By: Ms. J Rivers
@ms_j_rivers
My biological family deals greatly with generational curses. We have a history of physical abuse, drug use, adultery, bad credit etc. When you are raised with a certain way of thinking you take that way of thinking into adulthood. If you don’t change your thinking patterns they will trickle down to your children. Now, I was adopted so I didn’t grow up with my biological family, however spirits and curses travel down through generations. On top of that, the family I was raised by didn’t exactly live by Christian standards. I love my family, however there wasn’t a lot of loving reassurance. I wasn’t taught about managing my finances or how to establish and nurture outside relationships. I was only taught to go to school and get a good job. Life is about so much more than that. I was left feeling inadequate and lost as if I grew up on the earth alone. Negative ideas and feelings about myself and the world were embedded into my mind and spirit, and at times I wanted to end life. I was without God stuck in an endless loop of negative thinking. I have children, and it would break my heart to see them grow up with the same negative thinking that once consumed me. I met my biological family in 2008 and I immediately noticed all of those generational curses and where parts of my personality came from. The curses had to end IMMEDIATELY! 
I first picked up this book when I was living in a shelter. (READ 2 COR. 10:4-5) This book teaches you to train your way of thinking. You train it by reading the Word of God and meditating day and night on scripture. The more you tell yourself something the more you will believe it. When you establish a REALationship with Christ the Holy spirit will speak to you and feed you wisdom. It will reassure you that you are loved and deeply cherished by God. It will let you know that God wants what is best for you regardless of your past mistakes and of how others may feel about you. We have to learn to change our way of thinking so that we may cancel out all that the enemy has had us believing over the years. When you have a mind of Christ you will no longer believe those lies, and your words and behavior will line up with God’s word. My children are pretty good kids, however they do what they see and hear more so than what they are told. How is it right that I get angry with them for doing something they see me do? I could pray all day that my children grow up and live righteous lives, (which is a good thing to do) however if I don’t know which behaviors and spirits to pray against and cast out they may still inherit those curses that kept me and my ancestors in bondage.
Our minds are what Joyce calls “Satan’s playground”. That’s where the lies form. Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” The mind is the leader of our actions. Romans 8:5 says, “For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and see those things which gratify the Spirit.” A negative mind leads to a negative life. If no one throughout your ancestry has fixed their negative mind it only makes sense that it will be passed down to you, but it can end here.
Part 2 of Joyce’s book is entitled “Conditions of the Mind”. What should the mind of a Christian be like? 1Cor 2:11 says, “For what person perceives and understands what passes through a man’s thoughts except the man’s own spirit within him? Just so no one discerns the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” In other words, how are you supposed to have a mind of Christ if the Holy Spirit doesn’t dwell within you?
“The mind should not be filled with reasoning, worry, anxiety, fear, and the like. It should be calm, quiet, and serene.” -Joyce Meyer
My mom is a worrier, and until I met her (2008) and formed a relationship with Christ I thought my worrying was normal and that it was just something women do. I grew up hearing that women naturally worry, so I never tried to change it. Worrying kept me without peace for so many years. It kept me stressed and void of freedom. I always wondered why I couldn’t be happy and why I was so judgmental, critical and suspicious in my relationships when worrying and a lack of faith in who God is was the culprit. I used to be a daydreamer growing up. I’d sit in class and my mind would constantly wander. I was a smart student, but some would say I had ADD because I couldn’t focus on any one thing for too long. A wandering worrying mind is not a mind of Christ, and the enemy constantly tries to get my mind to drift. I’d be reading my bible and my mind would slowly drift to something else without realizing it. The next thing I know at least 10 minutes have gone by and I’ve grown exhausted. I used to put the bible down and go to sleep, but now I pray against the enemy and keep reading.
We have to stop letting our negative thoughts ruin our lives and relationships. People often wonder why things don’t change for them and why they don’t receive deliverance in certain areas. What sense does it make to keep praying for deliverance from lustful desires when you stay in front of a porn video? We have to guide our hearts and minds constantly.
Joyce gives steps to follow in order to flow in the mind of Christ.
Step 1: Think positive thoughts
Step 2: Be God-minded
Step 3: Be “God-Loves-Me”-Minded
Step 4: Have an exhortative (encouraging) mind
Step 5: Develop a thankful mind
Step 6: Be Word-Minded
If you follow these steps, stay in your bible and on your knees before Christ you will change. It’s said that it is impossible to spend time with a person and not become more like them. The more time you spend with Christ the more your actions, words and thoughts will mimic His. Look at your life and future in a positive light and begin to “calleth those things which be not as though they were” Romans 4:17
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