“Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it for that determines our success or failure.  The way you think about a fact may defeat you before you ever do anything about it.  You are overcome by the fact because you think you are.”  Norman Vincent Peale

How will you be able to tell when a belief in your head has become a belief in your heart?

The people refused to enter the pleasant land, for they wouldn’t believe his promise to care for them.  (Psa. 106:24)

Even though there is much, much more, this will be the last (for a while) of our series from the book Favor, The Road to Success, by Bob Buess.  As before, this comes from my personal rewrite (see the 10/22/07 Daily Gram):

“Therefore, I purpose to live like an overcomer and take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ as directed by 2 Cor. 10:5.  I purpose to bind all negative thoughts in the name of Jesus and cast them into oblivion.  As I become more and more comfortable with the reality of God’s constant presence in me, and realize that all my thought and self-talk are occurring in His presence, it becomes easier and more instinctive to discard that negativity as soon as I recognize it as such.

“I also understand that my mind is the one thing over which God has given me complete and total control.  Therefore I am the only one responsible for the thoughts I choose to nurture.  My thoughts will always be reflected for all to see by my attitude as well as by my circumstances, i.e., my thoughts have made me who I am.”

It’s kind of sobering, isn’t it, to recognize that everyone can read your thoughts…just by observing your life and surroundings.  But, when you begin to accept these principles, it becomes extremely exciting to think that it all can change by just changing your thoughts.  We’re not victims as we are so prone to think.  But victim vs. responsibility is a topic for another day.

Prayer Power
Lord, please show me those beliefs that I profess which are not deeply seated in my heart.  Show me how to effectively write them on my heart so that they become second nature in my behavior.  Forgive me for all the times I have said I believe one thing and then turned right around and done the opposite.  Thank You for your patience and grace as I take steps to become more and more Christ-like.

Link of the Day
Take Captive Every Thought

Blessings on you as you identify at least one area in your life where your behavior does not line up with what you profess to believe.