ICS Daily Devotions
Fill Your Mind with Godly Things
John 10:10 (NKJV) The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
The devil cannot steal our joy because joy is anchored in God. But in general, we can have happiness and peace stolen from us when our mind succumbs to the evil one. We can have our family stolen from us when we succumbed to temptation and fall into sin. We need to be watchful of the work of the devil. The devil will continue to tell the same lie and tempt everyone in the same way that he has tempted Jesus.
Mark 4:15-20 (NKJV) And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, SATAN COMES IMMEDIATELY and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when TRIBULATION or persecution ARISES FOR THE WORD’S SAKE, immediately they stumble. Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the CARES of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
Jesus gave the explanation of the parable of the sower. He said that if we understand the parable then we will understand all things. Jesus made it very clear for us and told exactly what will happen when the word of God is being sown into our hearts. The devil doesn’t like the word to take root into our hearts because he knows that it will produce peace, joy, love and faith in God. Therefore, he will want to steal it from us as soon as possible. He will create all kinds of tribulations connected with hard pressed situation in our lives and the lives of our family members, and persecution of our faith just to steal the word from our hearts.
It is very natural to be anxious when someone is under tremendous pressure. It is important to know who the source of the pressure is. It is the devil and not God because God wants us to have peace! He knows that we need to willingly forgo the word or get disappointed with the Word of God. Therefore, the more the devil wants to steal the word from your heart, the more we need to choose to dig into the word! This is done through meditation on the Word of God. We are free moral agents who have been given the right to choose for our lives, therefore we need to choose to meditate on the Word.
We have to determine what fills our mind continually. It should be the Word of God that builds faith. We choose to shut the door to the cares of this world and anything that causes us to be anxious. The choice is ours regarding what fills our mind. The Bible says, as a man thinks in his heart so is he; therefore, we are a product of our thought life. If we meditate on the negative, then we will be anxious. But if we choose to meditate on the Word, then we will have peace in our heart and mind in Christ Jesus.
Sermon series: Meditating on the Names of God
