What You Think

[branchesofHim]

Have you ever had someone talking to you and you didn't hear what they were saying because you were thinking about something else? The way you think affects what you hear. If you think on God's goodness, you won't listen to the devil lie about God's character. Keep your thoughts on the goodness of God and let His voice be what you hear.

Mark 7:[16] If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

Consider the original temptation recorded in Genesis with this in mind.

Genesis 3:[1] Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
(the devil caused Eve to think and question what God had said)

[2] And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
[3] But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
(by questioning God's command she added that they weren't even to touch the tree when God hadn't said anything about that - she added to what was said)

[4] And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
[5] For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
(the devil built his deception further by once again getting Eve to question what God had commanded while additionally causing her to question God's goodness and motive)

[6] And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 
(the devil initiated the thought into Eve's mind, she reasoned the thought, took action to eat the forbidden fruit, and the result affected the entire world)

Paul addressed this issue with a further detailed revelation on thoughts to the Corinthian church,

2 Corinthians 10:[3] For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
[4] (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
[5] Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
[6] And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

Then Paul relates the spiritual aspect of thoughts to the original sin in Eden.

2 Corinthians 11:[3] But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Now consider how God (who already knew what happened) asked Eve, "What were you thinking?"

Genesis 3:[13] And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

The way you think affects you, your choices, and everything around you. So be very cautious what you hear and allow yourself to think.

Romans 8:[6] For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Keep your thoughts on the goodness of our Father in Heaven and our Lord Jesus. It will change your life for the better.

Philippians 4:[8] Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Shalom

[kwikphilly]

Blessings Branches of Him

    Praise Jesus! Very nice OP,uplifting & encouraging......its basically about Distraction,isnt it? The enemy is pretty much a one trick pony though it may seem he is a cunning mastermind-he is NOT......The old "distraction" trick works everytime so nothing new or inventive is necessary to take one's mind off what(WHO)its supposed to be on!!! It is a simple "thought",as you said.....Just a thought that you can either "feed" or "take captive",the thought can distract you into losing focus and then it is OFF TO THE RACES in the wrong direction!

   I always say that we are vessels,which can be a "cup".....if I am a cup & I'm filled to the very brim then there is no room to add anything else.....We must be FILLED with Gods Word,Jesus Abides in us as His Temple yet the MIND has free will and Jesus tells us He Will make us a New Creature in Him but we must RENEW our MINDS and YES,what we "take in"(hear)is of the utmost importance-be it audible sound or thoughts. When the mind(cup) begins to empty throughout the day we have to keep adding Gods Word,lovely thought,Godly,Heavenly (Phil 4:8) it is like a sweet nectar,if there is room for the enemy to add a negative thought it is like adding sour vinegar to the mix.....it will all go sour! 

   Also,if you do NOTHING-like a glass of water left on a table for days at a time,it begins to evaporate and there is room for more liquid-choose,sweet nectar or sour vinegar? You see,the enemy is always watching,waiting for the slightest opportunity to pour in some sour vinegar......we guard or hearts & we must remember to guard our minds,its easy because we have a helmut,the helmut of Salvation....read 6th Chapter of Ephesians for the Full Armor of God...Let us walk in Spirit & in Truth with the Heart & mind of Christ Jesus! Halleluyah!

    A thought cannot do a single thing by itself,no matter what that thought is if you take it captive....

Quote

⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,    2 Cor 10:5

We should never"re-act" to a single thought but wait,take it captive and then "act" accordingly.....is it a sweet nectar or sour grapes,lol                         Love this Topic!                             With love-in Christ,Kwik

 BTW-this applies very well to "posting" as well.....someone throws a wrench into a discussion & a single thought pops in your head,you do not have to "re-act" to that post because of your thought & then say something not pleading & acceptable to God....take captive the thought BEFORE you start typing away....STOP,THINK,SUBMIT to the obedience of CHRIST,then ACT

[enoob57]

10 hours ago, branchesofHim said:

(by questioning God's command she added that they weren't even to touch the tree when God hadn't said anything about that - she added to what was said)

This would have been a lie then and the first sin... but it was not because the first disobedience was to eat of it! The fact is we don't know, as it isn't recorded, who told Eve this but it must not have been a lie or that would have been the fall of Eve... Perhaps Adam said to her it's best not to touch as to set up a further boundary to prevent disobedience  

[branchesofHim]

22 hours ago, enoob57 said:

The fact is we don't know, as it isn't recorded, who told Eve this but it must not have been a lie or that would have been the fall of Eve... Perhaps Adam said to her it's best not to touch as to set up a further boundary to prevent disobedience  

Interesting point. The record we have truly shows that God only told Adam to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil before He created Eve. It seems that God created all of the animals and brought them to Adam before He made Eve. I appreciate your bringing this up because there are often parts of the biblical record where we are not given all of the information surrounding specifics. This passage does seem to indicate that Adam had to have told Eve about the command because she hadn't been created yet. 

Genesis 2:[15] And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
[16] And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
[17] But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

This brings to my mind the story of Cain going to the east of Eden and his wife had a son. It's not mentioned in the text we have where his wife came from, only that he had one. What a rabbit hole! Thank you @enoob57! Shalom

Genesis 4:[16] And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
[17] And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.

[branchesofHim]

On 1/8/2022 at 1:27 AM, kwikphilly said:

The old "distraction" trick works everytime so nothing new or inventive is necessary to take one's mind off what(WHO)its supposed to be on!!!

Magic tricks .... illusions indeed.