Meditate on these things

[Ebn Barbara]

The mind is considered the major target of Satan’s attacks, and the real battlefield.. this is due to several reasons that will be exposed today..
If we take a few minutes to meditate, we would realize that all our behavior and spoken words without exceptions, come from thoughts that were in our mind for a certain time, whether it be short or long..
For this reason the word of God says:
“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7).
Simply: your attitudes and words, and your reactions to what you are daily facing…
Will be just as you are thinking in your heart that they will be..
And just as the popular saying states: tell me who you are with, I will tell you who you are..
We can say: tell me your thoughts, I will tell you what you will do or be!!!

For this reason the Apostle Paul warns us:
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.” (Or let your mind be preoccupied by these things, or focus your thoughts on them). (Philippians 4:8).

This verse tells us to think of things that are true.. and I want to bring to your attention that nothing is true other than the word of God.. it is as if it was saying that we should meditate in the word of God..
The truth is the opposite of the lie that Satan uses with us continuously, because, as our Lord Jesus told us about him: “he is a liar and the father of it.” (John 8:44).

In order for us not to be deceived we have to realize these things:
The truth is never what you feel..
The truth is never what you think it is..
The truth is not what your thoughts dictate you. They can be coming from yourself, or were put in your mind by the enemy..
The truth is not a result of analysis, plans, reasoning and the like..
The truth is only what the word of God says in every situation!!!

And the verse enumerates things we have to be thinking of..
But what is of interest here, is to focus on a very important matter that goes beyond the things enumerated in the verse, where it asks us in the end:
To be preoccupied by these things and to focus our thoughts on them..
The aim is to realize that we have to force or train ourselves to control what we are thinking of as well as what we are not thinking of.
To examine all the thoughts that come to our mind, to control their source and their harmony with the word of God.. then we will decide whether to refuse them and submit them to the will of God, or to be preoccupied by them..
And you have to choose with what to preoccupy your mind.. especially when you realize that everything that preoccupies your mind will result in behavior and words, that will define the kind of life you will live on this earth: the victorious and fruitful life that the Lord wants you to live or the defeated and unfruitful life that Satan wants you to live.

Following are other verses that will help us understand. David says:
“I will set nothing wicked before my eyes… It shall not cling on me” (Psalms 101:3).
This means that I will not be preoccupied by vain things, and will not have my thoughts focused on them, and the reason is as this verse says:
So that it shall not cling on me..
Because everything that preoccupies your thoughts, will inevitably cling on you and control you, and will lead to a certain conduct.. and the opposite is true, for when you are preoccupied by the word of God, it will cling on you, and will result in glorious works:
“Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not whither; And whatever he does shall prosper.” (Psalms 1:1-3).

The Lord told Joshua: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8).

My aim today is to encourage you to build again an intimate relationship with the word of God which is able to protect us from Satan’s lies, temptations, delusions and deceptions that will increase as we get closer to the end times.. It is the sword of the Spirit with which you will fight Satan and stab him every time he attacks you with fearful, lying and impure thoughts..

Beloved: Our mind is a real battlefield, and it is the door of all our being, from it Satan enters to hurt and defeat us, and from it the Lord enters to build, to fortify and to make us live a victorious life..
It is our responsibility to renew our minds with the word of God, and to bring down every doubt and stronghold that the enemy has built in it, and the Apostle Paul says:
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2).
It is indeed, a very important matter.. It is requested of us to renew our mind, it will not be renewed by itself when we accept Christ as our Savior, rather we have to make a great effort to accomplish this. The aim of renewing our mind is to experience the good, acceptable and perfect will of God, which will only be fulfilled through the word of God.. Meditate on these things, whatever things are true.. We study the word, spend time with it, repeat it constantly, day and night, so that it lives richly within us, and renews our mind, then we will be ready to face everything disturbing our life and stopping us from living a victorious life..
Is the aim of studying the word and being preoccupied by it, and mentioning it constantly, to fill our minds with information?
Certainly not, the objective is by far greater than this!!!





Who is not daily exposed to fearful or impure thoughts?
Who is not daily exposed to Satan’s attacks in various fields?
Who is not continuously exposed to anxiety, worry and fear?
Who does not need daily to know how to face life’s problems in different areas?
And who.. and who..? Add what you like to those questions..
Studies on the subject indicate that the majority of us is oppressed by those fearful and worrying thoughts, and under the pressure of Satan’s attacks our soul is bowed down: “They have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down” (Psalm 57:6).

