“Thoughts. We cannot see them . . . buy them . . . always predict them. But we cannot this about them. They define our lives. Think well, live well. Think poorly, live poorly. . . . [God] has not left us alone in this battle of the mind. God loves us too much to let us lead a life marked by poor thinking. He made our brains. He can retrain our brains.”- Max Lucado
“Above all, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”- Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)
Max Lucado continues Chapter 1 of Tame Your Thoughts as he talks about our stinking thinking. Because 75 percent to 98 percent of mental, physical, and behavioral illness results as a consequence of one’s thought life. Hence, stinking thinking sucks the life out of us.
Therefore, as the apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 6:27, God invites us to don the helmet of salvation. Paul’s original audience, Max notes, was well-acquainted with the Roman helmet. A metal-reinforced leather cap with a strap. Above all, the helmet proved essential to the survival of the soldier.
Because the soldier’s opponent carried a short-handled axe called a battle-axe. So, failure of the Roman soldier to don that helmet meant his head would roll. In a similar manner, something equally serious will happen if we go into the daily battle of life without the helmet of salvation.
In addition, even though it’s dangerous to ride a bike without wearing a helmet. Thus, Max cautions:
“It’s far more dangerous to go through life without the helmet of salvation. Yet, most people do exactly that. They wear no supernatural protection. When they slip and stumble, when life slips out from under them, they get hurt.
Once Jesus saves you, God enrolls you in a mental training course. Stinking thinking is a spiritual problem and requires a spiritual solution. God provides it! If he can resurrect the dead, can he not resurrect hope? . . . He will renovate your thought life.
Today’s question: What Bible verses most help you in this battle of the mind? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “With God as your helper”