Sign of the Times? Or just Current events?

Matthew 24:3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.  25 Behold, I have told you before.

2 Thes. 2 :1. Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of [a]Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

"Mindfulness" the latest buzzword for self-actualization.

Usually attributed to Buddhist practice but the Bible calls every believer to be aware of and submit every thought to the Lordship of Christ

https://activechristianity.org/how-do-i-take-every-thought-captive

Remember "truth separated from God becomes deception."

2 Corinthians 10: 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

https://activechristianity.org/is-it-even-possible-to-keep-my-thoughts-pure

Discerning my thoughts? Competing Voices!

Take every thought captive to the Lordship of Christ. WHY?

Because discerning my thoughts requires I understand that my mind is not a vault (Safe and secure from anyone else) where I bang around my thoughts and try to make sense of my life. But it is a "doorway" to the spiritual realm.

It's important to understand that I can be confused by "spiritual voices" because I think they are "my thoughts". But these voices originate in the spiritual realm from two sources. One voice, that "condemns" or "exalts",  and wants to lead me to destruction. And another voice that is the "Lover of my soul", that knows me intimately and wants to lead me in the way to "become" all that He created me to be.

OVERCOMER comes to mind. That is certainly God's "Will" for you! For all of us.

Discernment.

Discernment begins with thinking about your thoughts.

Understand that your thoughts have 3 origins*

• A Thought can originate from a man’s spirit (Self)
• A Thought can originate from God’s Spirit (Good)
• A Thought can originate from another spirit, either angel (good) or demon (Evil)

And then it continues with "taking every thought captive to the Lordship of Christ."

You consider a thought by, asking does it line up with the character of Jesus Christ and, is it in harmony with the full counsel of God's written word. But it is with the Lordship of Christ, as we ask Him what He thinks, that we have the opportunity to accept or reject the thought we are thinking.

Reading the Bible and praying without ceasing,  are essential activities for success in the spiritual war the enemy wages against us.

Deut. 11:18 “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 

2 Cor. 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

The battle takes place in our thoughts and we are to..

Battle of the minds.

Have you ever considered your thoughts? Do you ever think about your thoughts? Why are your thoughts like having a conversation?  Have you ever argued with yourself?

Your thoughts are an integral part of your life. They reside in the realm of your mind. Every choice and every decision you make is a result of the "thought processes" that go on within your mind. The Bible says "as a man thinks in his heart so is he."

What you believe has everything to do with what you think. What you think will be revealed in what you say and what you do. These choices and decisions have their consequence, good or bad! They become unalterable facts in the gist of your life. Will they be lessons for you today?

So what you believe affects what you think, what you think affects your decisions and choices, which creates unalterable facts about you.

This all takes place in your mind. A battleground of competing thoughts, where a conversation is carried on and sometimes even arguments happen.

How do you explain it all? VOICES?