Casting Down Vain Imaginations
- The Mind is a Battlefield
Are
you Growing Thorns on your Dendrites?
2
Corinthians 10: 3-6 "For the weapons
of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty
through God to the pulling down of strong
holds:) Casting down imaginations, and every
high thing that exalteth itself against the
knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity
every thought to the obedience of Christ."
The
Mind-Body Connection
Where
does thought come from? Have you ever thought
about it? Thought comes from three sources.
1. yourself, 2. satan or the demonic realm
projecting thoughts and 3. God through the
Holy Spirit - convictions.
Have
you ever had an intrusive thought and you
knew it was not yours and had a vain imagination
attached to it!
Satan’s
Thoughts: Spontaneous Thoughts Which
Are Negative and Destructive (i.e. line up
with the names of satan: Accuser, Father of
Lies, Thief, Adversary)
God’s
Thoughts: Spontaneous Thoughts Which
Are Positive and Up building (i.e. line up
with the names of the Holy Spirit: Comforter,
Counselor, The Spirit of Truth, The Convincer,
The Exhorter/Teacher)
Your
Thoughts: Analytical Thoughts (i.e.
connected, you construct them yourself; they
are not spontaneous)
It does not always have to have an intrusive thought picture but just a thought that is just simply a thought. How
do you know it is satan's thought projecting
into your mind? Usually it is the opposite
of God's Word. God's Word is who you are but
what do you believe.
Remember,
Satan uses parents, friends, husbands and
children to put negative thoughts in you for
you to believe for yourself. For example,
maybe you had a dad who said you are stupid.
Is that true according to God's word? Familiar spirits travel through your generations and were there when those words were spoken. So, when a hard task comes about, the kingdom of darkness knows to project that thought to create fear and anxiety. The kingdom of Darkness or evil spirits know your weakness and knows those thoughts spoken over you are stored in your long-term memory and they are good accessing it into your present memory. Can you relate?
Ephesians
4:22-24 – “…to put off your
old self, which belongs to your former manner
of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
and to put on the new self, created after
the likeness of God in true righteousness
and holiness.”
Ephesians
means that you are a new creation and no longer
belong to your former manner of life, or beliefs
about you regardless who said it to you. Words can go deep and create strongholds
of the mind which seem as truths but are not
true but causes you to live by that negative
mind set called strongholds. Meaning, it has
power over your life. That stronghold is like
an enrode in the mind and has power to bring reaction such as fear, rejection, anger, etc.
Have you ever had someone hurt you and the memory is buried until someone says their name or you see them? You immediately feel the anger? The enemy knows where to pull up the memory and flash it into your mind.
Through
life experiences we can develop strongholds
in our minds. Strongholds- Toxic thoughts
that can have an adverse affect on our thinking
process and our bodies. Not only that but
Chemicals carry a photocopy of your memories
and emotions.
Proverbs
23 (KJV) Verse 7-“For as he thinketh
in his heart, so is he”.
Lets look at the physiological response to negative memories!
We are body, soul and spirit and our thoughts inter react with each other.
If
you have healthy thoughts, the brain releases
chemicals to alert and help with memory building
and concentration. Memory building starts.
Nerve cells (magic trees) grow healthy dendrites
effectively. If you have negative thoughts,
your body releases harmful chemical effecting
every cell in your body, but not only that
new research reveals that unforgiving, resentful,
pessimistic or negative thoughts cause the
"memory trees" in a brain's dendrites
to become sparse and thorny. They no longer
look like healthy, abundant "branches"
sometimes referred to as "magic trees"
according to neurologists. Those sparse and thorny dendrites are negative strongholds of the mind. It is even said there is a darkness like dark clouds over that area of the brain.
Let
me put it another way. When we are unloving,
angry and unforgiving of others, special photographs
of the dendrites in our brains begin to look
as if dark abscesses have taken root. Let
me put it another way. When we are unloving,
angry and unforgiving of others, special photographs
of the dendrites in our brains begin to look
as if dark abscesses have taken root.
