The Mind Connection: How the Thoughts You Choose Affect Your Mood, Behavior, and Decisions by Joyce Meyer Page B
Authors: Joyce Meyer
Tags: RELIGION / Christian Life / Inspirational, Religion / Christian Life / Spiritual Growth, Religion / Christian Life - Personal Growth
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theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
2 Corinthians 10:3–5
We see from these verses that we are definitely in a war and that it has to do with our thought realm. This war is a spiritualwar! Thoughts cannot be seen, but we do see the results of them. Thoughts operate in the spiritual realm, and, perhaps for this reason, we fail to realize just how powerful they are. We tend to ignore what we cannot see with our eyes, and yet God’s Word teaches as much about the unseen spiritual realm as it does the seen natural realm.
Thoughts cannot be seen, but we do see the results of them.
The Scriptures in 2 Corinthians don’t outright say that the devil puts these thoughts in our minds, but everything evil comes from him. So it stands to reason that if the thoughts are destructive, or they are ones that are going to hinder us or steal God’s best for us, they were initiated by the devil. And there are other Scriptures we should consider that tell us plainly that Satan instigates evil thoughts.
The apostle John wrote that Satan had put the thought of betraying Jesus into the heart of Judas (see John 13:2). Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, sold a piece of property with the intention and commitment to give the money to help the destitute and poor, but they deceptively kept part of the money for themselves. Acts 5:3 says, “But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart that you should lie to and attempt to deceive the Holy Spirit, and should [in violation of your promise] withdraw secretly and appropriate to your own use part of the price from the sale of the land?”
In my opinion, it would do every Christian a lot of good to do a thorough and well-informed study of Scripture concerning our enemy the devil and how he works. We never need to fear him, for God has given us power and authority to deal with him, but we must not be ignorant of his wiles. Paul wrote to the Corinthiansand instructed them to forgive in order to keep Satan from getting the advantage over them, and he went on to say they were not to be ignorant of his wiles and intentions (see 2 Corinthians 2:10–11). He wanted them to be informed about how Satan operated and what to do in order to not be deceived by him.
I was a Christian for many years before I was taught anything about the devil or the fact that he attacks people in the realm of their thoughts. When I did begin to learn, the knowledge did not frighten me; it empowered me to take ownership of my thoughts and learn how to recognize where my thoughts were coming from and whether to accept or reject them.
One day, I was talking with a young man who is an active member of a large, well-known denomination. We were discussing several things about God’s Word and missions, and enjoying the conversation. But when I mentioned something about the devil trying to prevent us from doing something while on a mission field, the young man went totally silent, and I could tell that talking about the devil made him uncomfortable. I couldn’t help thinking how much it would add to his life and walk with God if he truly knew who his enemy was and how to resist him.
Some preachers and Bible teachers say nothing or very little about things like the devil, demons, and spiritual warfare. They often say, “I would rather preach on the light than the darkness.” Actually, I agree that is normally the best plan, but as teachers of God’s Word, we are responsible to produce well-informed believers who know how to recognize when the devil is at work, and how to resist him.
What Have You Been Thinking About?
Instead of being “unthinking” people, we can train ourselves to think about what we are thinking about. If your mood begins to sink, or an attitude is ungodly, take an inventory of your current thoughts and you will
2 Corinthians 10:3–5
We see from these verses that we are definitely in a war and that it has to do with our thought realm. This war is a spiritualwar! Thoughts cannot be seen, but we do see the results of them. Thoughts operate in the spiritual realm, and, perhaps for this reason, we fail to realize just how powerful they are. We tend to ignore what we cannot see with our eyes, and yet God’s Word teaches as much about the unseen spiritual realm as it does the seen natural realm.
Thoughts cannot be seen, but we do see the results of them.
The Scriptures in 2 Corinthians don’t outright say that the devil puts these thoughts in our minds, but everything evil comes from him. So it stands to reason that if the thoughts are destructive, or they are ones that are going to hinder us or steal God’s best for us, they were initiated by the devil. And there are other Scriptures we should consider that tell us plainly that Satan instigates evil thoughts.
The apostle John wrote that Satan had put the thought of betraying Jesus into the heart of Judas (see John 13:2). Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, sold a piece of property with the intention and commitment to give the money to help the destitute and poor, but they deceptively kept part of the money for themselves. Acts 5:3 says, “But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart that you should lie to and attempt to deceive the Holy Spirit, and should [in violation of your promise] withdraw secretly and appropriate to your own use part of the price from the sale of the land?”
In my opinion, it would do every Christian a lot of good to do a thorough and well-informed study of Scripture concerning our enemy the devil and how he works. We never need to fear him, for God has given us power and authority to deal with him, but we must not be ignorant of his wiles. Paul wrote to the Corinthiansand instructed them to forgive in order to keep Satan from getting the advantage over them, and he went on to say they were not to be ignorant of his wiles and intentions (see 2 Corinthians 2:10–11). He wanted them to be informed about how Satan operated and what to do in order to not be deceived by him.
I was a Christian for many years before I was taught anything about the devil or the fact that he attacks people in the realm of their thoughts. When I did begin to learn, the knowledge did not frighten me; it empowered me to take ownership of my thoughts and learn how to recognize where my thoughts were coming from and whether to accept or reject them.
One day, I was talking with a young man who is an active member of a large, well-known denomination. We were discussing several things about God’s Word and missions, and enjoying the conversation. But when I mentioned something about the devil trying to prevent us from doing something while on a mission field, the young man went totally silent, and I could tell that talking about the devil made him uncomfortable. I couldn’t help thinking how much it would add to his life and walk with God if he truly knew who his enemy was and how to resist him.
Some preachers and Bible teachers say nothing or very little about things like the devil, demons, and spiritual warfare. They often say, “I would rather preach on the light than the darkness.” Actually, I agree that is normally the best plan, but as teachers of God’s Word, we are responsible to produce well-informed believers who know how to recognize when the devil is at work, and how to resist him.
What Have You Been Thinking About?
Instead of being “unthinking” people, we can train ourselves to think about what we are thinking about. If your mood begins to sink, or an attitude is ungodly, take an inventory of your current thoughts and you will
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