Any thoughts?

"Bringing up there, down here."

That was the slogan of winterchill this weekend. The mission was to help us close the gap between us and our Creator. Let me just say, it was awesome. I just want to share some of what the speaker, Dave shared with us, because it really hit home for me.

The first topic he addressed was what he called "mental floss." By this, he meant keeping our thoughts in check. He put it very bluntly:

To change your life, you have to change your mind.

Yes. It's that simple. It's not about feelings, or your environment, its all about your mind and what you allow to seep into it. He used Romans 12:2 (I love this verse, its up in my room. The whole chapter is amazing.)
"Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

The renewing of your mind. NOT the renewing of your emotions, or the renewing of your circumstances, because we all know that we can't control those factors of our lives at every moment. But a thought has infinite and unbelievable power over our hearts and our actions.
The way he put it, many thoughts will eventually become a belief. That belief will eventually become an action. Its how we work. This can be a great thing, if we're filling our minds with the Truth, but it can be harmful if we aren't careful. In fact, the power of our thought life is so strong that it determines every part of our life. For some, that could be a discouraging statement. But the good thing is that we have complete and total control. We've been blessed with total access to Christ and his truth.

So, you might be asking, "How can I begin this renewing of my mind?"
We need to begin the process of exposing and acknowledging the thoughts that are false. Catch yourself every time you find yourself pondering on something that is ungodly, and recognize that it is not from Christ. It is, in fact, from Satan. The devil puts lies in our heads. What we need to understand is that both lies from Satan and truth from Christ come to us in the same way. Through our minds. Are you beginning to see how critical our thought life is?

For most of us, every thought that crosses our mind feels true. Feelings make our actions come alive. However, it takes discernment from the Lord to be able to separate the lies from the truth. Discernment and knowledge are critical. Constantly reading God's word is so important, because it's a direct letter from our Creator, containing absolute unchanging truth for our lives. So, pray for discernment and stay in the Word. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says to "take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ." I love how straightforward the Bible is. Take every thought captive, because its about more than just our feelings, this is Truth we're dealing with. So, to sum this up, begin by recognizing the lie that you are being fed by Satan. Then, immediately replace it with the Truth (this is where knowledge of God's Word comes in). Pray for discernment always.

Repeat the process. There's something to think about!
-caylielane.