That
is why it is important to cast down vain imagination
or anything against the truth of God's Word or put out fiery darts.
A
person who stays away from wicked men and
concentrates on God's Word will be "like
a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in its season, and
its leaf does not wither - And in whatever
he does, he prospers" (Psalm 1:3, NASB).
The
Mind-Body Connection
Our
physical brains hold an imprinted record of
our good and bad thoughts which will be tested
in judgments called strongholds.
Definition of Stronghold: a stronghold is anything we hold onto that ends up holding us. Now let’s consider what Paul meant by demolishing strongholds. The word “demolish” implies a kind of destruction requiring tremendous power; to be exact, divine power. Much of the reason believers have remained in a yoke of slavery is because we swat at our stronghold like they are mosquitoes. Strongholds are like concrete fortresses we’ve constructed around our lives block by block, ordinarily over the course of years. We created them, whether or not we were aware, for protection and comfort. Inevitably, however, these fortresses become prisons. At some point we realize we no longer control them. They control us.
The
apostle Paul warns,
...they
show the work of the Law written in their
hearts, their conscience bearing witness and
their thoughts alternately accusing or else
defending them, on the day when, according
to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of
men through Christ Jesus (Romans 2:15-16,
NASB).
It
is important to try at least to "bring
every thought captive to the obedience of
Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). If my thoughts
"alternately accuse and defend"
me in judgment, then it is important to line
up my thoughts with God's Word of truth and
not listen or believe in the lies of the enemy
by discerning and believing God's truth for
me over what others have said over me.
Growing
Good Dendrites - Good Strongholds
Positive
thoughts actually create more dendrite nerve
fibers in the brain. She says, 'You can grow
a new memory over the old memory.' One of
the elements she mentions in this healing
process is forgiveness."It takes 28 days to create new means or new habit of thinking.
Overcoming
Evil With Good
All
Christians need to put on "armor of God"
and "spiritual helmet" as the apostle
Paul suggests in Ephesians 6:11,17, protects
our physical brains and may shield us from
the possible effects of negative thought processes
as well. "Overcoming evil with good"
becomes a physiological reality in the lives
of conscientious Christians (Romans 12:21).
We can grow lush, dense branches over thorny,
barren "memory trees" in the dendrites
of our brains.
Ephesians
6:16 "Above all, taking the shield of
faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench
all the fiery darts of the wicked." What
does it mean to quench all the fiery darts
of the wicked? It means to discern where your
thoughts are coming from and putting them
out with the Word of God of Truth over the
lie the enemy is projecting on you if from
the past of negative words spoken over you
or whatever.
Example:
You say, "I cannot do this"
but God's word says in Philippians 4:13 "I
can do everything through him who gives me
... ... I can do all things through Christ
which strengtheneth me. ... I can do all things
through Christ which strengthens me."
The
Mind is a Battlefield or BATTLEGROUND
The
mind is a battleground, with ongoing conflict
between toxic thoughts and good thoughts,
thoughts that which effect your mental and
physical health and can also deplete your
body and mind of health.
Philippians
4:8 gives us the best chance to conquer intrusive
or obsessive thoughts and bouts of unforgiveness.
"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things
are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever
things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things
are of good report; if there be any virtue,
and if there be any praise, think on these
things."
Paul tells us to focus our thinking on things
that are good and not the negative.
No
self Pity Allowed - Look at Self Pity the
Super Glue to the Hell of Your Past
If
you find yourself dwelling on what someone
did to you, you need help then take control
of your thoughts and start applying God's
Word and appropriate it by moving into forgiveness
of those who have hurt you, used you or abused
you. Only through forgiveness can you become
free from Self Pity. Self Pity is only torment
which indicates you are in bondage to this
person.
Self
pity is brooding, feeling sorry for yourself,
and so on, is sin"..."You can't
enjoy even the slightest remnants of self-pity."
