Our Mind
Our mind is the arena of battle and the starting point of self-discipline. Our minds are like a radio that is always on, playing the channel it is tuned to. We grow in our faith and our wholeness as we learn to use God's weapons to change the channel of our mind! God teaches us to turn our minds, and hearts, to His Channel. Our minds are always "on" and Darkness desires access by appealing to our desires and to our emotions. As the Serpent tempted Eve to disobey God with a promise of godhood, we also are temped by the desires of a fleshly mind. If darkness has entrance to our thoughts and emotions, then our decisions and the behavior that results from those decisions will prevent us from living overcoming and victorious lives.
Remember this, the message darkness speaks is not offensive to the natural man. It is an appealing message, designed by darkness for you personally and only a renewed mind has the insight and strength to resist the message of darkness.
A Renewed Mind Protects
It is through a renewed mind, protected by the armor of God, that we have power and ability to recognize and overcome the lies of darkness. Lies enter our minds through cultural values, through media, through music, books, friends, government, educational institutions, and through our imagination. But it is through our own desires and choices that darkness and it's wisdom is given an honored place within our heart. This world and it's institutions generate lies and deception regarding the reality of salvation, our need for salvation, and the way of salvation. It is through renewing our mind by conforming our thoughts, emotions, desires, ambitions, and priorities to the Word of God, that we can effectively overcome the lies of this world.
Lies exist in our mind through our human nature.
All Christian have a human nature to overcome and a natural mind to renew. We put off the old and put on the new.
If we are not submitting our thoughts, decisions, and behavior to the oversight of the Word of God, our fleshly nature will reign unopposed and bring us to a place of spiritual confusion.
Inward Lies Produce Chronic Problems
These chains tend to be chronic in nature and manifest themselves as depression, frustration, anger, apathy, unhappiness, discouragement, bitterness, sinful habits and/or sinful behavior. Jesus said the source of these kinds of problems were from the heart, from within. So what we are saying is this:
Darkness depends on the cooperation of our human nature for it's power and destructive influences. It is as we walk out the redemptive victories of Christ over our human nature that our mind is renewed. A renewed mind then provides the thinking and behavior necessary for spiritual and emotional wholeness.