Just as our physical heart is negatively or positively effected by what we think & do, so is our spiritual heart/our soul effected by what we think & do. Our physical heart is negatively impacted by seeking things that bring stressful thinking into our lives, and also negatively impacted by not applying healthy Wisdom & Discernment to how we eat & what we do-i.e.,how we live. In the same way, what we think & do effectively shapes and changes our soul; our spirit-our heart. When we earnestly trust in the Gospel of Christ to save us from sin and all it’s consequences, Jesus places His Spirit in us to be our Helper; our Encourager; our Courage; our Discernment; and our Guide for all things Genuinely Best for us! He does not become a puppet master, nor a dictator! He becomes our Savior; our Helper; our Encourager; our Courage Giver; our Discernment; and our Guide for our Eternal Best! We can get advanced education in mental & physical health, but if we do not personally assimilate what we study into our lives we will reap none of the benefits of those studies, nor will our lives reflect a personal conviction of what we learn through those studies. In essence, we let our lives be led by something other than what we learn is best for us. When this happens in our life, something bad for us is in essence on the throne of our lives leading & encouraging us to unhealthy mind/heart/life choices. 1John3:18 addresses this when it says, ”Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”! Part of the plea of this verse is for our hearts (the root of how & what we truly love) to be shaped & changed by our “actions” (how we think&live) as we do so “in TRUTH” (God’s Word is THE FOUNDATION OF ALL TRUTH)! We may study The Bible in depth for all sorts of reasons, or even just to check off that we had a “quiet time”. If we are not responding to what God’s Spirit is revealing to us as we study His Word, then we are doing what 1John3:18 is telling us NOT to do! But if we are seeking to change our thinking, & how we live by what The Holy Spirit convicts us/teaches us with as we earnestly study God’s Word then our hearts are being shaped & changed “in TRUTH”! In fact 1John3:19-24 says that if our thoughts & lives are being changed in these ways we then know WHO truly lives in us-“who or what is truly on the THRONE of our life” -> 1John3:29-24, ”This is then how we know that we belong to THE TRUTH, & how we set our hearts at rest in HIS PRESENCE (Jesus on the THRONE of our life), Those who obey HIS commands (wisdom;discernment;instruction,etc.) & do what pleases HIM (knowing HIS Great Mercy&Love)...Those who obey HIS commands live in HIM, & HE in them (His Holy Spirit). &this is how we know that HE lives in us: We know by the Spirit HE gave us”. These verses are not the call of a manipulative dictator, but the Words of a LOVING FATHER desiring everything that is ABSOLUTE BEST for HIS children. Dear Lord, these verses open so many cans of worms in my life of just how much of my life I have been an academic student & not a personal life lesson seeker student of Your Word! I pray for Your Spirit to wake me up to the TRUTHS of these verses and to the  Helping;Encouraging;Courage; Discernment;& Guiding of Your Spirit in my life...&may my mind/heart/life be shaped by Your Heart as with Your Help Your Words are put into action in me.