You know when you haven't read the Bible in awhile, and you feel your heart become less sensitive and aware of God speaking to you. You feel bad because you try to stay disciplined in reading the Bible consistently every day. If you want to get closer to a person in a relationship or friendship, you have to work at it, through communication and learning about who they are in their heart. In the same way, in order to get closer to God, we must go to the source of who God is. For me, the best place to look for the Truth about who God is and what His heart desires is in the Word. And what amazes me most is how in awe and captivated I become with scripture again. Recently, most of the scripture I have been reading has been coming out of my current book, "Battlefield of the Mind" by Joyce Meyer. It's a great book and is really helping me focus on a huge struggle and stronghold in my life, my thoughts and my mind. But it is important to go beyond Christian books, and read scripture directly from its source, The Bible. I love how no matter where I am in life, scripture transforms and speaks to me in new ways, and always finds a way to speak into my heart. Here are some of my recent favorite scriptures:
"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." ~1 Corinthians 10:13~
"For as he thinks in his heart, so is he" ~Proverbs 23:7~
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." ~Isaiah 43:2-3~
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." ~2 Corinthians 10:5~
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Take Captive Every Thought
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30)
Consider these four areas we are called to commit to God:
heart, soul, mind and strength.
Which is your strongest? Which is your weakest?
For me, my mind is my weakest.
Consider these four areas we are called to commit to God:
heart, soul, mind and strength.
Which is your strongest? Which is your weakest?
For me, my mind is my weakest.
I just finished Beth Moore's book called Breaking Free. It took me a little while to get into it, but the book really spoke to me at the end with chapters 40-42, where she discussed how to tear down our strongholds with the reprogramming of our minds. She broke it down into a five-step process: (1) Recognize the captor. (2) Stand in agreement with God. (3) Tear down the lies. (4) Put up the Truth. (5) Bow thought to the Truth. I love how she goes from step to step describing how we can apply them to our lives.
Dealing with strongholds in my life become difficult because I can never complete all 5 steps. I can normally recognize the captor pretty easily, I then choose to stand in agreement with God, but when it comes to #3. Tear down the lies, I struggle. Satan is a powerful deceiver and loves to manipulate our minds. He knows just how to plant lies and small thoughts in our heads to make them grow to a size that becomes unmanageable or uncontrollable. Soon those negative thoughts become obsessive and seem so overpowering. Beth Moore discusses that you can never break down your stronghold if you don't break down the lies that go along with it. She says it doesn't stop there. Once you have torn down those lies, it is very important to fill in its place positive thoughts and the Truth.
That's where I am right now in my life. Step 3: tearing down the lies in my mind. I have thoughts in my head that have been brewing for close to 20 months by now, and its time to tear them down and replace them with the Truth. It's been a long journey and struggle in the past, and I expect it to be a long process in the future, but I believe and hold fast that even when the world and people turn their back, God never will. Even when I grow weary, He never will. As Beth Moore stated, "He [God] is our inexhaustible well of living water."
One of my all-time favorite verses in the Bible is this: 2 Corinthians 10:5.
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
So here's to thinking positively, replacing lies with the Truth, to a year of progress. Cheers 2011!
Dealing with strongholds in my life become difficult because I can never complete all 5 steps. I can normally recognize the captor pretty easily, I then choose to stand in agreement with God, but when it comes to #3. Tear down the lies, I struggle. Satan is a powerful deceiver and loves to manipulate our minds. He knows just how to plant lies and small thoughts in our heads to make them grow to a size that becomes unmanageable or uncontrollable. Soon those negative thoughts become obsessive and seem so overpowering. Beth Moore discusses that you can never break down your stronghold if you don't break down the lies that go along with it. She says it doesn't stop there. Once you have torn down those lies, it is very important to fill in its place positive thoughts and the Truth.
That's where I am right now in my life. Step 3: tearing down the lies in my mind. I have thoughts in my head that have been brewing for close to 20 months by now, and its time to tear them down and replace them with the Truth. It's been a long journey and struggle in the past, and I expect it to be a long process in the future, but I believe and hold fast that even when the world and people turn their back, God never will. Even when I grow weary, He never will. As Beth Moore stated, "He [God] is our inexhaustible well of living water."
One of my all-time favorite verses in the Bible is this: 2 Corinthians 10:5.
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
So here's to thinking positively, replacing lies with the Truth, to a year of progress. Cheers 2011!
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