“Ground Zero” is globally known as the epicenter for whatever the subject happens to be.  In the realm of spiritual warfare, the epicenter is the mind, Biblically known as the “heart.”  It is from the mind that all things, whether good or evil, arise.  Spiritually, whatever follows the thought is the “fruit” produced by the thought.  Spiritual fruit consists of words and deeds.  Also, evil thoughts, if not forced out, produce more thoughts.  If one becomes comfortable with sinful thoughts, many more such thoughts will follow, as will the fruit they produce.  This is the process by which people either become evil or holy.  What goes in comes out in one form or another.  This process determines one’s character.  Throughout the process, man is in charge.

Earlier I noted that the eyes and ears are the openings (windows) to the mind.  Man receives large amounts of stimuli through those orifices.  It is for this reason that pornography is a $3,000,000,000 a year industry.  Whether good or bad, that which is pleasing to the senses is readily welcomed into the mind.  The mind then becomes addicted to the sensation, creating not merely a pleasant feeling, but also a need for more of the sensation.  Like hunger and thirst, a mental need demands to be met.  Therefore, as the need is met, more of the stimuli is sought to satisfy the growing need.  For this reason an incredible number of hours are spent watching pornography, much of it while on the job.  I read that among federal male workers, the average daily consumption of porn is three hours.

As stated earlier, what goes in eventually comes out in one form or another.  Many a criminal has been caught by his own words.  They simply must tell someone about what they have done.  They talk about it because they think about it.  Unless caught, they repeat the act again and again.  I worked for 10 years in the Texas Department of Corrections where I talked with inmates for a living.  Inmates like to talk about their crimes because that is what they thought about.  But talking isn’t the only way thoughts produce “fruit.”  Scripturally, “fruit” is produced by a “tree” (mind).

Jesus Christ expounded on this concept in Matthew 12:34,35: “O generation of snakes, how can you, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man, out of the goodness of his heart, speaks good things while an evil man speaks evil things out of an evil heart.”  EVIL WORDS AND ACTIONS SPRING FROM AN EVIL HEART.

Jesus also noted that good things come from a good heart.  Whether good or evil, the thoughts the heart produces develop from stimuli coming from the external world which enter through the eyes and ears.  Just as evil in=evil out is true, righteousness in=rightousness out is also true.  In the midst of the war, the individual is the “gatekeeper” who decides what enters the mind–what he watches on t.v., what he reads, what sermons he hears, what movies he enjoys, what books and articles he reads, what music he listens to,  etc.

The Apostle Paul, who received his gospel directly from Jesus Christ through revelation, said this in Philippians 4:8: “Finally brethren (church people), whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there is any virtue, if there is anything praiseworthy, think on those things.”  He made it clear that man is his mind’s gatekeeper.  We always have a choice.  The choices we make determine whether we are obeying God or Satan.  There is no middle ground, no gray area.  In other words, there is no such thing as a sinner saved by grace.  One is either a sinner or a saint.  There are no sinning saints.  This was made clear by Jesus when He told the prostitute He had forgiven: “GO AND SIN NO MORE.”  He told the man at the pool in Bethesda the exact same thing.  Be assured, He meant what He said.

People sometimes wonder why they continue to have sinful thoughts.  It’s generally because they aren’t diligently WORKING (yes, WORKS are necessary for salvation) to replace those thoughts with God’s thoughts–things that are true, honest, just, pure and lovely.  The mind, like nature, abhors a vacuum which demands to be filled.  We must consciously fill our minds with good thoughts.  Otherwise, Satan will fill them with sinful thoughts.  God tells us that the source of good thoughts is His Holy Word.  As a veteran of the mind wars, I found that memorizing Scriptures is an excellent way to focus the mind on good things while keeping bad thoughts at bay.  You would be amazed at the amount of time you have each day to think about whatever you want to think about.  Drive time to and from work is an excellent example.  And how about turning off the tube that features sinful people doing sinful things and saying sinful words.  Not everything on t.v. is bad.  Sporting contests are not bad in and of themselves.  Having been a high school and college athlete, I loved to watch basketball, football and boxing.  When the Lord convicted me of being addicted to those things I asked Him to remove the addictions.  In an instant the craving left me as I was walking toward the living room to watch a boxing match.  I literally stopped, did an about face and returned to the den where my Bible awaited me.

Recall that when Jesus dispatched Satan, who had been tempting Him following His 40 day fast, Satan only “left Him (alone) FOR A SEASON” (Lk. 4:13).  Not even the Son of God was immune from temptation.  He was a man like all other men.  And like the rest of us, He had to resist Satan’s “fiery darts” of temptation.  Recall that on the day of His crucifixion He asked the Father if there was another way He could become the Savior of mankind.  There was no other way.  So He said, “Not My Will, but Your will be done.”  Like Him, saints have to submit our wills to God’s will.  We will remain human until we either die or Christ returns at which time they will be born again (changed from physical to spiritual bodily composition).  We must continually be filling our hearts with good thoughts.  That way there will be no room for bad thoughts.  I know, it’s easier said than done.  BUT IT MUST BE DONE IN ORDER TO RECEIVE ETERNAL LIFE.  L.J.