Know Thine Enemy 10

The scriptures and truths in this article were either provided or inspired by my Pastor, Kent McBay.

Both Satan and God want control of our minds. We decide which one will have it. We will have to decide many times every day until the return of the Lord.

1 Corinthians 14:33: For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

Isaiah 26:3: Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

James 3:16: For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

Satan is the author of confusion. God wants to clear up the confusion and give us right minds. Notice what Jesus did for the man he cast the devils out of:

Luke 8:35: Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

We all need the influence of Jesus upon our minds.

Proverbs 23:6-7: Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: 7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

Proverbs 16:3: Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.

It isn*t just works that cause right thoughts, it is commitment to the Lord.

1 Timothy 4:13-16: Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. 15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. 16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Meditating is thinking.

Psalms 104:34: My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.

Psalms 119:97: O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.

Psalms 119:99: I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.

Satan works against God and against us every day. His influence upon us is ever downward. God*s influence upon us is ever upward. Sometimes Satan*s influence is hard to see, like a stream of water flowing gently downward that can become a raging torrent.

Luke 6:45: A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

The good man is under the influence of Christ and the evil man is under the influence of Satan.

Pastor McBay wisely said that we need a filter on our minds to filter what goes in and what comes out. I believe the filter is the Holy Spirit.

John 16:8: And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

He can and will reprove us of sinful thoughts and direct us to righteous thoughts. He will reprove us of our sinful thoughts, not just of our words and actions, especially if we ask Him to and pay attention to Him when he does. When we have victory in our thought life, we will have victory in every other area.

Care to discuss Know Thine Enemy 10 with Ron?

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