Your mind

Philippians 4:8

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Finally, brothers and sisters, 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.

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Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

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So as Christians, we are told to focus on "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable..". We are told this because if we are focussed on the attributes that come from acting in righteous ways, then we are growing in understanding, instead of reacting to temptation.

Here is an example that I draw from a sermon I heard.

A man goes to a witch once a month, who tells him about his future. She has been accurate for the time he has known her, and has faith in her abilities. On this particular day, he goes in and sits down in front of her. She looks to him and says, "You will die in your sleep seven days from now."

The man, who is deeply disturbed by this, goes home and tells his family. They are also troubled by this, as they grew accustomed to what the witch supplied. So the man makes preparations. He leaves his job, gets his estate in order, and on the seventh day he died in his sleep.

Here is another example of the same thing:

A woman goes to see a psychiatrist. She has had the same anxiety for most of her adult life. She has gone through doctors and psychologists and other psychiatrists for solutions, and nothing has helped her. Her condition is the focal point of her day, everyday.

The psychiatrist when hearing this, asks her confidently a series of questions, amd writes things down. He tells her he is pleased she came to him, because he is certain he can help. But then he adds that the medication she needs for a full cure, is extremely rare, amd must be shipped from overseas. It will take over a month to get. But once it is in, he will call her immediately. The woman leaves, hopeful.

Six weeks go by and the woman has returned to the psychiatrist at his request. "It came in!" He said to her, openly pleased. He says to he to follow these written instructions, and that because of the potency of the pills, she will notice large changes in her anxiety levels within hours every pill taken. And that the science of the pills will leave her fully cured before she reaches the end of the pill cycle. But that just to be sure, she should complete the pill cycle.

In tears, the woman leaves, now anxious to heal. And on the day after the pill cycle was finished, she entered the psychiatrist's office without an appointment. Her entire appearance had changed. She wore a great smile and walked with confidence in her steps. She laughed about how she noticed changes almost immediately, and that she knew there was a cure for her if she just kept looking.

The psychiatrist had dinner that night with a colleague, and shared the story with him. The colleague asked, "What kind of medication was it that worked so well?"

The psychiatrist smiled, and said, "Sugar drops."

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What we place our confidence in, is what will manifest.

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Now, for those of us who place our confidence in what is holy, we set ourselves aside so that what is holy can come through us. In doing so, our minds are occupied with peace. And our hearts(our conscience), are supplying the fruits of the kingdom through us, by the Holy Spirit within us. What manifests through us is holiness.

If we allow anxiety or fear to settle into our minds, what we will be receptive to will be our downfall. If we place our fear in God, and place our confidence with Jesus, we will know the peace of mind that only God can supply.

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Matthew 11:28

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"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

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