Interpretation without application is abortion. We may be teaching people to have big heads and little hands and little hearts and little feet. We must apply the Word of God. Jesus gave the how-tos; he taught people how to do it. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Your mental state depends on what you think about. Keep your mind fixed on the Word of God, the mind of God, the convictions of God, the character of God, and the skills of God. 4) Let God Stretch Your Imagination Joyce Meyers writes with such simplicity for such a complicated subject. The book is broken down in chapters, each dealing with an aspect of the mind and the many ways we allow certain factors to control our thinking and consequently our behavior. It is an easy read in the sense that her writing is plain and to the point. She supports her assertions with Scriptures -- which I love, since, as Christians, we are to be rooted in the Word if we are to overcome battlefields, like those that seek to conquer our minds.

I’m always going to have a second-class life because I was abused by my father and I’m damaged goods.” Having pressures in your mind, therefore, is not unnatural or abnormal. It is part of the Christian life. It is not necessarily a sign you are doing anything wrong, or are on the wrong path. It is just part of your total experience as a Christian. The enemy within Keep a journal. Write notes from the chapters and examples of how you are applying or struggling to apply things to your lifeThe good news is that the Word of God is the most powerful thing on the earth, and as we read, study, learn, and live God’s Word, then it will literally transform us from the inside out and help us to destroy these strongholds in our thinking. Do Your Own Thinking It’s not enough just not to believe everything we think. It’s not enough just to guard our minds from the garbage. It’s not enough to keep on learning and developing character. We must also let God develop our imagination. Because we must outthink and out-dream and outsmart the world for the glory of God — not for our private good but for the glory of God and the good of others.

For instance, if the enemy tries to convince you that you’re insignificant or unlovable, remind him of what God says about you: If you want to know how much Jesus loves you, look at the cross. With arms outstretched and nail-pierced hands, Jesus says that the cross is how much he and his Father love us. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “I love you so much it hurts,” he says. “I love you so much that every drop of blood falling to the ground says, ‘I love you.’” That’s conviction. Admittedly like many others here I not a big fan of televangelists, I appreciate their tremendous work in reaching to an audience that would never consider for themselves going face to face with people in a christian church. I do consider alot of their teaching as baby food in the scale of what should a believer should be eating. However coming at low point recently I began reading this book and fed upon every word.Thinking positive is paramount to living a happy and successful life because our thoughts become self-fulfilling prophecies. Meyer explains that positive thoughts lead to positive words and actions that generate more positivity. Likewise, negative thoughts lead to negative words and actions that create further negativity. Therefore, Meyer argues that the only way to truly take ownership of our lives is to first take ownership of our thoughts. Second Corinthians 10:4-5 says, The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (NKJV). The third thing to learn and teach to others in this battle for the mind is to never let up on learning. Become a lifelong learner. Love knowledge. Love wisdom. Learn to love the act of learning. The word disciple means “learner.” You cannot be a disciple of Christ without being a learner. Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden [by the way, that sounds like a felt need!], and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me” (Matthew 11:28–29). What do you do when you take on a yoke? You share a burden with another animal. You lighten a load. And Jesus wants us to learn from him. This is actually my second time reading this book. It has helped me deal with issues of anxiety -- of worrying too much, particularly about things I can't control anyway. Thus, the battlefield of the mind. The book teaches me (I'm still working on this issue.) how to lean on God, how to, as folks say, let go and let God. The result is a peace that surpasses all understanding. For Meyer, a close relationship with God is the driving force behind a positive mind and life. To reap the full benefits of our relationship with God, both our rational mind and our spirit must be attuned to and focused on His wisdom, teachings, and love. She explains that God invites Christians to share His love and wisdom through the power of the Holy Spirit, which provides a link between our own spirit and our mind. Since our rational mind is susceptible to becoming confused and discouraged, the Holy Spirit can help us feel the right thing to do.

A goal is a kind of statement of faith. “Without faith it is impossible to please” God (Hebrews 11:6), and “whatever does not proceed from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). The Bible says that “according to your faith be it done to you” (Matthew 9:29). And when we set goals, we are saying, God, I believe you want me to accomplish this with your help by this time. I am challenging you. I am daring you. I am begging you: dream great dreams for God, and teach others to dream great dreams for God.I pray a blessing on every man and woman reading these words. Bless their families. Bless their churches. Bless their ministries. Protect them from the Evil One. And as the battle for sin is fought in their minds, may they not merely resist but refocus. May they fill their minds with the washing of the water of the Word. May they be transformed by the renewing of their minds so that they may know your will — which is good and pleasing and perfect. While there are shelves of different types and versions of the Bible, bestselling author Joyce Meyer has created a standout Bible. BATTLEFIELD OF THE MIND BIBLE gives a unique perspective to the Scriptures in its focus. Also because this Bible uses the Amplified version for the Bible text, the combination is compelling.

The third stronghold is preconception—thinking you know something that you don’t, presuming to have a clear picture of something that you haven’t. I saw Joel 2:32 as a promise specifically of deliverance. I put the two Scriptures together—Isaiah 61:3 and Joel 2:32—and I prayed a very specific prayer. I named the spirit (the spirit of heaviness) and I claimed God’s own promise (“Whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered”).

Three strongholds

Another weakness of the church today when it comes to learning is that often we pastors are not teaching our people to be self-feeders. We do all the feeding instead of teaching the sheep how to feed themselves. We each need to learn for ourselves the skills of doing a systematic Bible study, a thematic study, and a book synthesis. How do you analyze a chapter? What are the steps in doing a word study? What are the steps in how to do a biographical study? We preachers can do a lot of ought-to preaching without giving our people the how-to’s. I learned firsthand how to use those weapons. From 1949 onwards (for about nine years) I was pastor of a congregation in London, England. I achieved a certain measure of success in my ministry. We regularly saw people saved and healed and baptized in the Holy Spirit at our church. Yet, I had personal problems for which I did not have any answer. In particular, I had a problem of recurrent fits of depression that would come over me like a dark, heavy cloud. The cloud seemed to press me down and cut me off from normal communication with other people—even with my family. You see, John 8:44 teaches us that Satan is a liar. He attempts over and over to get us to believe things that aren’t true. That’s why it is critical for us to learn how to renew our minds with the weapon of God’s Word.