Joyce Meyer - Battlefield of the Mind for Teens: Winning the Battle in Your Mind

Copyright 2006 by Joyce Meyer

All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from The New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from The Amplified Bible. Old Testament copyright 1965, 1987 by Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan. New Testament copyright 1958, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California. Used by permission.

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First eBook Edition: June 2006

ISBN: 978-0-7595-7386-4

Its All About
the Mind

I magine this: Youre watching your favorite TV show and, right in the middle of the most exciting part, a news anchorwoman cuts in. We interrupt this program to bring you a special news bulletin, she says. The entire populations of Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska, Vermont, and North Dakota have become stricken by a sexually transmitted disease! Stay tuned to this station for more details. And have a pleasant eveningunless you happen to live in Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska, Vermont, or North Dakota!

How would you respond to this news? Would you be shocked? Skeptical? Worried? Well, believe it or not, the scenario above isnt completely imaginary. Every year, more than four million teensthats the equivalent of the population of all those states I just mentionedcontract a sexually transmitted disease. Thats right, teens, just like you.

Teens face other problems, as well. The challenges you face as teens today arent just sexual. By the time they graduate from high school, 56 percent of teens are regular drinkers, and 40 percent will be binge-drinkers. Today, eight teens will die as a result of alcohol. Tomorrow will be the same sad story. And the next day, and the next.... Alcohol is a key factor in the three leading causes of teen death: auto accident, homicide, and suicide.

Do you hear heartbreaking facts like these and wonder Why? I have asked the same question. Fortunately, Gods Word has the answers. You might think that peer pressure, the media, or poor parenting and adult leadership are to blame. And you might be right, at least partially. But the most crucial battle you will fight in your efforts to live a meaningful, safe, satisfying life wont be fought in the halls of your school, at an after-prom party, in Internet chat sessions, or even in front of the television. The most epic fight of them all will be fought in the battlefield of your mind. I want to help make sure that the good guys win.

Proverbs 23:7 tells us, For as [a person] thinks in his heart, so is he (NKJV). In other words, your attitude determines your actions. Think of your body as a state-of-the-art computer; your mind is the hard drive. It runs everything else. If your hard drive gets corruptedor crashesit doesnt matter how high-def your monitor is, how loud your speakers are, or how fast your Internet connection is. If the hard drive is compromised, your computer is, at best, a giant paperweight, a monument to lost potential and wasted money.

I have been helping people like you better understand Gods Word for almost thirty years, and the longer I serve Him and study His Word, the more I realize how important thoughts and words are. I truly believe that Gods Holy Spirit has been leading me to study the Battle for the Mind and give a report directly from the frontlines to you.

I want you to win the battle for your mind. I want you to win big. And I want you to be able to help others win, too.

Your first step toward victory is truly understanding Proverbs 23:7the verse that promises us that how we think of ourselves determines who we are. One Bible translation adds a key insight. It says, As a man thinks in his heart, so does he become. Did you catch the subtle difference between the two translations? Thats right, the battle for your mind not only decides who you are as a person right nowbut also who you will be in the future.

Your life, your actions, will always be a direct result of your thoughts. If you have a negative mind-set, you will have a negative life. But if you renew your mind according to Gods plan for you, you will have an abundant life. Its that simple.

Your life might be very difficult right now. Ninety-nine percent of high-school students say they suffer from stress at least some of the time. But dont give up. Dont despair or become cynical. Little by little, you can change. The fact that you are reading these words right now shows that you have at least some hope.

Keep hoping. Keep striving to change your mind for the better. Because when you change your mind for the better, you change your life for the better. When you begin to see Gods amazing plan for your life, youll want to follow it.

I pray that this book will help you win the battle for your mindand the battle for your life.

This Is Your Mind... This Is Your Mind in a Battle

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,

but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world and against
the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 6:12

A re you feeling a little tired lately? Confused? Depressed? Kicked-around? Its no wonderyoure in a war.

However, your war isnt a conventional battle that can be fought with conventional weapons. Take a look at the scripture that begins this chapter. This warfare isnt with other human beings. Not your arch nemesis at school. Not your teachers. Not your ex-boyfriend or girlfriend. Not even your parents.

Your enemy is Satan himself, the ex-angel-turned-deviland his demonic forces. (The Amplified version of the Bible calls them master spirits.) Satans coming after you with a carefully crafted plan of attack, one you might not even see coming. In fact, you might not even believe youre in a war at all. Thats one of your enemys best tricksdeception.

Satan is a liar. Jesus called him the father of lies and of all that is false (John 8:44 AMP). Here are some of his deceptive lines, which hell use as he tries to control your mind. How many of them have you heard, in one form or another?

You dont need to listen to your parents, your pastor, your youth leaders, and all those other people who try to tell you how to live. I mean, look at em, those incompetent hypocrites. Look at all their flaws and inconsistencies. This is your life. Live it your way.

Drinking, drugs, and sex wont really hurt you. All of those horror stories wont happen to you. Its just a big scare tactic. Adults just dont want you to have any funeven though they had plenty when they were your age. They just want to control you.