Don't Let Satan Control Your Emotions

"We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5

 I pride myself in being a pretty cheerful person but every now and then my mind may wander and get my moods in a funk and emotions messed up. I always feel this is the enemy messing with me as he knows that can be my weak area if only he can get me off course. You may have a similar problem. You convince yourself people don't like you or you conjure up scenarios of fear in your mind. That is why one of the best selling books by author and Bible teacher Joyce Meyer is 'Battlefield of the Mind'.

Satan knows if he can get into your thought life he can wage his war. To combat this it is necessary to have a steady diet of scripture, prayer, and meditating on good things. Don't let your mind drift somewhere. Tell Satan to get behind you and quote some Scripture to him. Prayer and praise are valuable tools as well.

Keep your mind on good things by not letting bad things enter your mind. This could mean changing what you watch on TV, read, or listen to. It is your mind, so you choose do you want it filled with things of this world or heavenly things. Not a hard decision I wouldn't think.

PRAYER: I need to make sure I am not daydreaming about wrong things and I need your help Lord to stay focused on positive uplifting thoughts. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Think Right

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything be excellent or praiseworthy-think on such things. Philippians 4:8

What you choose to think on can literally control you. If you get up and start worrying over something you have no control over, worry thoughts consume you. If you try to figure things out in your head, that type thinking can control you. Perhaps you obsess over issues and if so then obsessive thoughts control you. Satan is a master of trying to get your thoughts off God and things of the spirit and onto things that take you away from biblical thinking. Do not allow this to happen.

 Wake up and talk to yourself. Quote scriptures. Sing praise songs. Tell the devil he can not control you as you are a child of the living King. Say something like "Satan get away from me. I choose by the mighty power of Jesus to fill my mind with things of God. I will not allow you to drag me into your pit!"  After you do that you should feel better.

Thinking right is a discipline you need to practice daily. Get control of what you allow into your mind and work on having the mind of Christ.

 PRAYER: Lord I choose to keep my thoughts focused on you. Your meditations are my delight. In Jesus' name. Amen.

WRONG THINKING

Do you struggle with wrong thoughts? By this I do not mean are you thinking of perverted things but do you allow patterns of wrong thinking to come into your head to the point you can convince yourself they are true?

The enemy is good at messing with a believers mind. You may think you have it all together, so to speak, but then a thought creeps in such as "I do not think so and so likes me" and then you begin to dwell on this. It is absurd to think we know what another is thinking anyway. It is necessary you fill your mind with God's word and then you will be less likely to fixate on irrational thinking.

A helpful scripture to commit to memory is 2 Corinthians 5:10(NIV) which says 'We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.' The action verb there is to "take captive". Just as a police or soldier may take a prisoner captive and lock them up, we too need to capture wrong thoughts and make them come in line with the teachings of God's Holy word. Start each day with prayer and a good dose of scripture and tell Satan he has to flee.

PRAYER: I choose this day and every day to not allow wrong thoughts into my head. I am aware of the enemies schemes to cripple me and make me less effective for Christ and messing ith my thinking is of them I choose right thoughts. In Jesus' name. Amen.

A PRAYER VERSUS A SCARE

 

What scares you? What is it you fear? What makes you feel there is no way out? We are not to live fearful lives but faith filled lives. How do you get this faith filled life? The main thing you can do is pray and next it is to trust God. When you are praying and praising God you have little room for fear and worry.

Anything that is causing you fear is not from God. Is there something you can not keep from dwelling on in your mind? When you have a worry, concern, or fear that does not seem to want to go away the best way to get rid of it is to stay in an attitude of prayer and thanksgiving. Satan can have you paralyzed if you keep concentrating on things that scare you or seem to take you away from God.

Phillipians 4:8 says "Finally, brothers and sisters, 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." It is hard to have bad thoughts if you purposefully focus on good things. Are you able to make your mind dwell on good things?

When you are feeling wrong thoughts creeping into your mind start praising God. Say " I thank you Lord for the victory I have in you. I thank you Lord I do not need to listen to the lies of the enemy. I thank you that the things of the past are behind me. I thank you Lord for loving me and forgiving me. I give you Lord any of my worries and fears and choose to look to you for my strength."

God can turn bad things around. You need to stay focused on Him and His word. Proverbs 3:5-6 says to us "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."

PRAYER; Lord God I am so very thankful that you are available 24/7. When friends forsake us you are there. When things go wrong you are there. When we feel a pity party coming on, you are there. I am thankful for your forgiveness in times when I have messed up. Thanks Lord for taking away my fears. In Jesus name. Amen.

MIND TRIP

We think we have it all together and in control of wandering thoughts or concerns of the past then it happens. Our mind starts to go all directions pondering, reasoning, speculating, feeling guilt,  condemning, wondering. Guess what causes that? It is the great destroyer otherwise known as Satan. He wants to get your mind off of Jesus and onto your concerns. We can not let this happen. You have  to gain control of the thoughts that come into head. Romans 12:2 is a superb verse to memorize and it says "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will."   Transformation takes a deliberate action of casting off wrong defeating condemning thoughts.   The TV show 'Saturday Night Live' had a sketch several years ago with comic Dana Carvey playing a character called 'Church Lady' who basically blamed everything on Satan by saying "Was it Satan" or "could  it be Satan?" Yes in fact it could be and is because the enemy is the great tormentor, accuser of the brethren, deceiver, destroyer, liar and peace stealer. He can makes mothers feel guilty when their children choose a different path than from which they were raised doubting they were even good mothers.  He can make employees wonder if they chose the right career path when things do not go well. He can put thoughts of hate in your heart towards  those that hurt you. He can make you wonder why your child died when you did everything the Bible said. He can make you dwell on your mistakes of the past. You can not allow this to happen. Capture those wrong thoughts and replace them with God thinking.  John 10:10 says "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."  Satan is that thief and he has not right bothering a child of God and putting garbage into your head. Resist Him!  Another key verse of scripture which is 2 Corinthians 10:5 and  it says "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." Take thoughts captive. Combat the wrong thinking God's thinking which is found in pages of scripture. Proverbs 23:7 reminds us that "how a man thinks in his heart so is he."   What is filling your mind? Is it God's word or the newspaper? God's word or soap operas? God's word or a bad stock report? God's word or movie star magazines? You get the idea. You can not dwell on worldly things too long without starting to have them saturate mind.  Start today to develop the mind of Christ by reading and  knowing his word. PRAYER: Father I purpose this day to start thinking God thoughts are  not the world's thoughts. Forgive me for knowing about world news more than knowing about you. I chooses to discipline myself to start today to read your word and be set free from a mind that is against God. in Jesus name. Amen. Click on link and worship the Lord in song. http://youtu.be/JU4U8_wMdRs