“… Who have said to you, ‘Lie down, that we may walk over you.’ And you have laid your body like the ground, And as the street, for those who walk over.” (Isaiah 51:23).

“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.” (Psalm 43:5).

Who can say that he didn’t and wouldn’t be exposed to those things?
And who does not find his soul cast down many times?
The main reason is that under the oppression of those thoughts, trials and attacks, we keep silent, and we receive fearful, worrying and impure thoughts, and we get preoccupied by them, so they cling on us as we mentioned above, and with the passing of time they become strong fortresses, where evil spirits take position, and let our mind become gloomy..

What is the solution?
Meditate on these things..
First: I need to build again an intimate and strong relationship with the word of God, I meditate in it day and night, I focus on it, I let it live richly within me.. It is the sword of the Spirit with which I face Satan’s fearful thoughts and attacks.
Second: I should never keep silent when the enemy attacks me with an army of thoughts, rather I should examine those thoughts, rebuke each one that is not in accordance with the word of God. I should not allow any of them to become established in my mind, rather I have to rebuke them, refuse them and bring them captive to the will of Christ.
Third: that my response to Satan should be based on verses from the word of God that is adequate to each evil thought that the enemy is trying to scare me or deceive me or entice me with.

Practical examples:
You or a member of your family might be sick, and the enemy attacks you with scary thoughts that this sickness might be dangerous, and might evolve and.. and.. will you keep silent? And receive those thoughts and bow down to them?
Of course not.. but as the Lord did when Satan tempted Him, you have to declare the word of God that is suitable for this situation, and in a loud voice if you have the possibility you say to him, my God said:
“… I am the Lord Who heals you” (Exodus 15:26).

“… And I will take sickness away from the midst of you” (Exodus 23:25).
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11).
Finally you tell him: in Jesus Name get away from me Satan.

This is but one example among thousands, and for every situation and thought that comes to your mind, you will find the suitable verses to fight with.. and when you meditate in the word of God day and night, and when the word lives in you richly, every time you face a specific situation no matter its difficulty, seriousness, foxiness, and craftiness, the Holy Spirit will choose the suitable verses that are within you, and let you use them, and will support them with a special anointing, so you can stab the evil spirits that are behind them, and they will flee from you defeated and scared, and you will be transformed after each opposition from glory to glory and from strength to strength!!

Some may argue that it is not as simple as this.. because they believe that they have to do other things, bigger things, even though they don’t know what they are exactly, but they are waiting for specific things to happen that will change the difficult reality they are living, and they build illusions that will never come true.. or they give up to despair and self-pity and they bow down, and they come out of the battlefield wounded, refusing to try again..
But beloved, if we examine what the Lord himself has done when Satan tempted Him in the wilderness, we would discover that His response to Satan for three consecutive times was from the word of God: It is written.. it is written.. it is written.. and finally He said to him: Get behind Me, Satan! (Luke 4:1-12).
This is the only truth.. For the word of God: is like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces (Jeremiah 23:29).
No matter how big your problem is, carry your hammer and break it every day..
And believe that the day will come when you will see it in pieces under your feet..

Beloved: I have put in your hands some keys for a victorious life:
- Have a daily quiet time with the Lord
- Study the word and meditate in it day and night..
- Renew your mind.. and control the thoughts that enter..
- Do not keep silent and do not bow down, rather declare the word of God in the face of those thoughts and enemy’s attacks..
And the Lord will teach you in the way, because His word says:
“The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His ways… Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity, And his descendants shall inherit the earth. The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant. My eyes are ever toward the Lord, For He shall pluck my feet out of the net. (Psalms 25:9-15).

But the road may seem long at first, and the deliverance and renewing of the mind might take some time, for us to live a victorious life.. but it is important to know that this is the right way, and no matter how long it takes, trust that in the end, you will live a victorious life, I encourage you to enjoy the trip even if along the way you will face many oppositions, because you don’t walk alone, but someone is there with you to support, strengthen and protect you, for He said: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned.”
(Isaiah 43:2).

It is better for you to walk on the path of deliverance and victory no matter how long or difficult it is sometimes, than to stay in your place with your soul bowed down, silent, depressed, lying down and letting your torturers walk over you as it is written in the book of Isaiah 51:23 that we previously mentioned.. and tell the Lord in all circumstances:
I choose to believe in You and Your word even if the reality is contradicting it, and the sun of righteousness will rise with healing, solutions, deliverance and victory… under its wings..
Because He said that He will watch over His word to perform it..
And because He said I am with you always..

For God be all glory!!!