Who May Climb the Mountain of the Lord? 2

Philippians 4:8 Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. The Message

Continuing with the message of the last posting, our beliefs and things we lift as idols start in our thoughts. As Joyce Meyer has taught for many years, the battle starts in our minds. But one thing worth noting is that whenever there are wounds in our souls from hurts, broken hearts and offenses (things that others have done or said against us that have caused hurt in our hearts), especially when the enemy has sent people to repeat his lies to us, thinking of things highlighted in the Scripture is easier said than done.

For this reason, the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2) is important because this way we are allowing the Lord to wash us clean (Ezekiel 36:25) from the mindsets adopted from our cultures,  traditions, upbringings, different types of influences, and even things that were passed down to us generationally  that have trained us to think in certain ways. The word of God also helps us heal from our wounds (Isaiah 53:5), and when this happens, it becomes easier to fight to keep every lofty thing that wants to exalt itself against the Lord and His word in our minds (2 Corinthians 10:5).

A biblical example of the command to meditate on the word of God, His promises, and the ways of His Kingdom is found in Joshua 1:6-9. In this passage the Lord told Joshua three times to be strong and courageous. He spoke this sternly, but He wanted to help Joshua meditate on being strong and courageous to override the fear he might have been feeling because of what he was about to embark to do in order to fulfill God's commands for him. This passage implies that Joshua could have been a person easily fearful, and perhaps he had made fear an idol. But God, like He always does, shone His light in the darkness that enveloped Joshua through the fear, and told him what was going to take for him to be successful in his endeavors as he obeyed the word of the Lord spoken to him.

So in essence, in order for us to climb the mountain of the Lord to receive His blessings, we need to get rid of idols of all kinds as He shows us what they are when we read His Word and allow Him to wash us clean as we meditate and speak the Word that has shone the light on the darkness that kept us in bondage. This way we can pull strongholds of the enemy down and walk in freedom to love and worship God, love and learn to see ourselves the way He sees us, and extend that love to others even in our thoughts because what we meditate on eventually will come out of our mouths and will be shown through our actions for as a man thinks so is he (Proverbs 23:7). To God alone be all the glory!