Renewing our minds. Part 1

One of the main causes of emotional and spiritual problems in this life is thinking negatively. For us to experience the abundant life that Christ has to offer, we must believe the truth and live it out in our daily lives.

The Bible talks a lot about the way we think. Philippians 4:8 tells us to keep our thoughts on what is good. Isaiah 26:3 promises peace to the ones that keep their mind steadfast. Colossians 3:2 tells us to keep our mind on the things above. The Bible tells us clearly that what we think plays a key role in our emotional and spiritual health. God, who is truth, wants us to think and believe the truth because doing that sets us free to have an incredible life.

Today I'm going to discuss the first of three parts in this very important subject, and that is the role Satan plays in our counterproductive thoughts. Satan is the "father of lies." He wants us to believe lies because they destroy us from the inside out. And believe me, he has a warehouse of lies that he can use against us. Here are a few of them:

"I must be perfect." Believing this lie makes us try to live up to standards that we can never achieve. God wants us to be holy (1 Peter 1:16) but we have to realize that growing in Christ is a learning process and that we'll make mistakes along the way.

"I must have everyone's love and approval." This lie makes us focus more on pleasing people than it does God (Gal. 1:10). We can't make the love and approval of others more important to us than the love and approval of God.

"Things have to go my way in order for me to be happy." This lie makes us focus more on circumstances and events than God, and our being happy rather than mature. Our peace shouldn't be based on the situation we're in (Philippians 4:11), but being loved and cared for by God with no conditions.

"Life should be easy." Life is not easy. The effects of sin, and the world we live in can make it hard. Jesus promised us that we'd face troubles in life (John 16:33), When we believe that life should be easy, it only makes us angry and resentful when it isn't.

"God hates the sin and the sinner." Believing this lie makes most people run from God when they sin. This is why so many people fall away from the faith. God, who is holy, hates sin (Proverbs 6:16-19), but He died for us and loves us even when we sin (Romans 5:8).

These are just some of the lies that satan uses to slow our progress towards spiritual growth. Tomorrow we'll look at what we can do to replace these lies with the truth so that our spiritual development can take place with less emotional turmoil.

Until tomorrow, Keep your thoughts on Jesus

Pastor Mike

Today's prayer request

Today is a day of praise. Find what you are most thankful for and spend time showing God your gratitude by praising Him and His love for you.