Battle for the Mind:How You Can Think the ... - Destiny Image

22 Battle for the Mind
for holy living would remain with him, but it would be enhanced with an
intense thankfulness for the grace and mercy given to him—a grace and
mercy that was not based upon any work that he had ever done, but on
Christ’s work alone.
the altar within You
The mind is the seat of all spiritual and carnal conflict. I’m sure that
you’ve noticed by now that the act of becoming a Christian has introduced
many internal conflicts into your life. Conversely, one doesn’t really come
to know God until he or she experiences personal conflict. Somebody
might have, mistakenly, assured you that when you come to God, your
troubles will be over. Well, somebody was lying. I’m sure you have learned
by now, as many people have, that walking with God is not conflict-free.
Whenever people respond to the internal motivation of the Word and
come to God, while at the same time cease to react to the external stimulus
of the world, they will encounter resistance and turmoil. In fact,
the process of moving from the external (depending on a lot of outside
sources) to the internal (depending on God and self) can be chaotic at
best. Paul, in the Book of Romans, addresses this conflict as he endeavors
to define and clarify the opposing forces that operate to gain influence on
the mind. When we come to Romans chapter 7, we find that he laments
his own condition:
But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in
me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good
dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what
is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do;
but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I
will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in
me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who
wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the
inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring
against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to
the law of sin, which is in my members. O wretched man that
I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank