[Faith-talk] FW: [URCTCPrayerGroup2] Where the mind goes, the man follows. by Joyce Meyers

[Eric Calhoun]

Original Message: 
From: Donna Kiser <kiserdonna5 at gmail.com>
To: URCTCPrayerGroup2 at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [URCTCPrayerGroup2] Where the mind goes, the man follows. by
Joyce Meyers
Date: 
Mon, 7 Mar 2011 10:20:44 -0500

*
Where the Mind Goes, the Man Follows
by Joyce Meyer

I have done a lot of teaching in the past twenty-five years, and I am
convinced that one of the
greatest  areas  in  which  we  need  help  is  the  area  of  our
 thinking.  No  matter  how  many  messages
you and I hear about the mind, we can always benefit from hearing another
one.
I believe that where the mind goes, the man follows. Jesus said in Luke
6:45, .out of the
abundance (overflow) of the heart his mouth speaks. And in Proverbs 23:7
the
Bible says, .as he
[a man]  thinks in his heart, so is he.. In both of these scriptures, the
word  heart refers to the
mind. In other words, our thoughts are the forerunners of both our words
and
actions. Whatever
you and I allow into our inner life will eventually be seen in our outer
life.

So in order to deal with wrong behavior, we need to deal with wrong
thinking. My deep desire is
to help us get our thinking lined up with His Word. As a result, the
words
of our mouths and the
actions of our lives will get straightened out in the process. I believe
the
key to victory is learning
how to think on the things that God wants us to think-to be renewed in
our
mind by the power
of His Word-instead of thinking on whatever comes into our head.
A House Made of Thoughts
I have come to the realization that our thoughts have the power to either
help us or hurt us.
They can affect our health, our moods and our relationships. As a matter
of
fact, they affect
nearly everything in our lives. When I first began to study the Word, I
had
many problems in my
life. But a major transition took place in my spirit when I received a
revelation about my thinking.
I  discovered  that  the  primary  reason  my  life  was  messed  up  was
 because  my  thinking  was
messed up.
The Lord showed me that all of us have an outer life and an inner life.
Our
outer life is the part
of us that everybody sees, and our inner life is the part that nobody
sees,
except God and us. The
inner life includes our thoughts, attitudes and motives. God knows every
thought that you and I
think. The Bible says that .not a creature exists that is concealed from
His
sight, but all things
are open and exposed, naked and defenseless to the eyes of Him with Whom
we
have to do
(Hebrews 4:13).
I like to think of our inner life as a house made of thoughts that is
constantly being built. It is
within  these  "walls"  of  our  thinking  that  each  of  us  lives. 
Every
 thought  we  accept  is  like  another
brick in the wall of the house we are building. If we accept negative,
selfish, or other ungodly
thoughts, our "house" will be a mess, and we will find ourselves walled
in
with the enemy. But
when we choose to think positive, godly thoughts, the "house" in which we
live will be a blessing,
filled with the rewards of righteousness.
Our minds are just like computers-we can only get out of them what we put
into them. When I
first began walking with God, my mind needed major reprogramming. Much of
my
thinking was
contrary  to  the  Word,  and  it  needed  to  be  changed.  Romans  12:2
 says, Do not be conformed to
this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external,
superficial customs], but be
transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new
ideals and its new
attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and
acceptable and perfect will
of God..
By the grace of God, I came to the understanding that if I wanted to have
a
better life, I needed
to have better thinking. Little by little, God began to reveal to me
different areas in my life where
I had accepted Satan's lies. The walls of deception I allowed the devil
to
develop in my mind
needed to be demolished and rebuilt with the truth. With the power of
God's
Spirit at work in me,
the renovation process began.
Exposing the Enemy
Once we make the decision to change our thinking, you and I enter into an
all-out war with the
enemy, and the battlefield is our mind. Satan knows that if he can
dominate
our thinking, he can
dominate our life. That is why he often attacks us early in the morning,
before our feet ever hit
the floor. He strategically bombards our mind with every negative and
ungodly thought
imaginable-all in an effort to set the stage for a day of misery and
sorrow.
The Bible says that .we are not [to be]  ignorant of his [Satan's] 
devices
(2 Corinthians 2:11
KJV). Interestingly enough, the word devices is defined by Thayer's
Greek-English Lexicon of the
New Testament  as  "a  mental  perception  or  thought;  an  evil 
purpose."
 I  have  found  that  two  of
Satan's greatest devices he uses against us are worry and reasoning.
When I first began my walk with the Lord, I was a chief worrier. I worried
about and tried to
figure out everything. I had to have everything in a certain place in my
mind. I had become
addicted to worry and reasoning because it gave me a feeling of being in
control. And when I was
in control, I felt comfortable.
Every time I accepted one of Satan's lies, I gave place to him in my
thinking (see Ephesians
4:27). Over the years, this allowed him to develop a stronghold in my
mind.
Webster's II New
College Dictionary defines a stronghold as "a fortress; an area dominated
or
occupied by a special
group." Mental strongholds can be built out of either good thoughts or
bad
thoughts. In my case,
my thinking had become dominated by worry and reasoning. I discovered
that
the only way to
destroy a stronghold of lies is with the truth.
Wielding the Sword
One of the greatest weapons that you and I have is the truth of God's
Word.
The Bible says in 2
Corinthians 10:4,5, For the weapons of our warfare are not physical
[weapons
of flesh and blood],
but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of
strongholds, [Inasmuch as
we] refute arguments and 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.. If we don't lead wrong thoughts away
captive,
the wrong thoughts
will lead us away captive.

