How to Fight the Enemies of Good Intentions

Jan 13, 2015 How to Fight the Enemies of Good Intentions by Rick Warren “I have made up my mind to obey your laws forever, no matter what.” (Psalm 119:112 CEV) The reason why most people are ineffective in life is that they’ve never learned how to fight the battle of the mind. If you want to learn to manage your mind, you have to deliver it from destructive thoughts. That isn’t easy, because there are three enemies that keep you from fulfilling all your good intentions of changing your life. The first enemy is your old nature. Paul says in Romans 7:23,“There is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me” (NLT). Do you ever find yourself doing things that you don’t really want to do? That’s the battle in your brain between your old, sinful nature and your good intentions. The second enemy is Satan. Satan cannot force you to do anything, but he can make suggestions, and those suggestions are very, very powerful. He is constantly planting negative thoughts in your mind. He’ll use other people or he’ll use the television or he’ll just throw a thought in your mind. The third enemy is the world’s value system. Does anything in our society encourage self-discipline? Not at all. In fact every advertisement says, “You deserve a break today. Have it your way. We do it all for you.” The Bible says in 1 John 2:16, “For everything in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — comes not from the Father but from the world” (NIV). With enemies like that, no wonder we struggle with discouragement and despair and failure! So how do you fight this battle? Look at what 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says:“Though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretention that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” You have a choice. Your mind has to listen to you. God didn’t give you just a mind; he gave you a will! The best time to win the battle with temptation is before it begins. “I have made up my mind to obey your laws forever, no matter what” (Psalm 119:112 CEV). PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk It Over Do you believe that following God’s rules and instructions bring freedom and help you enjoy your life? Why or why not? What does Satan use in your life specifically and personally to keep you focused on destructive thoughts and behaviors? What steps can you take to memorize Scripture so that you can more easily battle temptation?

Friends TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.” (Proverbs 27:9, NLT) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria Friends help make this life a little better each day. You can probably think of multiple instances where a good friend changed the day for you and made you look on the brighter side. That’s exactly what God intended friendship to be. True friends know you well; they give you wise advice from the Word of God. No ministry would ever get off the ground without support from friends in the faith, and this ministry is certainly no exception. The wonderful things God has done through this outreach are a direct result of the commitment that friends like you have made to stand with us in reaching out to millions of people around the world. Everyone needs a faithful friend — so why not make a commitment today to be a friend to someone who needs you. A PRAYER FOR TODAY God, thank You for the friends that You have put in my life. May I be the encourager and strengthener that I know You want me to be. In Jesus’ Name. Amen. PS...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X35JDIdQF5A