People like to say, “You are what you eat.” I suppose we could also say, “You are what you think.” Don’t go getting all Oprah on me with this new age philosophy that we attain the things we focus on, or that the mind is a magnet for prosperity. That’s not what I’m saying here. Simply put, those who focus on the Spirit walk in the Spirit, and those who focus on the flesh walk in the flesh.
Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. – Romans 8:5-6, NIV
Some days focus is tough. Sin rears its ugly head, and while you’d love to be joyful you can’t stop thinking about that one thing that’s dragging you down.
So what can you do? You bring each and every one of those negative thoughts into captivity and demolish that stronghold. Remind yourself that while your circumstances may very well be out of your control, your thoughts are not. You have the ability to change your way of thinking when you start challenging those ideas that are wrong.
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5, NIV)
It’s for this reason that after Paul and Silas were severely beaten with rods and cast into prison (Acts 16), they were able to sing and praise God while the other prisoners listened in. Paul didn’t wait until he was nestled into a 5-star hotel before he began to praise God. He praised Him right then and there on the dirty floor of that jail cell, casting down any argument or pretension that might have robbed them of peace.
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3, NIV)
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Tilling the Soil
Read Acts 16:16-40.
Planting Hope
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3, NIV)
Darlene Schacht and her husband Michael live in Manitoba Canada where the summers are beautiful and the winters are cold. Together they’ve come to learn that relationships aren’t always easy, but that marriage, the way God intended it to be, is a treasure worth fighting for.
She began her publishing journey about twelve years ago when she pioneered one of the first online magazines for Christian women, known at the time as “Christian Women Online Magazine.” After three years, Darlene left CWO to blog as a solo author at Time-Warp Wife Ministries.
It was also during this transition that she worked alongside actress Candace Cameron Bure to write the NYT Best-Selling book, Reshaping it All: Motivation for Spiritual and Physical Fitness. Reshaping it All was the winner of both the 2011 USA Best Book Awards and the 2012 Christian Reading Retailers Choice Awards.
Author of more than 15 books, Darlene continues to write and to minister to her readers through her blog at TimeWarpWife.com.
Connect with Darlene:
Facebook: @timewarpwife
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Twitter: @timewarpwife
You are loved by an almighty God,
Darlene Schacht
The Time-Warp Wife