We are a spirit, we have a soul, and we live in a body. Our body is the earth suit that carries our
soul and spirit around on this planet. Our
spirit is the part of us that becomes born again, made new and alive to God
when we receive Jesus as our Savior from sin.
Our soul is made up of our mind, will, and emotions.
See it this way: draw three concentric circles, letting the
smallest inner circle represent the spirit, the center of man, the part that
gets born again at salvation. Now draw
another circle around that; let the space between those two circles represent
the soul – the mind, will, and emotions.
Then draw the largest circle around those two; that space will represent
the physical body.
It is God’s will that our spirit rule over our mind and
body. We are to have our minds renewed
to God’s Word, and let the Holy Spirit lead us into all truth. To the degree our thoughts agree with God’s
thoughts, our mind, will, and emotions effect change in our whole life -- in everything we do, and in our health.
Think about this: every action we take begins with a
thought. That’s why the kinds of
thoughts we allow in our minds are so important. Our born-again spirit is to rule over our
mind, will, and emotions. Negative
thoughts produce negative emotions, negative actions and a negative life. Good, positive thoughts produce positive
emotions, positive actions and a good life. We are the product of our beliefs.
Dr. Caroline Leaf from Dallas ,
Texas
We’ve all heard of brain chemicals called “endorphins” or
“feel-good chemicals.” These are
released when we think happy thoughts or have good experiences. However, a torrent of destructive chemicals
are released in the body when we have thoughts of worry, guilt, grief, fear,
frustration, anxiety, anger, unforgiveness, etc, – you get the picture! These toxic chemicals are released because of
toxic thoughts, and cause a myriad of illnesses.
You can visualize what a thought looks like in your brain by
thinking of a tree trunk with many branches made up of cells called
neurons. The more branches there are,
the stronger the thought. At the end of
the branches there are nerve cells called dendrites where memories are stored. When we think good, positive thoughts, the
little “trees” are green with lots of little branches. When toxic negative thoughts are a pattern of
life, the little “trees” turn black and the synapses that transmit electrical
current correctly are compromised. But
the good news is that when you focus on thinking good, positive thoughts, new
green “trees” will grow over the old ones!
Science is proving that the Word of God is true: “…as he
thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs
23:7 NKJ) Is it any wonder God told us
in His word to think on good things?
We are given the recipe for healthy thinking from
Scripture. Consider Philippians 4:6-8,
NKJ: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of
God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren,
whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just,
whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of
good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy –
meditate on these things.”
If you want a peaceful, settled mind, heed the words of your
loving Creator: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on
You, because he trusts in You.” (Isaiah
26:3 NKJ) Choose to believe God will do what He said He will do. Don’t
let your mind doubt, and wonder if God really means it. It can be a battle! That's where we must "fight the good fight of faith."
Maybe you believe “Murphy’s Law” that if anything can go
wrong, it will. If you have
been a negative, unhappy person given to worry, fear, arguments, complaining,
faultfinding, doubt, bitterness, unforgiveness, and anger, and let your
mind wander wherever it wants to go, don’t feel condemned. Rather, let the conviction of the Holy Spirit change you. Be thankful that God has brought it to your
attention so you can choose to line up your thinking with His thoughts.
Begin today by praying this prayer from Scripture in Psalm
19:14, NIV: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be
pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Also, slowly and carefully study Philippians
4:6-8 (copied above). Choose to obey God’s Word.
Search out the promises in God’s Word; take them into
yourself by agreeing with God and quote God’s Word out loud. Your tongue is like the rudder on a ship that
steers your life. (See James 3:1-6) Stand in faith on what God says, no matter
what your circumstances look like at the moment. Your faith in God’s promises will change your
life as it has mine! I think of
scriptures I’ve made part of my life on a daily basis: Psalm 103: 1-14, Psalm
91 and Mark 11:22-26.
I also seriously, highly recommend two of Joyce Meyer’s
books that helped me so much: “Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind,” and
“Me and My Big Mouth: Your Answer is Right Under Your Nose.”
As you change, you will influence your children and family members to also guard their thoughts. I leave you with this scripture from Proverbs 4:20-23, NIV: "My son [or daughter], pay attention to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, but keep them within your heart, for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."
As you change, you will influence your children and family members to also guard their thoughts. I leave you with this scripture from Proverbs 4:20-23, NIV: "My son [or daughter], pay attention to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, but keep them within your heart, for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."
God bless you, dear reader!
Copyright © 2013
Elaine Beachy
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