Bible Studies

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Satan cannot read your mind, but he can anticipate your actions. He cannot know what you are thinking, but he can get you to think. He cannot cause you to do something, but he can influence your decision making. He cannot control your mind, but he can direct the process of reasoning. He knows the decision to act or not to act is left up to you, but he knows that if he can saturate your floodgates with the things of the world, it will not be long before planted thoughts will become outward actions. One’s eyes and ears are the floodgates by which Satan bombards the mind (the control center) of man. If Satan can get the things of the world into the Believers’ minds, it will not be long before he can anticipate your thinking patterns. These corruptible seeds are watered by our attention to them. When these seeds germinate, the door is opened to temptation. Satan knows if he can get the Christian to stay away from the Word, it will not be long before you will be ripe for the enticements of the world. Jesus was well aware of Satan’s tactics when He pointed out that if a man looks at a woman in a lustful way, he has already committed adultery. (Matt. 5:28) Thus, the actions are a response to temptations, which began with the thought process. Saturate the Believer with sensual pleasures and enticements and it will not be long before his activities will serve as a hindrance to the “wait and see” skeptics. Be on guard to what you watch, read, and hear. Realize the “R” movie rating does not stand for “religious.” Almost every TV show will have a drinking scene or contain sexual innuendoes. Many books are spiced with profanities. Song lyrics are laced with “forbidden fruits.” Wherever the Believer turns, he will experience Satan’s propaganda.

Eve’s and Adam’s downfall was directly related to the battlefield of the mind. Satan immediately questioned the validity of God’s Word by saying that God did not mean they would really die if they ate a certain fruit. In fact, they would become like “gods” by being able to discern between good and evil. The thought was planted. Eve then realized that the fruit looked good, and eating it would make her wise. The lust was introduced. Then she ate it, and gave it to Adam to eat. The action became sin. (Gen. 3) When they finished eating the fruit, spiritual death followed. The New Testament illustrates the same tactic used to make the Believer ineffective. Thoughts are planted in the minds of Believers that tend to draw their attention away from the things of God. When you allow those thoughts to incubate, they give birth to lust, which then entices you to action. When the action takes place, sin is committed. When sin is finished, it brings forth a dying of the spirit. (James 1:14,15) James warns that we should not be deceived by Satan’s tactics. (v. 16)

In Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, He did not give even a thought to the words of the Deceiver. When the thought was thrown to Him, He used the Word to destroy the seed that Satan tried to plant in His mind. We have the same authority today, yet we continue to allow our minds to receive the things that will have a direct influence in grieving the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us that we are to bring “…into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (II Cor. 10:5) Some Christians either fail to stop the thoughts from seeding, or they wait too long and the thoughts begin to germinate. The good news is that it is never too late to apply the “weed and feed” to the soil of our minds. Apply the Word of God daily, and the weeds will have a hard time growing. Continue to feed the mind the Word, and you will see your spiritual growth blossoming to new heights.

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