Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle of Your Mind

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Let me ask you quite frankly: What’s your dream for your next ten years? Have you even written it down? Thoughts get disentangled when they go through the lips and the fingertips. If you haven’t written it down, you haven’t really thought about it. Writing makes a man more precise. What is your dream for your family? What is your dream for you personally? How are you going to be different ten years from now? Think about what a rebuke that was to the Pharisees who had memorized the Pentateuch — Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. They had memorized it, yet Jesus says that their problem is that they don’t know the Scripture. They needed to teach others their knowledge, teach others to love knowledge, and get rid of anti-intellectualism. (By the way, we need great Christian intellectuals today more than ever before — people a lot brighter than I! — who battle on the intellectual level against the many competing worldviews.) 2) Perspective (Wisdom) How does he do it? He comes against us by bombarding our minds with cleverly devised patterns of nagging thoughts that lead to suspicion, doubt, fear, reasoning and theories that refute the truth of God’s Word. You don’t judge the health of an army by how many soldiers sit in the mess hall and eat every week and listen to your Bible study. You judge the health of an army by how many are on frontlines doing battle in the world. We want to be able to bring them in, build them up, train them forward, and send them out. And to do so, we must be able to teach people not only to love the Word but also to do the Word (James 1:22–25). Here are what I call “the five levels of learning”: The next time you notice yourself thinking the same old negative things, choose to replace them thoughts with truth from God’s Word.

You develop character by developing the habits of love and joy and peace and patience — those nine qualities from Galatians 5 — kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control (verses 22–23). What are these fruit of the Spirit? They are a perfect picture of the character of Christ. If we want to become like Jesus, then we must seek the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. The goal is to become more like God in our character, not to become gods. We never will become God — no matter how much fruit we produce. We will never be mini-gods. We are not God. That’s the oldest lie in the book, that we “will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). We need to learn character. 5) Skill Though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh [in other words, we don’t fight with armor, we don’t fight with politics, we don’t fight with money, we don’t fight with all the humanistic ways]. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. Note: Pastors reading this chapter may want to ask questions like the following of their sermons: (1) What is the knowledge of God and the knowledge of his Word that the people are learning in this sermon? (2) What is the perspective I’m teaching them in this sermon? (3) What are the convictions I want to get across? (4) What are the character qualities I want to develop? (5) What are the skills? But if you are going to really learn, you need one quality in particular: humility. Why does God resist the proud and give grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5)? Because the humble are teachable. I would rather admit that I don’t know it all than to pretend that I know it all and not learn. You can learn from anybody. Satan frequently steals the will of God from us due to reasoning. The Lord may direct us to do a certain thing, but if it does not make sense - if it is not logical - we may be tempted to disregard it. What God leads a person to do does not always make logical sense to his mind. His spirit may affirm it and His mind reject it, especially if it would be out of the ordinary or unpleasant or if it would require personal sacrifice or discomfort.”Joyce Meyer is one of the world's leading practical Bible teachers. Her daily broadcast, Enjoying Everyday Life, airs on hundreds of television networks and radio stations worldwide.

And there is this great conviction: “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15 KJV). I don’t have to understand it, Job says, but I’m going to trust God no matter what. Joyce Meyer is one of the world's leading practical Bible teachers. A New York Times bestselling author, Joyce’s books have helped millions of people find hope and restoration through Jesus Christ. Through Joyce Meyer Ministries, Joyce teaches on a number of topics with a particular focus on how the Word of God applies to our everyday lives. Her candid communication style allows her to share openly and practically about her experiences so others can apply what she has learned to their lives. I have seen the face of mental illness. I have seen what it is like when people are unable to hear God because their minds are broken and cannot seem to connect to God even when they want to connect to God. And I know whatever gets your mind gets you. So one of the most important things we need to learn and teach others is how to guard, strengthen, and renew our minds, because the battle for sin always starts in the mind.

Three strongholds

I believed this promise was just as all inclusive as John 3:16: “Whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

I have been a Christian for many years, I usually read Bible in a different translation each year. This Bible is perfect for those who love Joyce Meyer's teachings. I found this Bible very useful for self study and very inspiring because it teaches you how to overcome your life and fulfill God’s purpose. I would definitely recommend this Bible to anyone who wants to learn more about the word of God and how to apply it to their daily lives.I grew up with a very highly educated mind. I had attended a prestigious university and had become a professor. But the trouble was that the mind that was being educated was an enemy of God. I had inside me a very highly educated enemy of God. We naturally feel that if we think something, it must be true because it comes from within us. But just because you think something does not make it true. As I said above, I have seen the face of mental illness. So many different suggestions can come into the mind. The world puts suggestions in our minds that are false, and we are bombarded with those false ideas all the time. And, of course, Satan makes suggestions all the time. But your problem is much deeper than Satan. Everybody has a mental illness. We are all mentally ill. The mental illness is called sin. And the Bible uses at least a dozen different phrases for the condition of our minds under sin. Our minds are: Nothing] . . . will be able to separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:39). That’s conviction. It’s not an opinion; it’s a conviction. The good news is that the Word of God is the most powerful thing on the earth, and as we read, study, learn, and live God’s Word, then it will literally transform us from the inside out and help us to destroy these strongholds in our thinking. Do Your Own Thinking In 2 Corinthians, Paul says that God has given us the appropriate weapons. There are many weapons for us to use in this war, but I believe the two most essential are time spent in God’s Word and prayer.

A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall heed My ordinances and do them. Ezekiel 36:26,27” I have noticed how the next generation values authenticity. I would like to ask, when has inauthenticity ever been in style? Authenticity has always been an attractive quality. But a lot of those proudly promoting their authenticity don’t realize what it really is. You are not authentic until you can publicly admit how inauthentic you are most of the time. Authenticity begins when you start by admitting that you are inauthentic. The enemy will try to get to your thoughts early in the day. Some mornings I wake up and, before I ever get out of bed, I begin having all sorts of negative thoughts about people and situations.DON’T GIVE UP! When the battle seems endless and you think you’ll never make it, remember that you are reprogramming a very carnal, fleshly, worldly mind to think as God thinks. Impossible? No! Difficult? Yes! But, just think, you have God on your team. I believe He is the best “computer programmer” around. (Your mind is like a computer that has had a lifetime of garbage programmed into it.) God is working on you; at least, He is if you have invited Him to have control of your thoughts. He is reprogramming your mind. Just keep cooperating with Him—and don’t give up!” Skill comes through doing something over and over and over. Ecclesiastes 10:10 says, “If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success” (NIV). That is one of my “life verses.” If you are chopping wood, it helps to have a sharp ax. If you have a dull ax, it takes more energy to cut the wood. But if you have a sharp ax, it doesn’t take as much energy.