According to the Scripture it is the mind/ heart that is the point of spiritual warfare. This is what Jesus draws attention to in the Sermon on the Mount, righteousness of the heart, (turning from anger, and lust, etc...) not just outward adherence to the Law.
This is why we are commanded to in Proverb 4:23, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."
This is what Paul reveals in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ"
If this is the true, if this is the battleground, it makes perfect sense Paul would give the command in 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."
And so Jesus spoke and told us, that the lamp of the body is the eye (Matthew 5) in that we must have all vigilance in what we allow into our eyes, and ears. We must be sober minded to take note what we are giving ourselves in meditation. We are dealing with an enemy who has been at this for thousands of years, and has a wicked, subtle plan to destroy God's people, at the very least to make them ineffective. Our emotions will follow our meditation.
As Charles Finney points out....
Feelings or emotions are dependent upon thought, and arise spontaneously in the mind when the thoughts are intensely occupied with their corresponding objects. Thought is under the direct control of the will. We can direct our attention and meditations to any subject, and the corresponding emotions will spontaneously arise in the mind. Thus our feelings are only indirectly under the control of the will. They are sinful or holy only as they are thus indirectly bidden into existence by the will. Men often complain that they cannot control their feelings; they form overwhelming attachments which they say they cannot control. They receive injuries, their anger rises, they profess they cannot help it. Now while the attention is occupied with dwelling upon the beloved object in the one case, the emotions of which they complain will exist of course; and if the emotion is disapproved by the judgment and conscience, the subject must be dismissed from the thoughts, and the attention directed to some other subject, as the only possible way of ridding themselves of the emotion. So in the other case, the subject of the injury must be dismissed, and their thoughts occupied with other considerations, or emotions of hatred will continue to fester and rankle in their minds.”
It is for this reason I hope this blog will be a tool used to bring the attention of God's people on where it needs to be on those things that are eternal. We are in a war, and the enemy of our souls is seeking to lull the Church to sleep and seeks to fill her heart with the love of this world. The question is... How much time are you and I meditating on things of the Word, the things of eternity, the brevity of life and seeking to do His will continually, or on things like entertainment (and those who are producing it are usually unregenerated minds and God's Word speaks to who they are under the influence of) sports, and the endless sites provided on the internet (I'm not talking about what is of course needed for work or edifying).
It's my prayer these posts/ videos will be viewed repeatedly to fix the mind of what is true, and will lead to the proper emotions, which would lead to the appropriate actions, for the glory of God. May the Holy Spirit bear witness to what is true. May His Kingdom come, and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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