Philippians 2:3-8 "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
To win the battle of the mind we need to develop and maintain the mind of Christ. We are bombarded daily - it's a territorial battle that is never ending. Developing the mind of Christ will allow us to have a daily God consciousness. God won't force you down the right path. He will nudge you, and when you're thinking is like His you will follow His path.
Whoever controls the mind, controls the body. The fiery darts (Ephesians 6:16) are not targeted at your feet, they are targeted at your mind. Satan is a master at making himself sound good. No truth comes out of Satan's mouth.
How can you tell the difference between truth and a lie? Know what the Book says! Be a student of the Word. If all you get is what comes from the pulpit, you will not win the battle of the mind. You have to get into the Word for yourself.
The mind of Christ will never deviate from His Word. If your thought process does not line up to the Word, that means your thoughts are being controlled by the enemy. When your thoughts are controlled by Satan, you will be led in the wrong direction, away from God. God will always take you to a higher place. The devil never leads you up - he always brings you down. Any path away from God is a path downward.
You have to be on guard. Guard your mind. Put up signs, build a fence around your mind, don't let the devil influence your thinking. 2 Peter 1:13 says, "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind."
God does not intend for you to be happy and victorious only at church. It's easy to shout and smile when everyone else is. God wants you to be full of peace, full of love, full of joy - all the time! God wants us to enjoy our salvation, to rejoice in the Lord always!
Too many Christians who don't have a clue how to enjoy Jesus. Many live with a "dos and don'ts" mentality, always looking for a list of what to do and not do. There are clear principles in God's Word, when they are in your heart you will have true joy. Jesus in Matthew 11:30 said "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light." When you live for God hard, it is easy. When you live for God easy, it is hard.
When the battle of the mind is on, and you're losing, you must go back to what you use to be. When you're losing the battle your spiritual perceptiveness is not what is use to be. When you give up the battle of the mind it is called backsliding.
When you are walking with Christ daily and you start slipping, you will know it. When the old man is resurrected you need to re-gird your mind. When the children of Israel were told to gird themselves, that meant they secured their clothing so they would be ready to escape or move quickly. Clothes left ungirded hindered movement and were dangerous.
If your mind is scattered, not under control, you cannot move swiftly in the Spirit. To gird up is to take control of your mind. You can gird up your mind. You have to learn to control your thought life. The enemy is committed to telling you things that tear down your mind. He wants to sow seeds of doubt. He tried it with Jesus, he will try it with you.
The way to gird your mind is to understand what causes it to be un-girded.
- Pleasure Seeking. Only living from one experience to the next. You will never find enough fun.
- Worldly Entertainment.
- Aimless and Frivolous Reading.
- Bad Associations - A person who has lost their fear of judgment and God will do everything in their power to make sin look good. They have no conviction. Find someone who is spiritually edifying to associate with.
- Neglected Bibles - the Bible is God's thoughts on paper. When you read God's Word, you are going to think about what God wants you to think about. When the Word of God loses its appeal, you are putting yourself in a position for the enemy to play with your mind.
- Neglected Prayer Life. If you're not a praying person, you shouldn't be making any major decisions. A neglected prayer life is an open door to the mind.
- Careless Church Attendance - coming to church puts you in a better position to win the battle of the mind.
How to gird your mind:
- Have a High and Determined Purpose in Life. Know where you're going and concentrate on that goal.
- Quick Decisions to do the Right Thing - lingering in decisions is a sign of an un-girded mind.
- Love for the Truth - we will sleep better when we go to sleep with God's thoughts.
- Have a Prayer Life - we cannot do it on our own. Through God's Spirit we can pull down thoughts (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) and gird up the loins of our minds.
I do have the ability - through Christ - to win the battle for the mind!
1 comment:
Your post totally goes along with my goals this year. I'm going to print it on the back of my goal sheet. Thank you - as always you're post is full of wisdom and encouragement.
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