"Stinking Thinking"

Not long after I rededicated my life in 2001, I found out that the mind was a battlefield and I realized that mine was a MESS!  Thankfully, Pastor Ramon and Marsha began teaching me about strongholds and about renewing my mind.  A stronghold is an area in which we are held in bondage due to certain way of thinking. The Bible says in Romans12:2  “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”   Bottom line: I needed to get rid of my “stinking thinking” and replace it with God’s way of thinking.

 Well…. I was deeply rooted in fear and all of fear’s buddies:  worry, reasoning, anxiety, stress, insecurity and doubt.  Fear had a stronghold in my mind and it needed to be destroyed!

 2 Corinthians 10:4,5 says “for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”

 That’s exactly what I began to do, to take those thoughts captive and combat them with the Word of God!  I became very familiar with just about every scripture that had to do with fear.  I began confessing and meditating on them.

But I wanted immediate results and it just wasn’t happening for me.  I began to get discouraged. Marsha said, “Misty, did you get in this mess overnight? No, you’ve had “stinking thinking” for many years now and you can’t expect it to it go away over night.”  She gave me two options:

I could stay where I was and continue to be miserable for the rest of my life or I could get free from the bondage by making the proper changes…. obeying God and attacking those negative thoughts with the Word.”  I chose to break free!

 Now this has definitely been a process for me!  It’s taken me years to get where I am today and to be honest with you, I still have a little ways to go.  Those that have known me for some time can testify of the wonderful changes in my life due to confessing the Word of God. I can tell you that each day is better than the day before, as long as your making strides in the right direction!

Think of the stronghold in your mind as a brick fortress and every time you speak the Word a brick shatters off that wall.  Now keep in mind, that if you have a negative thought and do nothing with it, then that brick is replaced!  You don’t want to build back up what you’ve already knocked down!  So… you need to obey the Lord, take the bad thoughts captive and speak the Word over and over again until the walls are shattered and you have broken free!

AM and FM thoughts

Are My Thoughts "For Me"or "Against Me"?

This was taken from Chapter 6 in A Confident Heart by Renee Swope

One morning I woke up feeling discouraged by thoughts of doubt: I can’t do it all! I don’t have enough time. I don’t have enough energy. I don’t have what it takes to do all God’s called me to do. My thoughts were against me and my feelings were too.

While I was lying in bed feeling completely inadequate, my radio alarm came on and Twila Paris interrupted my thoughts with the words of her song God is in control.i As I listened to her sing, my thoughts were aligned with God’s truth and it changed my whole perspective.

But it only happened because I had set the dial of my radio to that station the night before.

In the same way a radio has an AM and FM frequency, so do our thoughts. They are either AM (against me) thoughts or FM (for me) thoughts. And if our thoughts are against us, our feelings will be too. It’s up to us to set the dial of our thoughts to God’s "For Me" thoughts each day.

When you get that "I’m not good enough" feeling, stop and identify what thought triggered the emotion of self-doubt. Then compare your thoughts to God’s thoughts toward you. Do they match? If not, look for a promise in God’s Word to replace the lie that has filled your heart with doubt.
AM and FM thoughts to help you get started:

• When doubt comes against me, saying I’m not good enough, I will focus on the truth that God is for me! He says I’m fearfully and wonderfully made; all of His works are wonderful and I am one of them (Ps. 139:14).

• When doubt comes against me, saying I shouldn’t get my hopes up because I’ll only be disappointed, I’ll remember God is for me! He has plans for my life that are filled with purpose and hope (Jer. 29:11).

• When doubt comes against me, saying nobody loves me, I will cling to the truth that God is for me! He loves me so much that He gave His only Son to live and die for me, and He chose me to be adopted into His family. ( John 3:16, Eph. 1:4–5).

• When doubt comes against me, saying I can’t do something because it’s too hard, I will remember God is for me! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13).

Renee Swope’s passion is to lead women to live confidently in Christ by showing them how to rely on and live in the power of God’s promises in their everyday lives. For more information about Renee and her ministry, visit www.ReneeSwope.com.

Power Thoughts {WEEK 1}

READ:   Read through page 9 of Power Thoughts by Joyce Meyer.
Highlight the passages that jump out to you, the ones that grab your attention or tug on your heart strings.  What is God revealing to you through these pages?  Write down your thoughts in your book or journal. 

This week we want to focus on your mind!  Part 1 of Power Thoughts is accurately titled "It's All in Your Mind."   Whatever you want in life, wherever you want to be in life, it starts in your mind.  As the quote at the beginning of the book says, "Whatever you hold in your mind will tend to occur in your life...." 

Key Points:

Success begins with a thought. Failure begins with a thought. 

Proverbs 23:7 says:  " For as he thinks in his heart, so is he"   The power of our thoughts is simply this:  our thoughts become our attitude.  Don't be misled, you cannot think something into existence, you only control you and your will.  You cannot think someone else into the attitude you wish them to have.  You control you and your own attitude. 

We must exchange our faulty reasoning for the Word of God
If you have accepted Christ as your savior you received a new heart and a new soul, but your mind is the same mind.  It must be renewed.  How is this accomplished?  By hearing, and hearing the Word of God.  Romans 10:17 Faith is buried in your heart and we need to to match our minds to our hearts. 

DEFINE:

¹mind

  noun \ˈmīnd\

a: the element or complex of elements in an individual that feels, perceives, thinks, wills, and especially reasons

God's Word:

Romans 12:2   Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

ACTION:
    EXPOUND THE POSITIVE & EXPEL THE NEGATIVE
This week, really focus on the thoughts that pass through your mind.  Expound upon anything positive. Explore it. Keep thinking upon those positive things. 
Expel anything negative. Come against it.  Cast it out. To stop negative thoughts you will have to re-focus.  When a negative thought comes in, stop whatever you are doing and write down a scripture.  The first one that comes to your mind, write it down.  If you can't write it, speak it. Say it out loud so you can hear.  Your mind will stop thinking to hear what your mouth is saying....


If you choose to take no action, things will remain the same for you, or even get worse.  Determine now to dig in and take action and renew your mind and expect great improvements in your life. 

Spring Forward - Don't get left behind!

Ladies, do not forget to Set your clocks forward this weekend!  Do it on your way to bed Saturday night so you wake up in time for church Sunday!