God does not want us to live in a state of worry, anger, regret and fear.  Depression, anxiety and resentment are tools that Satan intentionally uses to keep us defeated, weak and ineffective. There are many books on these topics but the best resource is God’s Word. 

Romans 8:5-6, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

God’s desire for His children is “Life and Peace”. “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.” Ephesians 4:31 We need to aware of what these thoughts and emotions are doing to us in order to make a conscious choice to defeat them.  Once we are aware that we have these negative thoughts, we see how they've influenced our attitude and behavior.

Heart/Believe = Thoughts & Emotions  = Attitude = Behavior 

EXAMPLE:  “For David says concerning Him: ‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face (BELIEF)… therefore my heart rejoiced (EMOTIONS) and my tongue was glad (BEHAVIOR). Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.”  (Positive thoughts = HEALTH)  Acts 2:25-26

HEART/BELIEF
Belief is a combination of stored memories & thought patterns that have become permanent; these are connected to emotions. In the Bible, the heart is the seat of moral & spiritual life:

  1. UNDERSTANDING:  “For the hearts of this people have grown dull; their ears are hard of hearing and their eyes they have close, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.”  Matthew 13:15
  2. REASONING: “And some of the scribes were sitting there reasoning in their hearts. “ Mark 2:6
  3. IMAGINATION: “… he has scattered the proud in the imaginations of their hearts.” Luke 1:52
  4. CONSCIENCE: “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles, “Men and brethren. What shall we do?” Acts 2:37
  5. INTENT: “For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit and of joints & marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  Hebrew 4:12
  6. WILL: “But God be thanked that through you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.” Romans 6:17
  • Matthew 15:16-20 “So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding?  Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.  These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”
  • Mark 7:20-23 “ And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”
  • Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he...”

The heart is the body’s strongest biological oscillator.  It pulls every system of the body into its own rhythm. When your heart is at peace and filled with love, the entire body (under the direction of the brain), feels peace and love too.

NEW BRAIN RESEARCH shows that LOVE deactivates the brain regions associated with negative emotions, social judgments and judgments of other people’s intentions and emotions. Our heart plays a major role in all our thinking, decision making and understanding.

“Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23

Keep = to guard; protect    |  Diligence = persevering determination

-    We must safe guard what is being stored in our minds for it becomes a part of us.

THOUGHTS/EMOTIONS
Thoughts are:

  • Electrical impulses, chemicals & neurons. They look like little trees and can actually be measured
  • NO thought is HARMLESS and it is constantly changing. 
  • Every thought actively changes our body for better or for worse
  • As thoughts grow and become more permanent, they will be stored in our mind & body. The “branches” will grow and become stronger
  • If we change our thinking, some “branches” go away and new ones form.
  • Research shows that mental practice – imaginations, visualization and deep thought & reflection – produce the same physical changes in the brain as it would if the person had physically done what they imagined. 
    Perhaps this is why Jesus said to think on a woman in lust is guilty of committing adultery.

Thoughts build memories. Every memory has a corresponding emotion attached to it. This is stored in your brain & a prototype stored in your body’s cells.

Thoughts & emotions create reaction in the body and mind. This is called Psychosomatic Network.
We choose what we think about. We can foster peace, joy, happiness, contentment and well being  OR  the exact opposite.Thoughts can go to the genetic level – to reconstruct the cells makeup!!
Our thoughts activate certain chemicals and hormones, which in turn, create our emotions. There are ONLY 2 BASIC EMOTIONS: Love or Fear.  All others are just variations of these two. Note how much God says about His love for us and our need to love Him and others.

"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment." Mark 12:30

When we do not give or experience love, there is a physical reaction in your brain expressed as STRESS in your body. It creates toxins.
Positive thoughts release biochemical endorphin & serotonin.    

“A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance but by sorrow of the heart, the spirit is broken.” 
Proverbs 15:13
 
We Can DETOX Our Minds!!

"Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones." Proverbs 3:7-9

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