As you begin to claim your mind back from the enemy, he will not want to give up the place that he has had. You will have to do battle with his lies and confusion.
Your first step is to declare out loud that you will not allow any outside force to do your thinking–no man and no spirit. There are spiritual laws that demons must obey. They cannot stay where a man wills them not to stay. Your power is in the Name of Jesus, the Blood of Jesus, and the Word of God. Ask God to give you discernment of the lies of the devil.
Think about what you are thinking about. As you recognize a lie to your mind, always defend yourself out loud. That means speaking to Satan and the evil forces out loud, binding them in the Name of Jesus, and forbidding them to lie to you and to use your mind.
When you catch a lie to your mind, use this prescription regularly–and you will regain peace, your memory, restful nights, and the ability to concentrate and comprehend.
You are in a battle–you are not alone–for all of God’s people fight this same fight (Ephesians 6:12). Make up your mind not to give up! According to Colossians 3:2, set your mind on things above and keep it set! As you begin this battle, it will seem worse than ever. The reason is that the demonic powers are fighting to keep their place in your mind (and in your thinking). Call upon God’s grace in the Name of Jesus, and He will give you the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome every evil tendency fully.
Remember, regaining your mind is a process. We all fail at one time or another. God knows our weakness; that is why He gave us 1 John 1:9. Just ask for forgiveness and see the Blood of Jesus washing away your sin. Don’t give up! Continue claiming what belongs to you (your mind and your thinking belong to you), and Jesus will help you overcome.
Second Timothy 1:7 says, “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind!”
Showing posts with label Mind. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mind. Show all posts
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Think About What You're Thinking About
Thoughts are powerful, and according to the writer of the book of Proverbs, they have creative ability. See Proverbs 23:7.
In fact, you cannot have a positive, exciting life and a negative mind.
Maybe you've spent years thinking wrong thoughts based on a warped, dysfunctional past, but that can change today. If you struggle with negative thinking, it's important for you to come to grips with the fact that your life won't change until your thinking does.
The Bible says that God loves us, but have you ever struggled to believe this? I have learned that if we never meditate on God's Word, we will never experience the depth of His love for us. The love of God is meant to be a powerful force in our lives, one that will take us through even the most difficult trials into victory.
The Bible presents a lot of detailed instruction on what kinds of things we should think about. Philippians 4:8 alone tells us to think about things that build us up, not tear us down.
If you're a believer, you probably think some Scripture-based thoughts throughout each day, but think about this. Are you mixing them with negative thoughts or just any random thoughts that come into your mind? For most of my life, I simply thought whatever fell into my head. Much of what was in my head was either lies Satan was telling me or just plain nonsense. The devil was controlling my life because he was controlling my thoughts.
Read Mark 4:24. It tells us the more time we spend thinking about the Word, the more power and ability we will have to walk in it. It also says the more we read and listen to the Word, the more revelation we will receive to understand it.
In the flesh we are lazy and want to receive from God without any effort on our own part, but that's not the way it works. You will only get out of the Word what you are willing to put into it. I encourage you to make a decision to meditate on God's Word every day because every moment you spend absorbing it, the more virtue and knowledge you will receive from God.
In fact, you cannot have a positive, exciting life and a negative mind.
Maybe you've spent years thinking wrong thoughts based on a warped, dysfunctional past, but that can change today. If you struggle with negative thinking, it's important for you to come to grips with the fact that your life won't change until your thinking does.
The Bible says that God loves us, but have you ever struggled to believe this? I have learned that if we never meditate on God's Word, we will never experience the depth of His love for us. The love of God is meant to be a powerful force in our lives, one that will take us through even the most difficult trials into victory.
The Bible presents a lot of detailed instruction on what kinds of things we should think about. Philippians 4:8 alone tells us to think about things that build us up, not tear us down.
If you're a believer, you probably think some Scripture-based thoughts throughout each day, but think about this. Are you mixing them with negative thoughts or just any random thoughts that come into your mind? For most of my life, I simply thought whatever fell into my head. Much of what was in my head was either lies Satan was telling me or just plain nonsense. The devil was controlling my life because he was controlling my thoughts.
Read Mark 4:24. It tells us the more time we spend thinking about the Word, the more power and ability we will have to walk in it. It also says the more we read and listen to the Word, the more revelation we will receive to understand it.
