Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life

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Life gets busy. Has Winning The War In Your Mind been gathering dust on your bookshelf? Instead, pick up the key ideas now.

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Craig Groeschel’s Perspective

Craig Groeschel is the founder and senior pastor of Life.Church, an American evangelical multi-site church. In 1996, Groeschel and a handful of people started Life Covenant Church in a two-car garage. He told Business Week that he started the process by performing market research of non-churchgoers and designed his church in response to what he learned. Groeschel’s non-traditional style was successful. Life Covenant’s attendance grew rapidly, eventually evolving to become the largest Protestant church in the United States with 32 campuses.

Life.Church was named America’s Most Innovative Church by Outreach Magazine in 2007 and 2008. Life.Church has approximately 100,000 people attending weekly.

Synopsis of Winning The War in Your Mind

Winning the War in Your Mind combines psychological research and biblical practices to outline the importance of controlling your thoughts. Groeschel believes the Bible calls us to change our thought patterns by replacing lies with truth. Satan is always seeking to insert lies into our minds and it is our job to notice these lies and free ourselves of them.

Where Are Your Thoughts Taking You?

Our lives are always moving in the direction of our strongest thoughts. This means that what we think shapes who we are. Once we understand this interaction, the better equipped we will be to change our lives. The impact of our thoughts on our emotions and behaviors is highlighted by the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Groeschel points out that CBT has effectively treated many disorders, ranging from eating disorders to addiction. The reason that CBT has such a wide impact is that all these behaviors stem from faulty and negative thoughts. As CBT aims to tackle these thoughts themselves, it can treat many mental health disorders.

Groeschel points out that the Bible also supports the importance of controlling your thoughts. He quotes the Apostle Paul saying, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable. If anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. Whatever you’ve learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice. And, the God of peace will be with you.” In this quote, Paul is moving from thought to action to experience. So, Paul is suggesting that our thoughts shape our lives. Groeschel believes that as both the Bible and psychologists highlight the importance of thoughts, we should consider their impact on our lives.

The Replacement Principle

“A lie believed as truth will affect your life as if it is a truth.” – Craig Groeschel

Groeschel argues that you can change your life by using the Bible to remove lies and replace them with truth. Groeschel provides an example from his own life to highlight the importance of replacing lies with truth. He explains that he and his pastors used to play capture the flag together in their office. One morning, one of the other pastors was waiting in a cupboard to surprise Groeschel. He had noticed this other pastor, though. He jokingly decided to put a chair under the doorknob to lock the other pastor in the cupboard. The issue was the chair didn’t fit underneath. That said, Groeschel said a little lie and told the pastor he had just put a chair under the doorknob and that he was stuck in there for the rest of the day. Instead of challenging this claim from Groeschel, the other pastor proceeded to just stay in the cupboard and even ended up climbing onto a bookshelf and into the ceiling by displaying a roof tile. He carried out this elaborate escape plan, while that whole time, he could have escaped by merely turning the doorknob.

This example shows that the lies we tell ourselves (or are told by others) can hold us back. You might feel you are trapped in a self-made prison. You might not be living the life you want and don’t have the relationship with God that you want. If you have these feelings, Groeschel believes you are living a lie. It is nothing to do with you that holds you back. It is merely the lie doing so. If you can identify this lie, you can then remove it and replace it with the truth. This simple truth will give you liberation.

Comment below and let others know what you have learned or if you have any other thoughts.

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