When Jesus faced the temptations of Satan in the desert, He spoke the
Word
and defeated the
enemy (see Luke 4:1-13). That is what God was trying to teach me to do
with
the thoughts of
worry and reasoning. He wanted me to know, believe and exalt His Word
above
the ideas of the
enemy and my flesh. Jesus clearly stated in Matthew 6:25-34 that we are
not
to worry about
anything because God is faithful to provide all that we need, when we
need
it. Proverbs 3:5,6
says, Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart
and mind and do not rely
on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize,
and
acknowledge Him,
and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.
God opened my eyes to the truth of His Word. More and more, I began to
trust
what the
Scripture said over what the enemy said. The more I meditated on
scriptures
like these, the more
my thinking changed and the more freedom I received.
Having my mind renewed did not take place overnight. I have learned that
problems that take
years to develop usually take time for God to work out of us. God does
sometimes change things
in us instantly through prayer and the laying on of hands. But for the
most
part, it takes time. As
we daily submit to God,  He will faithfully cultivate the character of
Christ in us (see 1
Thessalonians 5:23,24). Armed with the truth, we can begin to take back
what
the devil has
stolen.  Maintaining Mental Freedom
Once we learn how to get free, we then need to learn how to stay free.
It's
not enough to just
cast down the wrong thoughts; we have to choose to think the right
thoughts.
I found this to be
true in my battle against worry and reasoning.
As  soon  as  I  learned  that  God  didn't  want  me  to  worry  or  try
 to  figure  everything  out,  I  made
every effort not to give place to it. When wrong thoughts came into my
head,
I did my best to
cast them down. I would say, "No, I am not going to think that!" For a
moment, my mind would
find freedom. However, before long, the thought would come back. Again, I
would say, "No, I'm
not going to think that!" But sooner or later, the same thought, or one
just
like it, would return.
This cycle would go on and on, and sometimes, by the end of the day I was
worn out.
One day I remember praying, "God, I can't go on like this day after day.
As
soon as I cast down
these wrong thoughts, they come back. What am I supposed to do?" The Lord
answered me, "It's
very simple. Just think about something else. If you are thinking about
something good, then
the wrong thought has no place to get in. But if you sit around
'empty-headed,' then the evil
thought is always going to jump right back into your mind" (see Matthew
12:43-45).
This was a life-changing revelation for me. I realized that I can't wait
for
something good to just
fall into my mind. I need to choose my thoughts on purpose-I need to fix
my
mind on .whatever
is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly,
whatever is just, whatever
is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and
gracious. (Philippians
4:8). The Bible says in Deuteronomy 30:19 that life and death, blessings
and
curses, are set
before us. If you and I do not choose thoughts that lead to life, the
devil
will choose thoughts for
us that lead to death. But when we choose thoughts that lead to life, our
lives will be blessed.
I believe this is a major key to victory. Romans 12:21 says that we
.overcome (master) evil
with good. I have found that writing a list of all the positive points
about
a situation or a person,
along with writing down related scriptures, is a very helpful thing to
do.
After it's written, I carry
it around and read it out loud every time I'm tempted to give place to
wrong
thinking. God has
used this method to renew my mind in many areas. I have learned that the
more you and I
magnify and meditate on what's good, the smaller our problems become.
Get In Agreement with God
As we endeavor to line up our thinking with God's Word, right words and
right actions will
follow. Ephesians 4:22-24 says, Strip yourselves of your former nature
[put
off and discard your
old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life. And
be
constantly
renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual
attitude], and put on the
new nature (the regenerate self) created in God's image, [Godlike] in
true
righteousness and
holiness.
I believe it's very important to understand that verse 23 is the bridge
between verses 22 and
24. In order to get rid of our old ways and put on the new nature of
righteousness and holiness,
you and I need to constantly renew our minds with the truth of God's
Word. I
used to be a very
negative person, so it took daily determination for me to reprogram my
thinking. But now that it's
done, God's positive perspective is almost automatic.
I challenge you to get into God's Word and see what He says about you and
your situations.
Think about what you are thinking about on a regular basis. Don't just
accept thoughts like, I
guess I'm going to be poor and in debt all my life... Nobody's ever going
to
want to marry me...
My thinking is never going to change. Instead, get into agreement with
God.
Begin to think things
like, God wants me to prosper in every way (see 3 John 2). God has the
perfect mate that He is
preparing for me while I rest in Him (see Genesis 2:18). God is changing
me
every day, from one
degree of glory to another, to be just like Jesus (see 2 Corinthians
3:18).


I encourage you to choose to believe and meditate on God's Word. The more
you study the
Word, the more you'll be able to recognize and reject Satan's lies. Take
God
at His Word daily,
and He will bring healing, restoration and rejuvenation to every area of
your life!
RENEW YOUR MIND

. Romans 12:2
. 2 Corinthians 2:11
. 2 Corinthians 10:4,5
. Ephesians 4:22-24, 27
. Philippians 4:8
. 1 Thessalonians 5:23,24

[image: pink flower cross.gif]
*
-- 
*God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm
46:1*