Monday, October 5, 2009

Bring Those Thoughts Captive!

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 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." (2nd Corinthians 10:4-5)

So many of the battles that we face in life occur between our ears. Our minds can really be a battleground. That's why it is so important to submit even our thoughts to God. Sin doesn't happen in a vacuum. Wrong attitudes and beliefs don't magically spring up. They sometimes happen because of bad teaching or no teaching but, many times, they simply happen because we don't submit our thoughts to the Word of God.

For example -- somebody hurts your feeling. What is your response? Do you walk in humility, love and forgiveness? Or do you think about it and stew over it until it becomes a real resentment issue in your life? If you're living you are going to have problems. It's critical that we respond as God would have us respond. A key in doing that is to bring those thoughts that are contrary to God's Word captive. Bring them into obedience. How do you do that? By making a decision to change what you are thinking about. Replace the angry or fearful thoughts with some scripture. Talk to the Lord about it. Pray for the person who wronged you. Don't take a thought and make it sin by dwelling on it!

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