“Serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought.” (l Chronicles 28:9)
~God knows and can read our very minds~
Since God knows everything I am thinking and doing, it sure would be to my advantage to make sure He is pleased with my thoughts and attitudes! It doesn’t make any sense for me to try and hide any thoughts or actions from an all-knowing God, because He reads all of my thoughts continuously and searches for evidence of my trust and faithfulness in Him. I challenge myself every day to fill my mind with positive words and effective actions, but how do I control those negative and judgmental thoughts that creep into my mind sometimes? The greatest battle that many of us face is the battle of our minds, but if we meditate and fill our thoughts with God’s word we can blot out our negative thoughts and replace them with thoughts of peace, joy, and purpose. “Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes” (Ephesians 4:23) If we allow Him, God has the ability to control our minds; He created our minds and He knows exactly how to help us think and see things differently.
“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.” Philippians 4:8
Our good thoughts are contagious; they color our world and have the ability to create happiness and inner peace. Positive and loving thoughts have higher levels of energy than our negative thoughts do! What we put into our minds determines what comes out in our words and actions, and to be successful in using our minds the way that God wants us to, we must understand and be prepared to fight against any unwelcome thoughts that take over our minds. The strength of our faith can be determined by what we think about, and that’s why it is so important to meditate on the word of God with a submissive heart so that we can reap the thoughts that will glorify Him.
We need to ask God to help us focus our minds on what is good and pure, because the very best thoughts we can think are God-centered. Isn’t it awesome that that HE cares enough to pay attention to every thought we have?
“I’m an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what I am thinking. You know when I leave and when I get back; I’m never out of your sight. You know everything I’m going to say before I start the first sentence.” (Psalm 1392-4 MSG)
Linking up with Angel on “Follow Me Fridays"
Denise, as always you have given us meat instead of milk to add to our daily diet of spiritual food..
ReplyDeleteThe control of the mind is crucial in spiritual growth and therefore, what we think on is so important.
God has certainly been putting the word FOCUS on Me in front of me lately
and that is central to controlling our thoughts...
Great post! That verse in Philippians is why I started my blog. Thanks for linking up!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how the Lord tends to repeat messages to me during certain times in my life. Romans 12:2 is one that's been utmost in my mind right now. I want Him to transform my mind. But I make the daily choice as to what I focus on. My emotions can easily get me off track so I pray that He would bring me back to the Truth.
ReplyDeleteDenise, I am going to be moving in March closer in to central Phoenix. So if you visit AZ I really hope you will contact me. I'd love to meet you in person. debbie@heartchoices.com
Blessings and love,
Debbie
"Meditate with a submissive heart..." So true. I try to run my thoughts through Philippians 4:8 a lot.
ReplyDeleteYou sis I wonder at times what are we really thinking. Our minds can go from one thing to the next.It's as though we can't finish a thought before the next one pops in...This is why our minds must be renewed at all times..amen Great post Denise
ReplyDeleteOur thoughts are extreemly important. If they are fear or sad thoughts, However we can replace them with a song of joy. Anger, hate, violence thoughts can drag you down, but thoughts of forgiveness, love and peace will calm your spirit. Difficult to will them gone, they must be replaced with positive thoughts.
ReplyDeleteThis year I'm really trying to hone in on my thinking.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good post Denise, and very very true..The Bible says that "as a man thinks so he is". (prov.27:7)
ReplyDeleteIn this day and age with tv and the internet everywhere, there seems to be a battle for our minds. Everybody wants to redirect our thoughts towards their product or their performances. That is why we must meditate on the Word of God day & night..not as easy as it sounds, but if we condition our minds to be continually filled with the things of the Lord, there will be little room for anything else!
I have so missed reading your blog Denise, it's so nice to come here today!
~In Loving Peace & Blessings In Jesus~ Lisa
Hi Denise,
ReplyDeleteOh yes, what we choose to set our minds on is so important. The more we fill our thoughts with the things of God and meditate on His Word, the better and stronger we are. I love the verse in Philippians. Thanks for sharing and God bless,
Ken
Denise, a wonderfully written post. Yes, I too have to challenge my mind to think positive and replace the bad with the good. Thank you for sharing. Blessings.
ReplyDelete