Thought Life

 

 

1. Our thought life reflects who we are.

 

Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinks within himself, so he is. (NASB)

Mark 7:20–23 And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” (NKJV)

 

2. We must choose to think biblically.

 

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

 

3. No place or thought is hidden from God.

 

Jeremiah 23:23–24 “Am I a God who is near,” declares the LORD, “and not a God far off? Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD. (NASB)

Psalm 139:2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. (NIV)

 

4. We need to change our thinking when our thoughts do not match God’s.

 

Isaiah 55:8–9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (NKJV)

2 Corinthians 10:4–5 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 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. (NKJV)

Ephesians 4:22–24 Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. (NLT)

1 Corinthians 2:16

 

5. We should not think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think.

 

Romans 12:3 Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. (NLT)

Galatians 6:3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

1 Corinthians 10:12

 

6. Our lives must reflect sacrificial thinking.

 

Philippians 2:5–7 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. (NASB)

 

7. Mature thinking is an intellectual and spiritual goal.

 

1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. (NLT)

1 Corinthians 14:20 Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.

Proverbs 22:17

 

8. We must remove worldly thinking.

 

Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (NIV)

1 Corinthians 3:18–19 Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, “He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness.” (NLT)

 

9. Lustful thinking is sinful and to be avoided.

 

Matthew 5:28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (NASB)

1 Thessalonians 4:3–5 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God. (NASB)

 

 

Practical Steps

 

• Do a concordance study of the hundreds of uses of “mind,” “thinking,” and “thoughts” to understand better how God wants us to think.

• Consider your thought patterns, life situations, or physical locations that trigger wrong thinking. Work on changing these to improve your thought life.

• Replace false thinking with truth from God’s Word.

 

Patricia A. Miller, Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling Women (Updated and Revised.; Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2013), 284–286.

Done