It is time to get a grip on our minds. For too long they’ve been calling the shots…sending anxiety shooting through our bodies…..pushing crazy things out of our mouths with disastrous endings of relationships at worst and at best an arsenal of apologies that could fill a lake.
It doesn’t have to be that way. We are to be the stewards of the earth. We are made from the earth. Our mind is part of our bodies. Hence, we are to be stewards of our minds. We are to cultivate and grow. We are to multiply our fruitfulness and submit unyielded wild brush to the pruning shears of the Father.
So, let’s get started! As with anything, a new plan starts with -----a PLAN! So what are we planning? We are planning to become managers, stewards, renovators and executives of our minds. They are not to rule us. We are to subdue them so that they work FOR US not against us. With me so far? Let me give you some Scripture to back up my words.
1 Peter 1:13Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
Romans 8:7-11ecause the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Rom 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Rom 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Rom 8:10 And if Christ [be] in you, the body [is] dead because of sin; but the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness.
Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
2 Cr10:4,5 For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2Cr 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2 Cr 2:11Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Ephesians
6:12-18 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Rom 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think [of himself] more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Therefore we can see that we have been given a mandate. Take control of our minds. Don’t let them run rampant. We have examples from men of God who let their minds run away—and they followed.
Gen 32:11 Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, [and] the mother with the children.
Jacob was afraid that Esau would hate him for deceiving him. But after all the years it wasn’t the case.
1 King 19:1-9 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
1Ki 19:2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do [to me], and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.
1Ki 19:3 And when he saw [that], he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which [belongeth] to Judah, and left his servant there.
1Ki 19:4 ¶ But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I [am] not better than my fathers.
1Ki 19:5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise [and] eat.
1Ki 19:6 And he looked, and, behold, [there was] a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.
1Ki 19:7 And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise [and] eat; because the journey [is] too great for thee.
1Ki 19:8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
1Ki 19:9 ¶ And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD [came] to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
Despite the fact that God had worked powerfully through Elijah to cause fear and awe in all who knew Elijah’s relationship with the almighty, for some reason Elijah believed that Jezebel had the ability to take him down, to the point that Elijah went to hide in a cave until God said, ‘Elijah WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THERE?”
We are getting the picture. We are responsible for our thought processes. But how do get gain control of this runaway organ that is virtually able to affect every part of our bodies and the lives of many people who know us. Let’s think for a minute about the computer. I don’t know much about the computer but I do know that I can control, to an extent, incoming messages.
Do we have to open every message that comes into our inbox? Remember the warning, “Consider who is sending the message. IF you don’t know the sender, do not open it.”
Sometimes the sender is the enemy of our souls. There is such a demonic stronghold that while considering this, I felt nauseated, which is a manifestation that I have felt when dealing with demons. Using this simple model, how do we control what messages come into our eyes or ears?
We have choices.
1. We can BLOCK THE SENDER so that their messages cannot even appear on our screen. In the same way we can block ‘thoughts’ that threaten to enter the threshold of the mind. These are evil thoughts: dangerous to the one who reads it, believes it and acts on it. Dangerous in the hands of those who believe the lies and spread them out of ignorance.
2. We can BLOCK SPAM. These are idle words. These are not problematic, but just silly, ridiculous, none of our business. It includes gossip and useless information. We hear someone talking about her friend’s spending. We can judge the thought: Is it my business? If it is not my business, then it is spam. It goes directly into my spam file. I don’t take it in. I don’t listen to it.
3. CURRENT PROJECT. WORK TIL PROGRESS IS SEEN. There are thoughts, though painful that you to search your heart, clear it out and let in the sweet cleansing voice of the Lord.
4.
Then there are FAVORITES. What is worthy of this kingdom treasure that we are? What is worthy of the precious vessel created by the Lord for His good purpose?
Phil 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things.
This is told us after the admonition two Scriptures before:
Phil 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. We are not to allow the cares of the world, the daggers of our enemy, the ferocious swords aimed at our brains and hearts to have any entrance at all. Then comes the promise:
Phil 4: 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
There! That is a start! Now do the work. Take inventory. What files do you want to set up? Start thinking before you think! Start analyzing the nature of the thought aimed toward your mind. Before you DWELL on it.
After all, you are not your own; you are bought with a price.
Ro 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
The Holy Spirit LIVES IN US. What does He want to hear!
The Heart and Mouth Connection
Mark 11: 23,For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Heart/mouth/heart/mouth/heart/mouth. What we believe in our heart(mind) we say with our mouths. So if we believe poisonous lies we will speak poisonous lies possibly destroy a generation!
John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
We can interchange the words heart and mind. We’re not to let our minds be troubled. Remember the sea? Jesus SPOKE TO THE sea and it obeyed him. Those turbulent thoughts that are hurled toward us from the enemy of our souls are like waves that we can subdue by ignoring them! By refusing them entrance. Remember when Peter was walking toward Jesus on the water? He was walking ON THE WATER. Then what happened? He took NOTICE of the waves. And He sank. He freaked out! The waves just didn’t suddenly appear. They were there all along. The difference was that Peter took NOTICE of them.
Matthew 14:30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
Preliminary work
When I picked up the book Sidetracked Home Executives by Pam Young and Peggy Jones in desperate hopes of taking control of my chaotic, out of control house I had to do preliminary task analyses on every single room of my house itemizing each tiny segment of the room that required my attention so that I could make order out of chaos. I didn’t like that arduous work! I didn’t like the details of going through room by room. But it was necessary. And it was worth it. It was SO worth it.
Will it be worth it for you to take the mess of your mind and life and make your mind work for you instead of against you? Then do the work!
Create your file system for your mind!
Uncertain about what to do with an incoming thought?
Uncertain as to whether to BLOCK it, send it to the SPAM file, work on it as CURRENT PROJECT or make it a FAVORITE, consider: “What does this thought do for me?” Start thinking of where the thought is leading you.
Let’s talk about it!
You can email me at cherylskid@gmail.com or you can go to the Women with a Vision Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/218362288189751/and start a conversation! We are bound to be better for this rigorous mind-work! In this together with you!
Cheryl Samelson Skid
Founding Director Women with a Vision since 1983
Author Taking God’s Word to Heart http://www.amazon.com/Taking-Gods-Word-Heart-Devotional/dp/1886068453