In the flesh we are lazy and want to receive from God without any effort on our own part, but that's not the way it works. You will only get out of the Word what you are willing to put into it. I encourage you to make a decision to meditate on God's Word every day because every moment you spend absorbing it, the more virtue and knowledge you will receive from God.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
The Authority Of The Disciple
As Believers, we are involved in spiritual warfare on a daily basis. Now, you may be thinking, “Brother Murphy, I am not fighting anything.” But the reason many of us do not realize that we are in battle is because we are only seeing things from a natural perspective.
However, I want to challenge your thinking regarding this matter. Even if we think the topic of spiritual warfare is too “deep,” that type of thinking will not stop our enemy from attacking us. Just as Heaven and Hell are real places, Satan, demons, and God’s angels also exist. Therefore, it is time that we recognize these facts and begin to gird ourselves up with the armor and weapons that we receive from the Word of God so that we can effectively fight— and win— the battle of spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:10).
The battles we fight against evil manifest through things we can see and feel in this natural realm. For instance, spiritual warfare shows up in the form of frustrations that we deal with in life, as well as through conversations with people whose negative words affect our thoughts.
The secret battles we fight may come in the form of addictive behaviors, causing uncontrolled emotional responses such as anger, or other negative emotions. Whatever the battle is, we should recognize that we are not really fighting against people. We are fighting against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, and against evil spirits in heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12, New Living Translation).
The good news is, we can always win these battles when we know who we are, whom we are fighting, and how to fight.
Satanic and demonic forces have a primary goal — to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10). But Jesus came to this Earth and died for us so that we may have life and have it more abundantly. Although we experience spiritual attacks, Jesus has given us authority over all the power and ability of Satan (Luke 10:19). However the problem is that many times we try to deal with the onslaughts of the enemy through natural means only.
This type of thinking opens the door to defeat. We cannot fight spiritual battles using our natural abilities. Although there are things we must do in the natural, we must also do the spiritual things, like spending time in prayer, and reading, studying, and confessing the Word of God.
We do not have to tolerate the attacks of the enemy because we have been given authority over the works of Satan in our lives. It is because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross that we have been given the authority.
Therefore, as Believers, we can open our mouths and declare our authority by faith. We can boldly say, By the authority of Jesus Christ, and through and by His blood, I command you Satan to stop this attack! I command you to stop your maneuvers through this person or this situation.
When we know and use our authority, we are acknowledging and establishing our faith in who we are in Christ. You do not have to tolerate trouble. Choose, instead, to exercise your authority by speaking faith-filled words. When you boldly declare what you have a right to, demons and satanic forces will flee. This is the way we fight and win.
However, I want to challenge your thinking regarding this matter. Even if we think the topic of spiritual warfare is too “deep,” that type of thinking will not stop our enemy from attacking us. Just as Heaven and Hell are real places, Satan, demons, and God’s angels also exist. Therefore, it is time that we recognize these facts and begin to gird ourselves up with the armor and weapons that we receive from the Word of God so that we can effectively fight— and win— the battle of spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:10).
The battles we fight against evil manifest through things we can see and feel in this natural realm. For instance, spiritual warfare shows up in the form of frustrations that we deal with in life, as well as through conversations with people whose negative words affect our thoughts.
The secret battles we fight may come in the form of addictive behaviors, causing uncontrolled emotional responses such as anger, or other negative emotions. Whatever the battle is, we should recognize that we are not really fighting against people. We are fighting against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, and against evil spirits in heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12, New Living Translation).
The good news is, we can always win these battles when we know who we are, whom we are fighting, and how to fight.
Satanic and demonic forces have a primary goal — to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10). But Jesus came to this Earth and died for us so that we may have life and have it more abundantly. Although we experience spiritual attacks, Jesus has given us authority over all the power and ability of Satan (Luke 10:19). However the problem is that many times we try to deal with the onslaughts of the enemy through natural means only.
This type of thinking opens the door to defeat. We cannot fight spiritual battles using our natural abilities. Although there are things we must do in the natural, we must also do the spiritual things, like spending time in prayer, and reading, studying, and confessing the Word of God.
We do not have to tolerate the attacks of the enemy because we have been given authority over the works of Satan in our lives. It is because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross that we have been given the authority.
