"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." - 2 Timothy 1:7
I have two young impressionable minds and imaginations that I take great care to shield from scary things. I desire their minds to be filled with positive and hope filled things. I find myself extremely frustrated this time of year because of the scary decor in neighborhoods and stores. There isn't anything I can do to change it, so I have to let it go, however I do have control over what we take part in and what I teach them about fear.
God is a god of peace! Not confusion or fear, but of peace. Why would we want to stray from what He is? Why would we want to give Satan a window into our thoughts, dreams, or imaginations? It may seem thrilling, but do you have nightmares? Flooding our minds with images or ideas that are frightening, dark, or demented is just saying, "Hey Satan, come on in and make yourself at home. Feel free to expand on that fear in my mind and keep me terrified." Once he is welcomed he reminds you of other things that frighten you and he'll torment you about those too. He's very real and he only comes to "steal, kill, and destroy" (John 10:10). This scripture calls him a thief! The verse goes on to say, however, that God came "that they may have life, and have it to the full." Christ desires us to have life, a peaceful life, and to celebrate it! Clouding our minds with fear and darkness keeps us from being at peace in every area of our life. If we constantly feed our minds with fear then it's going to be harder to trust God with anything because of our focus on fear.
Isaiah 26:3
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
Romans 8:6
The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.
Don't give Satan an open invitation to your mind. Your mind has such power. Halloween always reminds me of this important issue of fighting for peace. This verse pretty much sums up what we should be feeding our minds:
Philipians 4:8
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.
I guarantee that if you take a break from the scary and start feeding your mind with peace, it will change your life!
I have two young impressionable minds and imaginations that I take great care to shield from scary things. I desire their minds to be filled with positive and hope filled things. I find myself extremely frustrated this time of year because of the scary decor in neighborhoods and stores. There isn't anything I can do to change it, so I have to let it go, however I do have control over what we take part in and what I teach them about fear.
God is a god of peace! Not confusion or fear, but of peace. Why would we want to stray from what He is? Why would we want to give Satan a window into our thoughts, dreams, or imaginations? It may seem thrilling, but do you have nightmares? Flooding our minds with images or ideas that are frightening, dark, or demented is just saying, "Hey Satan, come on in and make yourself at home. Feel free to expand on that fear in my mind and keep me terrified." Once he is welcomed he reminds you of other things that frighten you and he'll torment you about those too. He's very real and he only comes to "steal, kill, and destroy" (John 10:10). This scripture calls him a thief! The verse goes on to say, however, that God came "that they may have life, and have it to the full." Christ desires us to have life, a peaceful life, and to celebrate it! Clouding our minds with fear and darkness keeps us from being at peace in every area of our life. If we constantly feed our minds with fear then it's going to be harder to trust God with anything because of our focus on fear.
Isaiah 26:3
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
Romans 8:6
The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.
Don't give Satan an open invitation to your mind. Your mind has such power. Halloween always reminds me of this important issue of fighting for peace. This verse pretty much sums up what we should be feeding our minds:
Philipians 4:8
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.
I guarantee that if you take a break from the scary and start feeding your mind with peace, it will change your life!