When
our minds begin to wander and we think about
or rehearse past offenses, then we must appropriate
the Word of God and chose to forgive past
offenses of others. It takes work but cast
down those thoughts and start forgiving. When
you start applying you are now practicing
discernment who is speaking and also taking
responsibility through forgiveness and learning
to control your thoughts and have victory
over thoughts and over the demonic spirits
speaking to you. This is your ticket out of
self-pity hell!
This
also requires not only forgiveness of those
past offenses of others but also repenting,
renouncing and casting out evil spirits of
unforgiveness. When you do this, you are breaking
the strongholds in your mind and renewing
your mind with the Word of God just by applying
His Word of Truth.
Memorize
and Pray Verses
Another
remedy to negative thinking is to pray Scriptures
and become active in our mental health by
memorizing key passages that pertain to our
particular difficulty. Again, when you memorize
or speak the Word to counteract the negative
thought that has had a stronghold on you,
actually you are undoing the binds of wickedness,
putting out fiery darts of the enemy but breaking
strong strongholds and mind sets because you
are being obedient to the Lord.
40,000
Neurons in the Heart Working in Feedback Loop
to the Brain
In
other words, what comes out of our mouth reflects
what is in our hearts. So we must work hard
to think right, feel right, and speak right.
It has been proven that the heart contains
40,000 neuron "brain" (in the heart)
that works in a feedback loop to our brains! Again we are body, soul and spirit working together. What we think effects ever cell in our body good or bad. Good chemical or bad chemical.
For
as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he (Proverbs
23:7).
Matthew
15:18-19 "18 But those things which proceed
out of the mouth come forth from the heart;
and they defile the man.
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts,
murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts,
false witness, blasphemies:"
This
means, as Christians, It is not what goes
into a man that defiles a man, such as food,
but what comes out of a person's heart - good
or evil, blessings or curses. Doing this without
sinning or thinking angry, stressful thoughts
may be difficult by taking responsibility
for our thoughts and control our tongue in
what we speak, in really, is in our heart.
Ouch.
That
does not mean to repress your feelings by
stuffing them but doing it God's way by either
working through unforgiveness, casting our
cares to the Lord, or whatever it might be.
It is learning to live a victorious life free
from sickness and disease.
If
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness (ESV).
As
Christians we must "acknowledge"
sins before we can "confess" them.
We must clearly identify what it is that we
have done wrong. If we have thought hateful
things about someone we must acknowledge it
and confess it to God. If we have felt jealousy,
we must acknowledge and confess that.
Matthew
records Jesus' clear words: ...if you do not
forgive others, then your Father will not
forgive your transgressions (Matthew 5:15,
NASB).
This
makes our forgiveness of others a non-negotiable
requirement if we are to live productive Christian
lives and receive our Father's forgiveness.
It doesn't have to be unforgiveness but fear of man, fear of rejection, fear of tomorrow, fear of loosing your job or not paying bills, etc. Fear is the opposite of faith and is considered sin because it shows a lack of faith - doubt and unbelief?
Another way to break the stronghold of the mind is learning to be thankful
Another important step to detoxifying our brains is to learn to be thankful for the good things in our lives. For example, perhaps we were rejected by a parent. But, we can still be thankful that God promises to be a parent to those who have lost their families:
For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me in (Psalm 27: 10).
Have a book or diary and write down every day something to be thankful for and take the time to praise the Lord and be thankful. This will change the chemicals in your brain and change your heart.
Reprogramming your Mind
Remember to take the time to read God's word. Only through the reading of the word is our mind truly renewed through meditating on His Holy Scriptures. It does not mean just reading the word but finding scriptures that pertain to you and meditating on it. Remember his word brings life and healing, mentally, spiritually, emotionally and physically - body, soul and spirit.
In
Closing, we must remember in Isaiah
55:9 "As the heavens are higher than
the earth, so are my ways higher than your
ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
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