Roots to Thinking

 

    The roots to how you think is revealed in how you live.  If your roots are in scripture then you will live a faithful, holy, and loving life.  If your roots are in your own perspective, then you live out bitterness and corruption.  Faulty thinking leads to negative behavior and habits.  This thinking leads to destructive emotions.

    If you need life to change, then you have to do some work to make it change.  God to God to reveal the roots that need to be removed and destroyed.  Let go of defensiveness and hypersensitivity.  Not everything this about you.  Allow God to help you learn what to destroy, let go of, and what to change to help you grow healthy, life-giving roots.

    Perfectionism roots need to be destroyed.  That thinking only leads to things never being enough.  It will only make you exhausted and unhappy.  It feeds into insecurity, anger, intolerance, and more negative feelings.  

    Your roots are a powerful source in running your life.  If you have negative roots, then sometimes repentance and confession is not enough. You sometimes have to starve it, dig deep to get every spec of the root, and burn it then and there so it can't return.  It takes work, disgust with the root, and determination to change.  You have to change your perspective and be determined to never allow it to control you again.

    The roots that come from God do not produce bad qualities.  Pride, insecurity, and all other unhealthy aspects of you come from worldly roots.  If you want good self-esteem, then you have to stop focusing on you and focusing on what God says about you.  God's commands may sound hard at times, but if it is correcting your thinking then it is beneficial.

    God fights for you.  Will you fight for you too?  You can walk in confidence and obedience as your roots of faith grow deep.  Confront lies with truth.  God's Word is your weapon.  All good aspects of who you are come from Jesus.  The Holy Spirit is trying to teach you this truth, so you can see yourself the way He sees you.

Deuteronomy 1:26-33, Proverbs 23:6-8, Hosea 9:15-16, Matthew 7:15-20, Mark 9:23-24, Galatians 5:22-23, Philippians 1:9-11, Hebrews 12:14-17

Faulty Thinking

 

    Do you do things because you always did them?  If the answer is yes, then you need to take a good look into why.  There is nothing wrong with tradition, but it can be mechanical, unbiblical, or the wrong way of thinking about things.  You need to challenge your mind to figure out why you do the things you do, so that you can remove anything that is not from God.

    Wrong thinking becomes faulty assumptions.  The wrong thinking warps our beliefs.  You have to make sure your thinking aligns with God's Word to get it right.  How you think becomes the basis of how you act and live out your life.  That is why faulty thinking is dangerous.  

    Self-worth can be one of the most common faulty thinking among people.  Your self-worth is not based on how you look, perform, wit, or other people's opinions.  Your self-worth is what God says it is: beloved, valued, special, wanted, chosen, and more.

    How you start viewing the world as a child will normally carry over into adulthood and the rest of your life.  However, you do have the power to change faulty thinking.  Misguided thoughts, unrealistic expectations, and worldviews can be reshaped.

    Also placing your thoughts and opinions onto other people is faulty thinking.  It will only cause discourse.  There needs to be a conversation and meet half way or work out the faulty assumptions.  Most people are not out to get you.  They are too busy with living their own life even if that life is with you.  

    Assumptions affect every aspect of your life: relationships, thoughts, actions, and attitudes.  Faulty thinking can cause you to blame God, blame other people, feel worthless, or ungracious.  You can see faulty thinking through actions like questioning God, idolatry, hopelessness, abandonment, and more.  Faulty thinking lead to presumptions that can become fixed if you are not seeking God's wisdom.

    To ignore God's wisdom and guidance is to be arrogant, proud, and insolent.  It is willful sin.  These characteristics have to be crushed.  You can remove them yourself or God will because He fights for you.  Corrupt thinking or desires will lead to a sinful lifestyle.  That has to be repented before you can see clearly and embrace the truth.  God's way, view, and opinion are the truth that you need to fortify your mental closet.  

    You have free will.  You can live life your way, under your viewpoint, and opinion,  However life will never be as sweet and peaceful unless you conform your way into God's way.  You have a sinful nature, but you also have the Holy Spirit to help you from sinning.  Make the truth given to you by God the foundation to your mental closet.  

Genesis 30:1, 1 Kings19:1-2, Job 2:8-9, Psalm 19:12-13, John 11:17-22, & 2 Peter 2:4-10

Purified Mind

 

    Every word that you store in your mental closet is used one way or another.  The narrative is lived out whether the information is true, fateful, hurtful, clean, true, or life-giving.  This is why you need to do a deep clean with God on what you are storing in your mental closet.  What can you ask God to remove from your thought process or forefront memory?

    It takes work, a lot of work for some, to clean out their mental closet.  You have to decipher what is true and what is a lie.  The more lies you remove, the more the truth becomes apparent.  Is there room for Jesus in your mind?  Or have you crammed it so full of nothingness that you don't have any room for him?

