Do it again, slowly, and try to mean it. Breathing – of all things maybe we take it most for granted. [Covid-19 has certainly disabused us of that] …”
Gray further explored the ways in which we breathe, saying –
“In sadness, we breathe heavy sighs. In joy, our lungs feel almost like they will burst. In fear we hold our breath and have to be told to breathe slowly to help us calm down. When we’re about to do something hard, we take a deep breath to find our courage. When I think about it, breathing looks almost like a kind of praying.”(emphasis mine)
Can you imagine that?! That the various breaths we take can be prayers to God (of course, some of us might need to change the thoughts accompanying the breaths! ). I know I’ve reflected on it before but connecting the dots to the renewal of our minds is mind-blowing! Gray’s article continues and he further states;
“I heard a teaching not long ago about the moment when Moses had the nerve to ask God what his name is … and the name he gave is recorded in the original Hebrew as YHWH.” (for more details from the article and lyrics, visit
https://rabbitroom.com/…/is-the-name-of-god-the-sound…/ ).
And, in some circles we know, when folk are distressed the cry becomes ‘Y’shua! Could that be a subconscious effort to renew our minds? To move ourselves to a place of righteousness and holiness? And if YHWH is about the breath we take, our first and last breaths also acknowledge the existence of God! … if we choose to believe.
I believe I’d like to take God’s offer for ongoing renewal of my mind and for revival by intentionally seeking Peace of Mind and giving God ALL of my mind! How about you?
https://youtu.be/pfJi_-7wzfc (actually starts at 3:17 as he introduced the song in the first 3 minutes)
https://youtu.be/tzOz9oZVrtA (Of course I also thought of Michael Smith)
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May all we seek be found in Christ