Tag Archives: mind

March 28, 2025 · 5:54 AM

Controlling Your Mind

Growing up I learned that we have three parts: body, mind and spirit. I learned that they all have different functions and interact to make us who we are. The mind handles our thoughts, understanding and intentions. How and what we think determine who we are and what our behavior is. That’s why it’s such a battleground, and we must fight our flesh over it so we can be led by the Spirit. Our lives have different outcomes, experiences and impact based on who we give control of our mind to. When my mind starts to race or tries to send me into a spiral, I put on the Helmet of Salvation and ask God to help my mind see what is true. That truth sets me free. Take time today to pray over your mind. It will change your day and ultimately your life.

Here are some Bible verses talking about your mind:

1. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2 NKJV

2. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (life), and with all your mind (thought, understanding), and with all your strength.

Mark 12:30 AMP

3. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

II Timothy 1:7 NKJV

4. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

Colossians 3:2 NKJV

5. Now the mind of the flesh is death [both now and forever—because it pursues sin]; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace [the spiritual well-being that comes from walking with God—both now and forever].

Romans 8:6 AMP

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

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February 1, 2013 · 7:11 AM

God’s Antidote for Poison

I was watching a sales skills video yesterday of Brian Tracy. In one of the segments, he said, “You cannot like anyone else more than you like yourself.” The problem, he pointed out, is that most people don’t like themselves very much. Their inner voice points out their negatives. His remedy was to say out loud, “I like myself. I like myself. I like myself” over and over until it becomes ingrained in your fibers. It was kind of funny to watch to be honest, but there was a lot of truth there too.

Each one of us has that inner voice that speaks to us. Each one of us also has a label that has followed us through life. That voice in our head speaks it to us over and over every day. It tells us why we’re still single when everyone else is married. It tells us why we’re too incompetent to get that promotion. It tells us why no one will ever be our true friend. The list goes on and on. The problem is that that voice is creating your perceived reality.

I call it perceived because it is not the truth, but you have bought into it anyway. It could have started when you were a child and a parent, sibling, teacher or other influential person in your life told you that you weren’t good enough, smart enough, good looking enough or whatever. Your mind reluctantly gave in and it has become how you see yourself. Let me tell you that is not how God sees you.

There is a battle for your life and it is won and lost in the mind. If the enemy can get you to believe that lie, he can minimize your effectiveness. He can keep you from being who God called you to be. He would rather have you sit on the side lines of incompetence than in the game fully engaged. That’s where God wants you. He created you with a specific purpose and destiny that ONLY you can fulfill. God has a plan for your life, even if it has gone off course He can use that experience to fulfill your plan.

Proverbs 18:21 in The Message reads, “Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit – you choose.” Your inner voice has been poisoning your mind rather than nourishing it if you have been listening to it. You must change the narrative today! The verse said “you choose.” It’s up to you what you believe. You can trust that voice that says, “You’re incompetent. You’re not worthy. You’re ugly. You’re fat. You’re not worth it. You’re a disappointment. You’re dumb.” Or you can change that and believe what God says.

When that voice comes into your mind, change the narrative by saying out loud, “I’m a child of God. I’m a king’s kid. I’m competent. I’m worthy. I’m beautiful. I’m just the right size. I’m worth more than rubies. I’m God’s favorite (That’s mine, but you can borrow it!). I’m intelligent. I’m created in God’s image.” Say it out loud, say it often and continue until you believe it because it is true. You can believe what others say, your mind says or what God says. I choose to believe God.

Join with me in an exercise if you will. I want you to post a comment today. I want you to first put in what lie you’ve believed. Then I want you to write out your new narrative, the truth. If you know a scripture that backs it up, put that in there too. If you are unfamiliar with verses in the Bible, ask if anyone knows one for you. Lets work together to help each other get off the sidelines and get in the game so we can fulfill our God given destiny. I’ll start with mine.

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January 25, 2013 · 7:39 AM

What are you Worth?

Do you feel unworthy or just not good enough? You aren’t alone. There are many who see themselves that way and never reach the full potential God has for them. It’s easy to know how great God is and see yourself as small and insignificant, but that’s not how God sees you or wants you to see yourself. Yes, we are to be humble, but we are also to know who we are in Christ.

There is a difference in being humble and feeling insignificant or worthless. Humility is something that God honors. It’s having a right perspective of who we are and that what we have is God’s. Worthlessness is not a trait from God. It is a tactic from the enemy to keep you from tapping into the power of God in you. It will destroy you from within through thoughts that change how you see yourself.

How you see yourself reflects in how you behave and act. If you feel worthless, you draw back from others and become isolated. I’ve watched enough Discovery channel to know that a predator’s first goal is to separate you from the heard. Once you are isolated, he attacks. I Peter 5:8 says, the devil “roams around like a lion roaring in fierce hunger, seeking someone to seize upon and devour.” He isn’t seeking a group, he’s seeking someONE.

If you struggle with those feelings that are isolating you, I’ve been where you are. You can beat it. It’s not easy, but you can. Start with reading God’s Word. A few verses I like to read when I feel that way are Matthew 6:25-34, Luke 12:6-7 and I Peter 5:7. These verses talk about how much God cares for you and how much He values you. You don’t have to be great in the eyes of people to be great in the eyes of God. You are more precious to God than you can even imagine.

