Your body believes every word you say!

We do not merely experience anger in our minds, we feel it biologically in our body—our muscles tense and stomachs ache. Understanding ourselves, and other people, is critical to mind change and our overall growth. If we were to look at our brain, we may see a dark abscess caused by the stronghold of anger. The same is true for envy, anxiety, lust, fear, depression, and other emotions.

The Bible says, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones” (Prov. 14:30). There is a direct correlation between pessimistic, toxic thinking and illness. If we do not have a change of mind, we can actually make ourselves sick! Our body truly speaks our mind.

Becoming aware of our negative thinking patterns is the first step in being able to replace them with truth based patterns of thought. There are two things we must do daily:

(1) Identify & interrogate the negative things and lies you say to yourself, thereby enabling yourself to replace distortions with truth, found in the Word of God.
(2) Submit your thoughts to Christ. This means consciously handing over anxiety, worry, pain, and bitterness. He stands prepared to take your load and break the chains of thought-bondage if you let him.

Socrates said the unexamined life is not worth living. Through prayer and self-examination, we can learn to submit our struggles because they are impossible to conquer in our own strength. Do you have an attitude of willingness to expose and examine your flaws?

This is an excerpt from the book: Breaking the Cover Girl Mask
Check out my website: www.olivebranchoutreach.com/edindex.htlm for lots of inspiration, Scripture and help.

Conquering Negative Thoughts

Let's look at the third factor that cause negative thinking--our flesh or humanly nature.

Literally, flesh is our physical nature, the muscular and fatty tissue parts of the body, which are separate from our spirit or soul. Figuratively, flesh is our human nature. It is equated to our fallen, sinful, and dysfunctional nature (Gal. 5:17; Jude 23)—humanity’s natural orientation away from God. The moment we are born, the struggle with our flesh begins, because we are born slaves to sin (John 8:34). We are less able to choose right.

The flesh is our desires. Desires are good in themselves, such as desires for food, sleep, and sex; desires to achieve and succeed. There are proper ways to satisfy each of these desires, and there are also divinely imposed limits. It is when we are tempted that we usually cross those limits. This is where our opponent, Satan, strikes. He takes advantage of our bent toward doing precisely what God would not want us to do. James said, “Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed (James 1:14-15).

Until you understand your fleshly nature, conquering toxic thoughts will be hindered. When our flesh dominates the mind, our thinking is compromised. Scripture states, “Those who live according to the sinful nature [the flesh] have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” (Rom. 8:5).

This is an excerpt from the book: Breaking the Cover Girl Mask: Toss Out Toxic Thoughts

A Source of Negative Thinking

Last week I talked about how toxic thinking is influenced by three different, but related, ways: through the world, through spiritual warfare, and through our own flesh--our own nature.Today I want to focus on how “the world” can be a source of negative thinking. “The world” touches everyone in many different ways. Worldliness is the attitude that places, self, or things at the center of one’s aspirations and activities.

Secular usually means “belonging to this age or this world.” Worldliness, or secularism, is a worldview or lifestyle oriented toward the irreligious rather than the sacred, towards the natural rather than supernatural. It is the ungodly aspects of our culture, peer pressure, values, traditions, what is in, what is uncool, customs, philosophies and attitudes.
Secularism is guilty of having “exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25).

Although believers are told not to be conformed to this world (Rom. 12:2) we nonetheless are influenced by it. Most Christians live in two different worlds: the one on Sunday morning and the one that includes rest of the week. In practice, both worlds clash. Our disposition, temperament and habits are manipulated through the workplace, media and entertainment industries, advertising, the education system, peer groups; world views and philosophies. No doubt our minds are more at risk now than ever.

If we follow the world’s ways, we miss God’s blessings. Jesus’s disciple John said, “Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father” (1 John 2:15, Msg).

This is an excerpt from the book: Breaking the Cover Girl Mask: Toss Out Toxic Thoughts

Why do I let my negative thoughts influence me?

How would answer hat question? I say it’s because we are in bondage. One who is in bondage suffers captivity of some sort. Not literal chains or bars, but in beliefs and behavior. We cannot spend day after day in this world without it affecting our minds, our hearts, and our souls. They become unguarded. Our hearts start to shift away from God. And the ironic thing is the harder we work to become free, the more freedom we seem to lose.

Most often we aren’t even aware this is happening. We go about our business believing all is well, but deep down inside something feels wrong. If we live with something long enough, we don’t pay attention to it. This is the way life is supposed to work out! That’s bondage. David cried to God, “How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?” (Ps. 13:2, my emphasis). His soul is conflicted.

A major portion of understanding how our past influences the present is becoming aware of the three major influences in our lives and then learning how to resist them. Toxic thinking is influenced by three different, but related, ways: through the world, through spiriutal warfare, and through our own flesh--our own nature. These negative influences commonly work together to lead people away from God, negatively affecting our beliefs, thinking, and behavior. These are our conflict zones. Next week we'll talk about "the world."

This is an excerpt from the book: Breaking the Cover Girl Mask
Check out my website: www.olivebranchoutreach.com/edindex.htlm for lots of inspiration, Scripture and help.