I have learned that reading a substantial amount of Scripture
each day is imperative in circumventing the attack that is waged
on my mind for being a Christ follower. I don’t believe that I am
unique as a Christian to have this attack. When anyone becomes
serious about Jesus, this attack is to be expected. Scripture is the
“sword of the Spirit” (see Ephesians 6:17b). I must
purposefully arm myself with God’s word in order to navigate
successfully through this day to day life.
We live in a culture where people are slaves to their emotions.
We have become a people where our feelings dictate what we
do. Scripture can stop the attack. I have heard it preached that
our emotions should be the caboose, and not the engine of our
lives. We have become a society of people where we base our
volition on our emotions. As a Christian, this is so very wrong!
The Lord is my guiding force. He must empower and dictate
what I do and what I don’t do. Scripture reminds me of what is
important to do and how, with God, I can get things done. As a
Born Again believer, I have the Holy Spirit living in me. I have
access to the same power that brought Jesus back to life! This is
the power that should be running my life and not emotions that
have been birthed by erroneous thinking.
When I read Scripture I feed spiritual transformation (see
Romans 12:2). Even when I do not totally understand what I am
reading and hearing in the word, Scripture is still changing me
and growing me:
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do
not return to it without watering the earth and making it
bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and
bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my
mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish
what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
~ Isaiah 55:10-11
My emotions are controlled by my thinking. If I allow the lies of
Satan to linger in my thoughts, I will eventually feel negativity,
rage, bitterness, and the like. When I allow the truth of God to
linger in my thoughts I feel the strength, power, and motivation
of the Lord. Through the years I have learned the importance
that I read Scripture, hear Scripture, think Scripture, write about
Scripture, pray Scripture, and memorize the word of God.