Don’t let those thoughts consume you. When they come into your mind, you have to fight back immediately. When Jesus was fasting, He was attacked mentally and each time He fought back with the Word of God. Bring those thoughts captive and speak the truth to them. Tell them and yourself who you are in Christ. Don’t dwell on them because then you start to believe them. You can’t believe the attacks of the enemy, but you can believe God’s Word.

Don’t be a victim, be a victor. There is safety in numbers. Don’t allow yourself to be separated from those who love you and will lift you up in prayer. Share with someone what you are struggling with. They can help you through encouragement, prayer and accountability. It takes some honesty on your part, but that vulnerability is worth more than the cost of succumbing to those thoughts and being devoured. You are a child of God, worth more than anything in this world. When God looks at you, He sees His child, His creation and someone He loves deeper than you can imagine.

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January 16, 2013 · 8:06 AM

Victory of the Mind

I was reading Romans chapters 7 and 8 this morning. In Romans 7, Paul is very transparent with us. He shares the struggles he faced in wrestling with sin in his life. I always like to think of Paul as a super Christian. The man wrote most of the New Testament in the Bible. But here in chapter 7, he is sharing the inner struggle we all face. It is summed up in verses 19 and 21 that say, “I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway… I have discovered this principle of life – that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.”

Does that sound like you? I know it sums me up perfectly. We all struggle with sin because our sin nature still lives in us. We all succumb to it when it rears its head in our lives. In verse 24, Paul used the word “dominate” to describe what his sinful nature was doing to him. It isn’t until we get to chapter 8 until he tells us how to overcome. One of the first paths to victory he mentions is in verse 6. It says, “So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”

That leads me to the question, “How do I stop my mind from being controlled by my sinful nature and start letting it be controlled by the Spirit?” I think it starts with what you choose to put in your mind. What movies, TV shows, books and magazines are you looking at? Are they things that cause you to think about sin? Then you need to watch or read something else so that those seeds won’t be planted in your mind. Controlling what goes in will help control your actions. Switch to watching or reading something more wholesome. Plant good, godly things in your mind.

The next thing you can do is take control over those thoughts. Don’t entertain the thoughts that walk you down the path to sin. II Corinthians 10:5 tells us to bring “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” If that thought doesn’t belong, take it captive and cast it out. Last week my pastor said when those thoughts enter his head, he says out loud, “You have no right to invade my mind.” That’s how you take it captive and cast it out.

Lastly, we need to have the mind of Christ. Philippians 2:5 says, “Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus.” We can have the mind of Christ. It’s not easy to get or maintain. It takes a conscious effort to ask for it and then maintain it by thinking good things. Philippians 4:8 tells us to think on things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and admirable. If your thoughts don’t line up with these, take them captive when they come in and then consciously force yourself to think on these things.

The battle of the mind isn’t easy. We’ll fight it our entire lives until we are made perfect. Just because we have the sinful nature living in us doesn’t mean we have to be dominated by. We can have victory. These are three things I have found to help me win the battles. I’m curious to know what ways you have found victory in the battle of the mind. Leave me a comment as to what you’ve found and let’s help each other win.

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July 5, 2012 · 8:58 AM

Getting peace in your body, mind and soul

I had the privilege several years ago to be able to visit Israel. I traveled all over the country visiting different sites and cities. In each place, I would stop and read from the Bible different passages of scripture that happened in each location. When I would do that, the scripture really became alive to me.

One of the places I visited that made a huge impact on me was the Mount of the Beatitudes. As I sat there reading Matthew 5, I felt this overwhelming sense of peace over me. It was unlike any other peace I had ever felt. My mind, body and spirit were all calm at once. It was amazing.

Scripture tells us that we can have that kind of peace between the three parts.

1. Peace in your mind

This is probably the most desired peace among people. We are caught up in a world that is fast paced and where debts are high. Our minds have so much information to process in such a short period of time that worry quickly sets in. Even through all of that, God wants your mind to have peace.

In John 14:27, Jesus said to not let our hearts be troubled and to stop letting ourselves to get agitated and disturbed because He was leaving His peace with us. When we don’t accept that peace, we allow ourselves to be agitated and disturbed with all the other thoughts that consume us. Put away those thoughts and accept the peace He gave you.

2. Peace in your body

Our bodies can easily grow weary. The days of 9-5 work are over. We now work sun up to sun down and then try to get the kids to practice or to games. We have friendships and relationships that we are also trying to maintain. Our bodies suffer from fatigue and often get sick as a result.

When Jesus healed people, He often told them to go in peace. Through the healing, He was also offering peace to their bodies that had been suffering. Scripture also says that God will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on the Lord. Peace in your mind will lead to peace in your body.

3. Peace in your soul

C. S. Lewis once said that we are not a body with a soul, but a soul with a body. Our soul is who we are. It is what this shell of flesh is around and what will live for eternity. A lot of people live in fear of not knowing where their soul will go once this body dies. When that fear is present, you do not have peace in your inner man. That lack of peace then translates to the rest of your being and then life.

Philippians 4:7 says that God’s peace shall be yours. That peace is a tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ. We can rest assured in our souls once we accept Christ as our savior we have that life. 1 John 5:12,13 say that whoever has the Son has life… I have written these things that you may know you have eternal life. Your soul can have that peace that it needs as well.

No matter what part of you needs peace, you can find it in Jesus. It takes us receiving it though which means we have to push out other things that are preventing it. God’s desire for you is that you have peace in your body, mind and soul. Pray for and accept that peace today and watch how your life changes.

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