Therefore, as Believers, we can open our mouths and declare our authority by faith. We can boldly say, By the authority of Jesus Christ, and through and by His blood, I command you Satan to stop this attack! I command you to stop your maneuvers through this person or this situation.
When we know and use our authority, we are acknowledging and establishing our faith in who we are in Christ. You do not have to tolerate trouble. Choose, instead, to exercise your authority by speaking faith-filled words. When you boldly declare what you have a right to, demons and satanic forces will flee. This is the way we fight and win.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Right And Wrong Thinking: The Disciples Thought Life
What we believe is a result of our thinking. If we think wrong, we will believe wrong. If our believing is wrong, our confession will be wrong. In other words, what we say will be wrong. It all hinges on our thinking!
Our thinking must be in line with the Word of God, because we cannot believe beyond the actual knowledge we have of the Word of God.
People who have been involved in the past with metaphysical, mind-science religions often get this teaching about right and wrong thinking confused with those religious teachings, because they still think that man is just a mental and a physical being.
But man is far more than that: He is also a spiritual being! Advocates of metaphysics have taught so much about the mind that Full Gospel people are almost afraid to say a word about it—yet the Bible has a great deal to say about the mind.
For example, the Bible says, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own UNDERSTANDING [mind]" (Prov. 3:5). The Bible says, "Casting down IMAGINATIONS [reasonings], and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every THOUGHT [thinking] to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5). The Bible also says, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your MIND, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Rom. 12:2). We renew our minds by studying the Word of God. The Bible teaches us to have "the mind of Christ" (1 Cor. 2:16). The only way we can have the mind of Christ is to study His Word, believe it in our heart, and act upon it. The Word of God also teaches us to think on whatever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, or whatever has virtue or praise (Phil. 4:8). So the Word of God does have much to say about the mind!
However, we need to realize that thoughts can come into our minds from two different sources. In other words, the thoughts that come into our minds do not always originate in our minds. The devil puts many thoughts into our minds from outside ourselves. That's one source. Then, of course, thoughts from God come from within us. They come through our spirits into our minds.
Our confession is the result of our believing, and our believing is the result of our right or wrong thinking.
First, it is necessary that we know what God has wrought for us in Christ, and that we believe it and confess it. It is our confession of it that creates the reality, and then it becomes real in our lives.
Second, it is necessary for us to know what God through the Word and through the Holy Spirit has wrought in us.
Third, it is necessary for us to know what the Lord Jesus Christ is doing for us now in His present-day ministry at the right hand of God the Father in heaven.
Fourth, it is necessary for us to know what the Word of God will do for us through our lips, or what God can do through us. Philippians 2:13 says, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." God works in us. God works through us. God does not work apart from us. God gave the Church the authority and the commission to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.
If our thinking is not right along these lines, our believing will be wrong. Then our talking will be wrong, and we will be confused and defeated. We need to realize what the Word of God can do through our lips because, as we have seen, the Holy Spirit is sent to help us.
We should all become God-minded—and the only way we can achieve this is to think God's thoughts after Him. In other words, think on what God says in His Word, and confess that it is true!
Our thinking must be in line with the Word of God, because we cannot believe beyond the actual knowledge we have of the Word of God.
People who have been involved in the past with metaphysical, mind-science religions often get this teaching about right and wrong thinking confused with those religious teachings, because they still think that man is just a mental and a physical being.
But man is far more than that: He is also a spiritual being! Advocates of metaphysics have taught so much about the mind that Full Gospel people are almost afraid to say a word about it—yet the Bible has a great deal to say about the mind.
For example, the Bible says, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own UNDERSTANDING [mind]" (Prov. 3:5). The Bible says, "Casting down IMAGINATIONS [reasonings], and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every THOUGHT [thinking] to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5). The Bible also says, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your MIND, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Rom. 12:2). We renew our minds by studying the Word of God. The Bible teaches us to have "the mind of Christ" (1 Cor. 2:16). The only way we can have the mind of Christ is to study His Word, believe it in our heart, and act upon it. The Word of God also teaches us to think on whatever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, or whatever has virtue or praise (Phil. 4:8). So the Word of God does have much to say about the mind!
However, we need to realize that thoughts can come into our minds from two different sources. In other words, the thoughts that come into our minds do not always originate in our minds. The devil puts many thoughts into our minds from outside ourselves. That's one source. Then, of course, thoughts from God come from within us. They come through our spirits into our minds.
Our confession is the result of our believing, and our believing is the result of our right or wrong thinking.
First, it is necessary that we know what God has wrought for us in Christ, and that we believe it and confess it. It is our confession of it that creates the reality, and then it becomes real in our lives.
Second, it is necessary for us to know what God through the Word and through the Holy Spirit has wrought in us.
Third, it is necessary for us to know what the Lord Jesus Christ is doing for us now in His present-day ministry at the right hand of God the Father in heaven.
Fourth, it is necessary for us to know what the Word of God will do for us through our lips, or what God can do through us. Philippians 2:13 says, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." God works in us. God works through us. God does not work apart from us. God gave the Church the authority and the commission to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.
If our thinking is not right along these lines, our believing will be wrong. Then our talking will be wrong, and we will be confused and defeated. We need to realize what the Word of God can do through our lips because, as we have seen, the Holy Spirit is sent to help us.
We should all become God-minded—and the only way we can achieve this is to think God's thoughts after Him. In other words, think on what God says in His Word, and confess that it is true!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Meditation: The Disciples Handling The Word Of God
The secret of effective meditation is quoting Scripture back to God with the spirit rather than the mind. This means that rather than trying to intellectually understand God’s truth, we discern it by His Spirit speaking to our spirit because “the things of the Spirit of God … are spiritually discerned” (I Corinthians 2:14).
If we evaluate Scripture with the mind we tend to become proud, because “knowledge puffeth up,” but if Scripture “evaluates” the heart, we become humble because it exposes our secret sins.
By coming to Scripture with our spirit, we cry out, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23–24).
Your spirit has direct access to God’s Spirit, because “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). The Spirit of God has direct access to the conscience and is able to activate it with the spiritual understanding of what is right and what is wrong as we meditate upon His truth. It is this intimate fellowship of Spirit-to-spirit communication that constitutes true meditation and results in daily success.
Scripture is “the wisdom of God” and is given to us “in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world.” God determined that this wisdom would be “unto our glory.” However, it is revealed to us only “by his Spirit for the Spirit searcheth all things: yea, the deep things of God” (I Corinthians 2:7–10).
Our natural inclination is to simply quote Scripture back to God as a mental or intellectual exercise. This will rob us of the riches of God’s wisdom and the joy of His fellowship. Therefore, we must bring the mind under the control of God’s Spirit with a definite act of the will.
If we evaluate Scripture with the mind we tend to become proud, because “knowledge puffeth up,” but if Scripture “evaluates” the heart, we become humble because it exposes our secret sins.
By coming to Scripture with our spirit, we cry out, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23–24).
Your spirit has direct access to God’s Spirit, because “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). The Spirit of God has direct access to the conscience and is able to activate it with the spiritual understanding of what is right and what is wrong as we meditate upon His truth. It is this intimate fellowship of Spirit-to-spirit communication that constitutes true meditation and results in daily success.
Scripture is “the wisdom of God” and is given to us “in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world.” God determined that this wisdom would be “unto our glory.” However, it is revealed to us only “by his Spirit for the Spirit searcheth all things: yea, the deep things of God” (I Corinthians 2:7–10).
Our natural inclination is to simply quote Scripture back to God as a mental or intellectual exercise. This will rob us of the riches of God’s wisdom and the joy of His fellowship. Therefore, we must bring the mind under the control of God’s Spirit with a definite act of the will.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Repentance: The Disciples Turn-Around
Repentance is a change of mind, a change of heart, which produces a new direction or a new way of living. Repentance is not flawless perfection. Repentance is a 180° turn. You were headed in one direction then you turn around and head in the opposite direction. Repentance is turning from someone (self, satan), and turning toward God.
One of the greatest examples of repentance is found in Luke 15:11-24. It's the story of the Prodigal Son. The Prodigal headed one direction (away from his family, friends, home, and his father). The direction he chose led him into a "far country" and ultimately into a pig pen. Luke informs us; that while feeding the swine, he came to himself. He realized he had gotten completely off track. He then changed his mind (repented) and headed back home with a brand new attitude.
