Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ~1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)
Life is made up of a lot of learning and a lot of unlearning. Experiences create mindsets and habits and sometimes we do not even know we have "bought a lie" until we feel like we are in over our head. Strongholds are mindsets or patterns of thinking that we have that are contrary to God’s word. Scripture refers to them as bondage and chains. What thoughts have you been entertaincing lately? It is something we should regularly think about. We do not know much in our modern world about living in chains, but they did in biblical times. Our chains today are in our mind. Our bondage is slavery to sin and a sin consciousness that prevents us from seeking the restoration to God that was provided by Jesus on the Cross. Many people do not live in a daily revelation of who they are in Christ because they do not nourish their understanding with God's word. We might believe that Jesus died for our sins and has extended grace for all our faults and failures, but we fail to extend that grace to ourselves. The enemy seeks to disable what Christ did for us by teaching us to beat ourselves up in our mind to the point where we believe it is the Lord doing it and that is a big fat lie! God isn’t beating anybody up. He is lifting people up, well, those who will allow Him to. The word sin means to miss the mark. Jesus came to set us free from the bondage of sin. You could say it's a sin to not live the full life God has planned for you because you have believed the devils lies. When we finally make up your mind that we are going to have the life Jesus died to give us there is going to be a whole lot to unlearn.
The enemy starts lying to us at an early age in our minds. He tells us things about ourselves and others that are flat out lies! Scripture teaches he is a liar and the father of lies. He is a deceiver full of half-truths. He destroys lives by getting people to do his work for him. He tells people they are ugly, he tells people nobody loves them, he tells people they are not smart, he tells people they are not able to accomplish their dreams or even worse he tells people that others are their real problem. Those "people" that the enemy is talking to is you and me and his goal is to break us down on the inside. But God says we are the apple of His eye, that He made us each individually and He knew us before we were ever born. God says we have the mind of Christ. How much smarter could you get? God also tells us we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Have you believed the devil’s lies about yourself or somebody else? If so, you are doing the devil’s dirty work. We cannot believe negative and live positive. You could look at it like entertaining negative thoughts is the same as entertaining the enemy and nobody wants to invite the devil over for dinner, or do we? God wants me and you free from bondage. He wants us to believe His promise that He has a great plan for not only us but also for our family and friends. He wants us to expect to see His goodness today. Ask Him to renew your mind and teach you to think His thoughts and not the enemies and see how He can create a whole new outlook on life for you.
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. ~Romans 12:2 (NLT)
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