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August 17, 2025 5 mins

Monday 18 August 2025

What you feed your mind will shape the direction of your life.

#BattleDrillDevotional #MindsetMatters #FaithInFocus #ChristianLiving

In today’s episode of Battle Drill Devotional, we explore the quiet but powerful influence of our thoughts. Based on 2 Timothy 2:22, this reflection unpacks the call to “run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts” and instead, “pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace.” The Bible doesn’t invite us to manage toxic thoughts - it invites us to flee from them and fill our minds with something better.

Thoughts grow. Bitterness multiplies. Grace multiplies too. What we dwell on is what we draw near. This episode invites you to consider what loops in your mind and how it might be shaping your words, your choices, and your relationships.

We’ll reflect on practical examples - from The Salvation Army’s frontline ministry to personal stories of transformation - where a single thought shift changed the whole course of a life. And you’ll be gently encouraged to take your next step: not in guilt or shame, but in grace and trust.

What are you thinking about today? And is it pulling you towards Jesus or pushing you away?

🎧 Listen now and consider what you’re chasing - and what might be chasing you.

You can read this week's devotionals by downloading them from here - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/60mzlqaad5tlkt6icy0tm/250817.pdf?rlkey=1pnzomqouvhg7nufr7p0gi10r&dl=0

For more devotionals and resources, visit video.battledrilldevotional.com. Prefer listening? Check out our audio devotionals at battledrilldevotional.com.

Thanks for watching Battle Drill Daily Devotional, where each weekday I share short, 5-minute Christian devotionals to help you stay spiritually strong and battle-ready for life’s challenges. Hosted by Salvation Army officer Rob Westwood-Payne, this podcast brings daily encouragement and biblical insights to believers of all backgrounds.

If today’s devotional inspired you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who might need encouragement. Your support helps more people discover Battle Drill Daily Devotional, a trusted source for Salvation Army devotionals and Christian faith reflections.

For more devotionals and resources, visit video.battledrilldevotional.com. Prefer listening? Check out our audio devotionals at battledrilldevotional.com.

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:19):
Hello.
I'm glad you've joined me today.
Let me ask you this.
What thoughthas been looping in your mind lately?
We all have them.
They seem to pop in without warning,a passing idea.
Flicker of desire, a quiet fear.
And before long they've taken root.

(00:39):
They shape the way that we seeothers.
They color our choices.
They not just gentlybut persistently.
In one direction or another.
Paul writes to Timothy, runfrom anything
that stimulates youthful lusts.
Instead, pursue righteous
living,faithfulness, love, and peace.

(01:03):
Enjoy the companionship of those
who call on the Lordwith pure hearts.
Two Timothy chapter two, verse 22.
There's urgency
in that first, isn't there? Run.
Not argue.
Not negotiate.
Not manage.
Just run.

(01:25):
Because some thoughts just aren'tworth sitting with.
They don't need unpacking.
They need convicting.
But Paul doesn't stop there.
He doesn't just tell us what to flee.
He also tells us what to follow.
To run towardssomething better, towards
righteousness,towards faith, love and peace.

(01:50):
Towards Jesus.
I've learned this in my own walk.
When I dwell on bitterness,it doesn't stay small.
It grows.
It infects how I see people,how I read situations, how I pray.
Even though stop praying.
But when I dwell on grace,something shifts.

(02:13):
I see God's hand,even in hard places.
I begin to trust again.
It's not about forcing positivity.
It's about feedingthe right thoughts.
Because what we feed grows
in the Salvation Army.
We often see this in our work
with people seekingfreedom from addiction or trauma.

(02:37):
They can't always changeeverything at once,
but they canchoose a different thought.
They can step into a safe place,
into kindness, into truth.
And that first stepis the beginning of healing.
So what are you fillingyour mind with?

(02:59):
What are you watching?
What are you reading?
What are you scrolling through?
Who are you spending time with?
Because we don't just runfrom temptation.
We run towards a better way.
That's the grace in today's verse.
It's not about guilt or shame.

(03:21):
It's about direction.
Paul invites usnot just to resist sin,
but to pursue what's right.
Not just to survive,
but to thrive.
So maybe todayit's time to take stock.
Is what you're dwelling on, drawingyou nearer to God

(03:45):
or pulling you further away.
You don't have to changeeverything overnight,
but you can make a shift.
You can begin to start
feeding your mind with truth,with Scripture,
with grace filled voices,
with Christ centered thoughts.

(04:07):
And runwith those who call in the Lord
with pure hearts.
Companionship matters.
We weren't made to fight this alone.
Think about this today.
What thought has been looping aroundin your mind lately?
And is it drawing you closer to God

(04:29):
or pulling you away?
Let's pray.
Lord, help me notice what I dwell on.
Give me the courage to runfrom thoughts that drag me down.
And chaseafter those that lift me up.
Surround me with companionswho help me love you more.

(04:50):
Fix my mind on what is good and true.
In Jesus name, Amen.
Join me back here tomorrow
as we think abouthow to protect our minds.
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