Repentance can be summed up by the words of Jesus, "FOLLOW ME!" (Mt. 4:19; 8:22; 9:9; 16:24; 19:21; Mk. 2:14; 8:34; 10:21; Lk. 5:27; 9:23,59; 18:22; Jn. 1:43;; 10:27; 12:26; 21:19). To follow Jesus one must exit the road he's traveling and travel in a new direction.
The evidence of strong emotion is not an indication of true repentance. Weeping sometimes indicates a person is sorry he got caught doing something wrong, but it doesn't necessarily indicate a change of heart and mind. (See Heb. 12:17).
Repentance is for both the unbeliever and the child of God. The unbeliever repents of his sin thereby entering into a relationship with God. He become their Heavenly Father and they become His children. The believer on the other hand repents primarily of his dead works (Heb. 6:1). Of course, if a believer sins, he needs to repent of them as well.
Why did Esau fail to find repentance for simply selling his birthright even though he sought it desperately with tears. Esau’s repentance was faulty because he did not understand true repentance. He was a profane fornicator (see Hebrews 12:16–17), and he simply wanted to regain the blessings that he had lost (see Genesis 25:33–34).
However, when David was confronted with his sin, he repented for the right reason. He wanted to restore fellowship with God. If we repent for any other reason than this we are not experiencing true repentance. (See Psalm 51.)
James describes sincere repentance by calling for our laughter to be turned to mourning and our joy to be turned to heaviness. He exhorts us to cleanse our hands of past sins and purify our hearts of double-mindedness. (See James 4.)
The rewards of true repentance are not only a clear conscience and restored fellowship with God, but also a Godly heritage for our children and grandchildren. The failures of parents can affect children for generations to come, as in the case of Abraham.
QUESTION: In what specific areas do you need to change your mind (repent)?
One of the greatest examples of repentance is found in Luke 15:11-24. It's the story of the Prodigal Son. The Prodigal headed one direction (away from his family, friends, home, and his father). The direction he chose led him into a "far country" and ultimately into a pig pen. Luke informs us; that while feeding the swine, he came to himself. He realized he had gotten completely off track. He then changed his mind (repented) and headed back home with a brand new attitude.
Repentance can be summed up by the words of Jesus, "FOLLOW ME!" (Mt. 4:19; 8:22; 9:9; 16:24; 19:21; Mk. 2:14; 8:34; 10:21; Lk. 5:27; 9:23,59; 18:22; Jn. 1:43;; 10:27; 12:26; 21:19). To follow Jesus one must exit the road he's traveling and travel in a new direction.
The evidence of strong emotion is not an indication of true repentance. Weeping sometimes indicates a person is sorry he got caught doing something wrong, but it doesn't necessarily indicate a change of heart and mind. (See Heb. 12:17).
Repentance is for both the unbeliever and the child of God. The unbeliever repents of his sin thereby entering into a relationship with God. He become their Heavenly Father and they become His children. The believer on the other hand repents primarily of his dead works (Heb. 6:1). Of course, if a believer sins, he needs to repent of them as well.
Why did Esau fail to find repentance for simply selling his birthright even though he sought it desperately with tears. Esau’s repentance was faulty because he did not understand true repentance. He was a profane fornicator (see Hebrews 12:16–17), and he simply wanted to regain the blessings that he had lost (see Genesis 25:33–34).
However, when David was confronted with his sin, he repented for the right reason. He wanted to restore fellowship with God. If we repent for any other reason than this we are not experiencing true repentance. (See Psalm 51.)
James describes sincere repentance by calling for our laughter to be turned to mourning and our joy to be turned to heaviness. He exhorts us to cleanse our hands of past sins and purify our hearts of double-mindedness. (See James 4.)
The rewards of true repentance are not only a clear conscience and restored fellowship with God, but also a Godly heritage for our children and grandchildren. The failures of parents can affect children for generations to come, as in the case of Abraham.
QUESTION: In what specific areas do you need to change your mind (repent)?
Sunday, May 29, 2011
The Disciple's Thought Life
Have you ever noticed the day you decided not to do a certain thing is the day you couldn't stop thinking about it? Maybe you decided to go on a diet, but all you could think about was food. Or perhaps you've been upset over something someone said about you. You chose to forgive him for what he said, but the very day you made that decision all you can think about is what he said.