    Purifying your mental closet is removing one lie at a time.  Once you have space for the Holy Spirit to really get in there it starts happening very quickly.  Your mind becomes majestic, noble, and disciplined.  It hold value in the truth so you live a life of integrity.  

    Do not allow anything to pollute your mental closet or your self-esteem and self-worth is what will suffer.  Instead conform your mind to be pure.  Transform your thoughts to be able to forgive, love, be generous, honor and glorify God, and serve your purpose without confusion.  Infuse your mind with the truth to fortify it.

    It is not abut all the good things you can do.  It is about having a real relationship with your creator.  The Holy Spirit helps make that easier.  A purified mind makes it clear.  Pollution in your mind only causes confusion and indicates that you need healing from the root that causes you to sin.  A polluted mind will live a hypocritic lifestyle that can't serve God the way it was meant.

    Where do you struggle?  What do you need to face to clean out your mental closet?  What is keeping you from living a life of integrity?  God is the only one who can purify you.  It starts with faith, but continues in your mind.  

    The Holy Spirit speaks through your conscience.  If your mental closet is so polluted, then you will not be able to hear clearly.  He will not yell at you.  It also leaves you vulnerable to Satan to sneak in and distort the truth.  Do not live a double minded life.  It is exhausting and will tear you up inside.  Have what is going on inside of you match what you portray to the world.  Don't give Satan the power to unravel you.  Authentic freedom comes from accepting the truth and trying to live it.

Psalm 8:1-2, 34:15-18, 103:6-18, Matthew 11:28-30, Luke 23:3-4, Romans 12:1-2, Philippians 2:5-8, 4:8-9, 2 Timothy 1:5-7, 2:15-18, Titus 2:6-8, & Revelations 19:11-16

Unchanging Fact

 

        No one wants to be labeled, but some labels are facts.  Labels like, child, mother, father, husband, wife, married, single, divorced, widow, and more.  Christian is a label that is placed on the people that follow Jesus.  That label is a fact.  It is unchanging if you choose to step in faith to follow Jesus for the rest of your life.

    Labels that come from perception are not unchanging labels.  They are just labels that people place on you.  You do not have to accept them.  Labels can be a barrier that keeps you from being able to connect.  If that happens, then remove the barrier.  Finding connection is more important than some title.  This includes the labels you place on yourself.

    The unchanging labels should be used as a strength, not a weakness.  If you have something that is labeled as a limitation, then find a way to use it to connect with people.  For an example the label divorced used to mean tainted, unlovable, on worthless.  Today you can use it to connect with other divorced people to find healing from what got you there.

    Things happen in life that changes you forever.  These things are not always good at the time.  You can allow the circumstances to make you miserable, bitter, and angry.  You can stay there for the rest of your life.  It is understandable because some things happen that are unfathomable.  However, if you want to have peace, joy, and even happiness then you need to turn to God.  He will hold your hand to healing.

    Do not lie to yourself with bad labels or your mind will believe the lie.  It will steal value from your life.  Do not blame God for your unfortunate circumstances.  He may have allowed you experience it, but He did not put you there.  More than that He stays with you in it.  He never abandons you when other people do.  

    Everyone has their struggles.  Everyone goes through it .  There is no exceptions.  Do not label people going through it, but have compassion and remember when you were going through it.  If you are going through it, don't label people as uncaring.  They probably have their own stuff keeping them from being able to see your situation.

    Stay focused on following Jesus.  God is walking with you.  You are not alone.  Focus on faith over fact to find hope.  Faith labels are stronger than fact labels.  Look for the opportunities instead of what chains you down.  

    How you talk to yourself matters.  You decided how you will process life events.  You decide how you will handle a label.  It all starts with how you talk to yourself about it.  Do not disservice yourself by mislabeling who you are.  You are who God says you are.  If you are a Christian, then you are His child: loved, saved, blessed, faithful, and more.  His labels are not temporary.  They are eternal.

Ruth 1:20-22, 4:18-22, Isaiah11:10-12, Matthew 1:1-17, 21:8-9, 22:41-46, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, & Hebrews11:1-3

Space for God's Truth

 

    Words matter.  They take up space in our mental closet.  They have meaning and are powerful.  Words that you say in your mind make up what kind of person you will be: defeated, loved, feel safe, and more.  Some words hold truth and some are lies.  The truth is constructive.  Listening to lies is destructive for you.  God's truth is constructive.  It corrects, disciplines, instructs, educates, and empowers wisdom.    

    Labels can hurt and always limit your ability.  Labels put you in a nice neat box that may be too small for you or at least leaves you no room to grow as a person.  Some people put labels on you, but most of your labels you accept or put upon yourself.  They are destructive, discouraging, or untrue in defining who you are.  You are far more than a few titles to God.

