Battle for the Mind
I am currently reading Bondage Breaker by Neil Armstrong. It has been sitting on my bookshelf for well over a year. I had purchased it because I thought it would help me deal with certain things that I have been struggling with. Finally, after running out of books to read, I decided to pick it up. I've been fore-warned by another author, a medical doctor, that it could be a dangerous book to read because the devil would try to prevent people from reading it. Apparently some of his patients have experienced strange happenings while trying to get started with it. Well, I don't know about that but I'm approaching the last few chapters (without disturbances thus far, thank God!) and I am mid-way through the most important chapter now. This is the part where I can take practical steps to freedom in Christ by verbally renouncing things and boldly taking my authority in Christ against the devil. Do you think the devil will go raving mad and try to stop me? I do sense a certain hesitation about continuing. It's such a lengthy chapter with so many issues to work through that I am not sure if I can make it to the end. Is that the devil trying to dissuade me or am I just being lazy?
I am usually not a fan of self-help books especially those 7 steps to this and 9 steps to that. If only life could be that simple, I thought. Besides, most of the stuff they have to say are what we already know. The problem lies between knowing and doing. Bondage Breaker is somewhat different in the sense that it points us to God's truth and urges us to rely on it for the power to overcome. Although some of the incidents he relates to seems pretty bizarre and has an almost radical bend to it, I can't help but feel this is worth my time somehow. I might not agree with all his orservations and the way he elevates his "freedom sessions" but I can't deny he does have some meat to offer, which I think will be of benefit to me. This is my first book focusing on spiritual warfare and I want to handle it with care because I've heard there are some ideas out there in the charismatic and pentacostal circle that have gone overboard and I don't want to get sucked into that.
The author spent a good 2/3 of the book presenting a convincing case for the reality of the spiritual realm and the even greater reality that we are in a world that is constantly at war. By that, I don't mean wars between nations, tribes and tongues...or even terrorism. I mean war between the forces of darkness and light. And what are they fighting for? The true battle is for our minds it seems. I think a lot of us has forgotten, and I believe some don't even know, that we are at war, whether we choose to or not. There is really no middle ground. We can either rise from our slumber and go into battle with the full armor of God or we can choose to do nothing about it. If we do, we are already defeated. But the most important part is where he establishes the reader in their identity in Christ. That, I think is one of the most powerful weapon.
I examine my life in light of this battle and I can honestly agree that the battle is indeed for our mind. What we think will eventually affect how we live. What we first perceive as a harmless thought can become a reality if we choose to let it sit in our consciousness, turning it over and over in our minds. The more we think about it, the deeper the root grows and before we know what hits us we find ourselves in bondage. When God gave Adam and Eve the freedom to choose from any tree in the garden except for the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, he wasn't being stingy. He was giving them an opportunity to honor him by choosing to live by his grace and not by self-dependance. Adam and Eve did not have any problem with that until the devil planted the thought in their mind to question God's goodness. Now they are pondering over the possibility of them being like God themselves so that they can depend on their own wisdom. It eventually led to The Fall. Have you ever had a thought, even a subtle one, where your spirit is trying to say, NO this is not true or right? What started as just a thought soon became a possibility and then one day it became a reality. You see, it works the same with healthy ambitions, dreams and ideas.
The only way to counter the enemy's deception is by bringing in the truth. Just as light dispels darkness, truth exposes deception. It's not an issue of salvation but one of victory. The Bondage Breaker covers much more than our thought life but I felt this is particularly important....for me at least.
Anyone in for some mind-washing?
rk
I am usually not a fan of self-help books especially those 7 steps to this and 9 steps to that. If only life could be that simple, I thought. Besides, most of the stuff they have to say are what we already know. The problem lies between knowing and doing. Bondage Breaker is somewhat different in the sense that it points us to God's truth and urges us to rely on it for the power to overcome. Although some of the incidents he relates to seems pretty bizarre and has an almost radical bend to it, I can't help but feel this is worth my time somehow. I might not agree with all his orservations and the way he elevates his "freedom sessions" but I can't deny he does have some meat to offer, which I think will be of benefit to me. This is my first book focusing on spiritual warfare and I want to handle it with care because I've heard there are some ideas out there in the charismatic and pentacostal circle that have gone overboard and I don't want to get sucked into that.
The author spent a good 2/3 of the book presenting a convincing case for the reality of the spiritual realm and the even greater reality that we are in a world that is constantly at war. By that, I don't mean wars between nations, tribes and tongues...or even terrorism. I mean war between the forces of darkness and light. And what are they fighting for? The true battle is for our minds it seems. I think a lot of us has forgotten, and I believe some don't even know, that we are at war, whether we choose to or not. There is really no middle ground. We can either rise from our slumber and go into battle with the full armor of God or we can choose to do nothing about it. If we do, we are already defeated. But the most important part is where he establishes the reader in their identity in Christ. That, I think is one of the most powerful weapon.
I examine my life in light of this battle and I can honestly agree that the battle is indeed for our mind. What we think will eventually affect how we live. What we first perceive as a harmless thought can become a reality if we choose to let it sit in our consciousness, turning it over and over in our minds. The more we think about it, the deeper the root grows and before we know what hits us we find ourselves in bondage. When God gave Adam and Eve the freedom to choose from any tree in the garden except for the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, he wasn't being stingy. He was giving them an opportunity to honor him by choosing to live by his grace and not by self-dependance. Adam and Eve did not have any problem with that until the devil planted the thought in their mind to question God's goodness. Now they are pondering over the possibility of them being like God themselves so that they can depend on their own wisdom. It eventually led to The Fall. Have you ever had a thought, even a subtle one, where your spirit is trying to say, NO this is not true or right? What started as just a thought soon became a possibility and then one day it became a reality. You see, it works the same with healthy ambitions, dreams and ideas.
The only way to counter the enemy's deception is by bringing in the truth. Just as light dispels darkness, truth exposes deception. It's not an issue of salvation but one of victory. The Bondage Breaker covers much more than our thought life but I felt this is particularly important....for me at least.
"...finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things" - St Paul to the church of Philipi
Anyone in for some mind-washing?
rk
posted by rk | 4:44 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home