CASTING ASIDE UNTRUTHS, WE BRING EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE TO CHRIST
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“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 2:5 –
We as Christians have the mind of Christ. We are called to bring every thought captive unto the Lord Jesus. Our thoughts are to be His thoughts. Our minds are to be captured by Him. Every thought is to spring from Him.
The cares and concerns of this life often cause us to dwell on less than peaceful thoughts. How often we find our minds drifting down paths that twist and turn without direction. We may run along these “rabbit trails” of thinking… wandering here, there, everywhere and essentially nowhere. Our emotions soon follow… and we find ourselves feeling sad, angry, anxious, fearful, or despairing. We lose the joy and hope that our Lord so lovingly bestows upon us. We wonder where these thoughts originated.
“The battlefield of the mind is where life’s most precious victories are won or lost.” – Kenneth Copeland
Our minds can seem like a battlefield. If we’re not hearing from God, we’re hearing from the world. If our minds are not filled with His truth, they are filled with untruths. We are constantly bombarded by worldly influences and concerns that occupy, and often take over, our minds. Thoughts from within us can capture our minds. We find ourselves dwelling on lies we have believed to be truths.
The enemy, the father of all lies, also plays a part. He will try to whisper lying thoughts into our minds. Lies that target us, our spiritual walk and our God. Often we are quite unaware of this enemy intrusion. We may mistake these thoughts as our own.
Whatever the source, thoughts enter our minds that steal away our peace. These untruths can target our self-worth, question our abilities and doubt our purpose. They erode away our confidence, our faith, our hope.
Lying thoughts can take aim at our lives. We find ourselves worrying about the present… or dwelling on the past… reliving our mistakes, our regrets and our failures. Untruths can target our belief in God… causing us to doubt His character, His presence with us and His divine plan for our lives. Our minds run with these lies… and uncomfortable emotions soon well up within us.
“We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 10:5
When our minds are captured by negative thoughts, we cannot have a positive life. The key is to corral these runaway thoughts before they send us down trails of disquieting emotions. Would the Holy Spirit plant thoughts in our minds that lead us down dead end paths of worry, insecurity, bitterness or discouragement? These thoughts run counter to the mind of Christ. They are everything that He is not.
Since we have the Spirit of Christ, we have the mind of Christ. His Spirit resides in us. His Spirit of counsel and guidance and revelation. The Holy Spirit will bring to remembrance the words of God for us. Words that cause us to feel loved, secure, worthy, brave and joyful. His words bring positivity, peace, hope. If our thoughts are leading us away from His presence, then they are not from Him.
“You’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.” – Philippians 4:8 (MSG)
How do we live this out in our daily walk? The apostle Paul explains that we are to keep our minds focused on all that is good. Rather than dwelling on the negatives… the worst that could happen, the ugliness of evil, the complaints of life… we allow the Holy Spirit to capture our thoughts. He will lead them toward the positive… toward what is true… toward what is heaven-sent.
We can take control of our minds through the power of God’s Word. When we meditate on Scripture, we capture our thoughts and let them be transformed by the washing of the Word. Our minds become refreshed and renewed.
When you find your thoughts wandering down dead end trails of untruths, remember Paul’s words. Take every thought captive unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Let the Holy Spirit guide your thoughts down paths marked “Best”, “Beautiful”, “Praiseworthy”. Your life will be blessed.
