Welcome back to our womens online bible study of Breaking Free by Beth Moore. Last week we studied the heart and in week nine Beth Moore focuses on the mind. In Matthew 22:37, Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ It’s a little challenging to love if your mind is a battlefield! If you missed this study, you can access it on-demand at Bible Cafe™ University.

This week Beth Moore writes, “Surrendering our thought lives is a safeguard.”  Giving God control of our thoughts gives Him access to our hearts and mind. When our minds are steadfast with God, we are anchored to the Fruit of the Spirit (not the flesh). Should we surrender our thoughts to nonbelievers and get worldview advice?

Open your Bible to 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 NIV: What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. Expel the wicked person from among you.

We can expel our thoughts. We should avoid having a depraved mind. Catch your thoughts when they are fleeting thoughts and see if they measure up to God’s word. As Mary Beth taught us in small group this week, it is easier to correct thoughts than false beliefs. Because the false belief becomes a stronghold in your life.

In our study Breaking Free, Beth Moore brings attention to the metaphor “valley” and” harvest.” Many women in our small groups felt they were in the valley season, where your faith is watered by sweat and tears. Others felt they were in the harvest season. I think we can experience both. For example, I am in the valley season as my daughters move out. Many people call this the empty nest syndrome. Yet I also see my harvest season is coming as I trust God with their futures and mine.

One of the mistakes we make is trying to break a stronghold in our own strength.  We try to educate ourselves about a problem, such as Google searches and artificial intelligence (AI) answers. As I teach in my Leadership Coaching Course, these Google results can be manipulated by AI machines. The answers we see are based on popularity, not fact. Or we might call a friend or family member, and she may not be walking with God. She leads us into deeper captivity with her advice.

As Beth Moore writes, “Satanic strongholds need divine demolition.” We need the supernatural power of God to deal with a supernatural demonic stronghold. Sometimes, we need spiritual fasting with our prayer ONLY when directed by the Holy Spirit. You cannot break a stronghold in your strength (or your husbands, mothers, or pastors). You need the Lord. Y

We learned this week that we can be led to victory by the cords of human kindness. In our small groups, we talked about things we can do in the next month to be an example of kindness.

• Make a meal for a neighbor
• Send cards to our friends
• Be intentional to call and talk by phone rather than by text
• Give sincere compliments on social media posts
• Meet up with friends for coffee or tea
• Find inspiration from a consistently kind person
• Show the Fruit of the Spirit, treat people as Jesus would in love
• Gently saying no to someone, can be kindness too!

Remember, if we don’t surrender our thoughts and take them captive to Christ, they will take root as our identity. When we meditate on captive thoughts, we are ignoring the truth of the Holy Word. We need to put on the mind of Christ, read the Word, and give all thoughts to Him through prayer.

A keynote experience of completing this study is replacing lies with truth. Some people believe the lie that we are abandoned by God. Truth: You are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. (Galatians 4:7 NIV)

Or they believe the lie that Satan wins. Truth: And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.(Revelation 20:2 NIV)

Two excellent BCU Studies: Lies Women Believe, and Seeking Him are both about breaking free from lies.

How do we take thoughts captive so we are not deceived by lies? We search the Bible for Scriptures and write them down so we can see and meditate on them. We avoid deception whenever possible: news, television entertainment, novels, music, gossip, and slander.

We seek to be a godly woman. She gives her heart, soul, and mind to God. She obeys Him with all her strength. She surrenders her thoughts to Him for discernment, wisdom, and direction (Beth Moore, Breaking Free)

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Christine Abraham writes for the Bible Cafe™ community. Learn about living by the Fruit of the Spirit as you enjoy her online Bible studies. Join Christine at the Bible Cafe™ University for weekly Bible teaching.