“So much of our life is determined by our minds…
To control our tongue is to control our mind…
“set their minds…” we have a choice as to who drives our thoughts…
Renew your mind… we have a choice as to what and who we allowed to dominate our thoughts …
One of the first ways we renew our mind is learning to use God’s word… Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
In our natural selves alone, our mind is not renewed, and the things of God don’t make sense… But if we are in Christ we can have the mind of Christ through the Spirit of God… He can transform our mind and direct our thoughts… and guide our words…
Our thoughts need to come into obedience to the truth before our tongue can be controlled… Imaginations/ arguments can become strongholds if we dwell on them too long… they become controlling thoughts that control our words …
When anything else other than God “rules our hearts” we place ourselves in a dangerous position… Someone is going to rule our hearts, Someone will be king…
Controlling our thoughts and words in more that just not doing bad but focusing on the good…
“Think about what you think about…”
What goes in the heart enters by the eyes, and what comes out of the heart exits by the mouth…
In order to feed our souls well, we have to be thoughtful about our eyes… Fill your eyes with the things of God…
If our words and thoughts are not of God we need to do some spiritual inventory…
Don’t cover up what’s coming, out of your mouth, out of your heart… This isn’t about denying the realities of what’s going on inside of us… our words are a good measure of the condition of our hearts … so if bad stuff comes out, don’t conceal it, get to the root of it and repent… It’s going to eventually come out anyway if it’s not dealt with… So let’s deal with it and move forward in our walk with God…
Our tongue has so much power… we can build up or we can destroy… we can save or we can damn… and using this power in ways that honor God depends entirely on the condition of our hearts…”