It is important to think about what we think about! I know that sounds weird but read it slowly again and thoughtfully. We are currently being bombarded by so much negativity in the news from earthquakes in Indonesia to political violence in USA and Uganda to the dark Covid pandemic cloud that looms over the whole world! Not to mention the knock on effects of all of these issues like job losses, loss of life, fear and many more. This can totally affect our thoughtlife negatively and impact the way we live and interact with other people. We need to examine what thoughts we are entertaining and the effects those thoughts are having on our lives.
So how do we do this?
Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
How do we receive salvation? Salvation, as Paul points out in Romans 6:23, is “the gift of God.” It is not something we earn.
However, is salvation simply given to us, regardless of what we do in this life?
The Bible tells us to “repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
In order to receive forgiveness of sins, we must repent and be baptized.
We also need to walk in God’s ways: “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21).
The last piece of defensive spiritual armor described in Ephesians 6 is the helmet of salvation. In medieval times, a knight's helmet not only protected his brain but his eyes and his ears as well. This gave him extra protection and assurance before entering combat.
2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV) says, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
A sound mind is convinced of salvation and certain that God keeps His promises. As a spiritual warrior, your helmet of salvation helps you combat the enemy's lies by protecting you from fear and by guarding the way you see, hear and perceive things.
Satan's strategy for capturing your mind is as old as the Garden of Eden.
First he plants doubt in your thoughts like he did with Eve. Genesis 3:1 (NLT) says that Satan asked the woman, "Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?" When you don't recognize that thought as a lie and reject it, then Satan gains access to your mind and deceives you. He then bombards you with more lies until he's established a thought pattern. Like reels of film, these thought patterns clutter your mind.
Whatever reel you focus on is loaded into your mind's projector and is played upon the screen of your mind—your imagination. Scientists have discovered that your imagination is connected to your auditory nerve. Whatever you listen to, whether words or music, activates your imagination.
God gave you the gift of imagination so that you could dream and envision things like He does. That's why Jesus said, "Take heed what you hear" (Mark 4:24a, NKJV).
Whether you realize it or not, the movies you play over and over in your mind eventually shape your beliefs and actions.
Whatever you believe in your heart becomes the fruit you bear in your life(Luke 6:44–45).
From thought to belief to repeated behavior, that's how the devil builds a pattern of sin—a stronghold—in your life.
The good news is that strongholds can be pulled down. In 2 Corinthians 10:4–5 (NKJV) Paul said, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."
If you want to pull down a stronghold, stop playing the wrong movies on the screen of your imagination.
Dismantle harmful thought patterns one lie at a time until you've eliminated the original lie that opened a door for the enemy.
You have to take your thoughts prisoners in this war. God's Spirit of Truth will help you capture your thoughts through the bright light of His
Word. By changing your thoughts to agree with God's truth, you free yourself from the devil's traps and reload your mind's projector with the right thoughts (2 Timothy 2:25–26; Philippians 4:8).
⍘The helmet also protected the eyes of the soldier, enabling him to maintain physical vision. Spiritual vision allows the Christian to fix his or her eyes on the goal, pressing forward without distraction or detours. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.[a] Because of the joy[b] awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.- Hebrews 12:1-2
Memory Verse
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised;) Hebrews 10:23 (KJV)
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