    Painful labels can produce anger.  It is okay to be angry, but do not allow your anger to cause you to sin.  Reject the lie and remind yourself that you belong to God.  He will take care of the labels/titles that cause harm.

    Your struggle is not so much the label itself, but spiritual forces that make you feel uncomfortable, angry, hurt, and more negative feelings.  It feels physical, but it is actually a spiritual battle.  The damage people inflict is real, but the source behind it is always Satan.  He loves using bitterness and unforgiveness to keep you in our box.  God's truth is telling you that you can free yourself at any time.

    Fill your mental closet with scripture.  Make physical space for God to study, pray, and meditate.  This is your greatest weapon against Satan.  This is where you can erase the lies.  Capture every thought and align them with God's truth.  Do not live another day as a prisoner under Satan's controlling lies.  Believe the truth and start using it to get free.

John 8:42-47, 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, Ephesian 6:10-12, 1 Timothy 1:5-7, & 2 Timothy 3:14-17

Mental Closet

 

    If you want the truth about life and eternity, then you will find your answers in the Bible.  There are several versions and multiple languages.  If you want one, then you will be able to get one easily in most places.  You have access to the truth.  

    Your mental closet is where you store the truth.  You organize where you can understand and apply it in your life, find comfort, or wisdom as you need it.  You do not have to memorize every word of every chapter in all 66 books that are contained in the Bible.  You learn it and dig deeper to find the true meaning and value.  Your mind will remember what it needs to, but it is always good to memorize some verses.  When you do you are meditating on God's Word.

    A good reason to retain God's Word is that it will change your self talk.  Your mind will recognize your worth.  Your mind will respond to God's Word in a healthy way.  Your mental closet will find amazement, curiosity, astonishment, and more.  Jesus' Words are gracious, kind, and fit every situation.  That is why the Bible speaks to the soul.  When you read it your mind and soul align.

    The truth hold authority.  Authority can come across harsh at time, but it is actually gracious as it holds power.  It can make you uncomfortable as it confronts your sin, but that is gracious because you can face it now and repent.  

    Never allow negative words into your mental closet.  It only hurts your soul and fills it with useless clutter.  Clutter keeps you from getting what you need.  The truth gets lost in the clutter.  When life feels confusing take the time to clean out your mental closet.  Don't let the mess get out of control.  It is much harder to deal with.  However, if you allow Jesus to come in and clean out anything that is unnecessary, then the work is cut down in a big way.

    God's truth will set you free.  Do not be a prisoner in your own mind by incorrect perspective, opinions, feelings, or choosing a sinful lifestyle.  It makes you a prisoner because you devalue God's creation: YOU.  

    No one has the same struggles, but everyone struggles. If you catch yourself allowing negative words into your vocabulary, then stop and pray to God for forgiveness.  Don't allow Satan's lies to make a home in your beautiful mental closet.  Paint your closet with grace and truth.  If you label yourself, then you are limiting yourself.  Instead see yourself as God's workmanship.  You hold value.

Genesis 11:5-7, Proverbs 3:1-4, 8:1-11, 12:17-19, Luke 4:22, John 1:14-18, 8:31-32, & 1 Peter 2:5-6

Think About It

 

    Think about the words you say to yourself.  Do you focus on your fears or what God could do?  The thoughts you dwell on, you are meditating on.  Worry and doubt do not fix anything.  Instead think about God's Word.  It brings life into your soul.  Worry only strangles the life out of your soul. 

    Surrender your problems to God and He will fix them.  You just have to trust that truth.  Pinder on all the good God has done in your life.  Why would you doubt that He would still take care of you today?  Think abut what God is doing in your life now.  This meditation will help you let go of all of your worry.  

    Do not allow the what ifs into your mind.  It only takes you down the rabbit hole of anxiety.  Jesus has told us what matters.  He has provided the alternative to harmful thoughts.  Your job is to capture all your thoughts and control where they go.

    Meditate on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, excellent, praiseworthy, and admirable.  Do this and you will learn to receive God's truth.  Your heart will lie to you, so trust you mind when it is filled with God's Word.  Align all your mental talk to what is acceptable to God.  He listens to how you talk to yourself, even if it is not spoken out loud.

    Visualize God in your mental closet.  What would He see?  Would he be pleased?  Would he be upset?  Would He ask you to be allowed to clean up a little?  He cares how you talk to yourself.  He is invested because He loves you.  Allow Him to clean up some, so you can focus on His comfort, relief from anxiety, support, and solace.

    What you focus on, meditate on, remanence about is all prayers.  Are you praying to God or are you praying to yourself?  Are your prayers going to be heard by God or will you sit in your negative thoughts?  God's way leads to the truth and will bring delight to your soul.

    

1 Chronicles 16:4-7, Psalms 19:14, 55:16-19, 77:10-12, 94:8-11, Matthew 6:25-33, Philippians 4:8-9