By Sister Shirley Tarpley
With turmoil all around us, people are edgy; their minds are being attacked by the enemy. They are doing things that they perhaps wouldn’t ordinarily do. People have lost jobs and homes which causes stress. With the price of gasoline now days, it’s getting harder to buy food and gas at the same time. For those still working, they can barely get to their jobs. Most people are living from paycheck to paycheck.
When a person’s mind is being attacked, it would be a good thing for him or her to remember, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusted in thee.” Isaiah 26:3 (KJV)
The philosopher Decartes once said, “I think, therefore I am.” You are your mind and you are your soul. You are conscious because of your mind. When someone is asleep, they are unconscious. They are not aware of their surroundings or even their own existence. The Christian mind is spiritual not tangible (something you can touch.) It can’t be physically touched but it certainly has feelings.
Jesus told of a rich man that died and went to hell. The story is found in Luke 16:19-31. While in hell the rich man had a conversation with Abraham, the man had recognized Lazarus, he felt pain, and he remembered his family back on earth. But Abraham reminded the man of his own life, “Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things. . .” Verse 16:25. It seems for a certain that eternity will not erase the mind because the mind is a spirit.
The physical body is not the total individual, but merely the house that he or she will travel through in his or her life time.
Satan attacks the Christian’s mind because he knows that the greatest bondage is in the mind. Many people have been physically incarcerated but were free in mind and overcame their situation. Apostle Paul was often in bondage, but his mind was elevated to Heavenly things. He later told us to overcome every situation in our lives by thinking on good and positive things. In Philippians 4:8 (KJV), he tells us, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
Many people are physically free, yet bound in their minds and they live in misery. The mind is like a sponge, it can absorb suggestions from certain types of music that we hear and certainly things that we see on TV. Certain types of music can affect a person’s physical behavior as well. Some songs have a technique called “back-masking” meaning when the music is played backwards it has a different message that only the subconscious mind can translate. My former pastor, the late Elder Philip White, Pastor of Love Chapel COGIC in Dallas said many times, “Music can make an elephant dance.”
The five senses that we should have can trigger the mind. It is said that the human mind is at least 1000 times more powerful and sophisticated than the most powered computer in the world. It can compute and process information at an enormous rate of speed no matter what a person’s IQ may be.
In the Dale Carnegie’s Golden Book, it states: “The Perfect Way to Conquer Worry is to Pray! Also, the Golden Book states that the “Fundamental Principles for Overcoming Worry,” are: 1.) Live in “Day-tight compartments;” stay focused! 2.) Learn how to face trouble: Ask yourself, “What is the worst that can possibly happen?” “Prepare to accept the worst.” “Try to improve on the worst.” 3.) Remind yourself of the exorbitant price you can pay for worrying in terms of your health.
It may be hard to see how you’re going to get through something, but, remember that it has been said that if God brings you to it – He will bring you through it; and when Jesus died on the cross, he was thinking of you! These things will help keep your mind in perfect peace if you think on them.