Thoughts are powerful because they are precursors to actions. Everything you've ever done in your life was first conceived in your mind. That's why learning to control our minds and replace bad thoughts with something good is important.
Think of your mind as a battle ground but not as a playground. Your mind is something you should take very seriously because it's the place where victories are either won or lost. If you treat your mind as just a place to play and have fun, you'll open the door to the enemy and he'll take advantage you leading you into defeat, discouragement, and ultimately into disobedience. The devil is like the park "bully" who go's around picking on other kids.
You may not be able to control what comes into your mind, but you can control what stay there! God considers your thoughts so important He actually made a list for you to compare them with so that you don't go off in the ditch on either side of the road. (See Phil. 4:8).
Be assured that you can control your thoughts. How do I know this? The Bible instructs us to bring "every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" 2 Cor. 10:5. Yes, sometimes this is easier said than done, but it's not impossible and it's absolutely necessary if you really want victory.
The questions becomes, what do you use to combat thoughts? The answer: WORDS! Words are stronger than thought. If you start talking, your mind will shut up to hear what it is you're saying. If you don't believe it, try counting money while someone yells different numbers. You'll soon lose track and before long you have to start over.
Personally there are several things I do when when I need to bring my thoughts into captivity.
First, I speak to the thought and inform it that it's not welcome. I might say something like, "discouragement you were not invited and you're certainly not welcome, so in the name of Jesus be gone now!"
Second, I will use the scripture as a weapon against particular thoughts. If thoughts of fear attempt to enter my mind I will say something like this. "Fear, I take authority over you in Jesus name! According to the Word, I've not be given a spirit of fear so I resist you and command you to go now."
The bottom line is: you believe what you say more than you believe what anybody says! If this is true, then the most important thing you could say is what God says. If you'll say what God says, your faith will increase and develop making a huge difference in your life. Faith only develops one way. "Faith comes by hearing the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17).
Jesus defeated the devil with words. In fact, He used the Word of God and cut the him to pieces. (See Matt. 4).
QUESTION: Can you relate a circumstance when you spoke the Word of God and gained victory over your thoughts?
Thoughts are powerful because they are precursors to actions. Everything you've ever done in your life was first conceived in your mind. That's why learning to control our minds and replace bad thoughts with something good is important.
Think of your mind as a battle ground but not as a playground. Your mind is something you should take very seriously because it's the place where victories are either won or lost. If you treat your mind as just a place to play and have fun, you'll open the door to the enemy and he'll take advantage you leading you into defeat, discouragement, and ultimately into disobedience. The devil is like the park "bully" who go's around picking on other kids.
You may not be able to control what comes into your mind, but you can control what stay there! God considers your thoughts so important He actually made a list for you to compare them with so that you don't go off in the ditch on either side of the road. (See Phil. 4:8).
Be assured that you can control your thoughts. How do I know this? The Bible instructs us to bring "every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" 2 Cor. 10:5. Yes, sometimes this is easier said than done, but it's not impossible and it's absolutely necessary if you really want victory.
The questions becomes, what do you use to combat thoughts? The answer: WORDS! Words are stronger than thought. If you start talking, your mind will shut up to hear what it is you're saying. If you don't believe it, try counting money while someone yells different numbers. You'll soon lose track and before long you have to start over.
Personally there are several things I do when when I need to bring my thoughts into captivity.
First, I speak to the thought and inform it that it's not welcome. I might say something like, "discouragement you were not invited and you're certainly not welcome, so in the name of Jesus be gone now!"
Second, I will use the scripture as a weapon against particular thoughts. If thoughts of fear attempt to enter my mind I will say something like this. "Fear, I take authority over you in Jesus name! According to the Word, I've not be given a spirit of fear so I resist you and command you to go now."
The bottom line is: you believe what you say more than you believe what anybody says! If this is true, then the most important thing you could say is what God says. If you'll say what God says, your faith will increase and develop making a huge difference in your life. Faith only develops one way. "Faith comes by hearing the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17).
Jesus defeated the devil with words. In fact, He used the Word of God and cut the him to pieces. (See Matt. 4).
QUESTION: Can you relate a circumstance when you spoke the Word of God and gained victory over your thoughts?
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