Yesterday we looked at 2 Corinthians 10,
where we are told to demolish strongholds of wrong thinking and take every
thought captive to obedience to Christ.
In verses 4-5 we are told that the
weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to
demolish strongholds. What are these
weapons that demolish strongholds of wrong thinking? This is pretty obvious. It is God’s Truth! The main and only certain source of God’s
Truth is the Bible. Let’s spend today
reflecting on a key passage of the Bible that tells us the importance and the
functions of God’s Word in our lives.
16 All Scripture isinspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, fortraining in
righteousness;17 so thatthe man of God
may be adequate,equipped for
every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Prayer: Reflecting specifically on this passage,
write out a prayer to God.
Day 4
“…Take Captive Every
Thought…”
John
Brydon
I don’t want to overstate this, but the
concept that follows has had as much impact on my life as anything I’ve grasped
in the past five or ten years. The
concept is in two parts: 1) every sin I’ve ever committed has started in my
mind; and 2) the Bible says I can control my mind.
5 We demolish arguments and
every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God,and we take captive every
thought to make it obedientto Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:5
Thus, if I find I am indulging in thoughts
that will lead to sin, I can take those thoughts captive, in Jesus’ name. I have a choice. I can recognize the danger and turn away, or
I can allow unhealthy thoughts to hold me captive. Personally, I’d rather remain in control and
I’d rather honor Christ with my thoughts.
I’ve learned I can do that, with God’s help. So can you.
The Apostle Paul assures us that God has
given each of us powerful weapons that will prevail if we equip ourselves and
use the weapons He’s provided (please read Eph. 6:12-18).
While there’s frequently a battle in or
for the mind, remember you’re not fighting against yourself. You’re fighting for yourself, for the Lord
and against Satan.
3 For though
we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.4 The weapons
we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have
divine powerto demolish
strongholds. 2 Corinthians 10:3-4
I’ve learned that I’m happier when my
thoughts aren’t controlling me, but this exercise isn’t about making me happy
(although that’s a nice benefit).
Instead, I’m being equipped to be useful for God’s Kingdom, so I can
fulfill His purposes for my life. I
can’t fulfill those purposes if my mind is crippled by sinful thoughts and
thought patterns.
These sinful thoughts don’t have to be
horrible or shameful. Sometimes it’s enough
for these thoughts to feed greed, anger, pride, disunity, seemingly small ideas
that I may rationalize as being reasonable or even justified.
When I discipline myself to take these
thoughts captive, I enjoy great freedom; freedom not to be enslaved by thought
patterns. I take control, with
God’s help. Thoughts (and the words or
events that result from them) stop controlling me.
It’s difficult (and likely impossible) to
love God with all my mind if I continually nurture and harbor unworthy thoughts. Doing so harms me spiritually. Eventually I’ll put those thoughts into
speech or action, and then someone else will be harmed spiritually, too. Is God ever honored when I hurt another of
His children, even if I’m convinced I’m right?
There’s a gulf between what
I’m inclined to think and what God want me to think.
6 SeektheLordwhile he may
be found; callon him while
he is near. 7 Let the wicked forsaketheir ways and the
unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turnto theLord, and he will have mercyon them, and to our
God, for he will freely pardon.
8 “For my
thoughtsare not your
thoughts, neither are
your ways my ways,” declares theLord. 9 “As the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways and my
thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:6-9
I’ve discovered
this is like any other discipline: the more I practice controlling my thoughts
(taking them captive in Jesus’ name), the more success I have. I’m doing so much better at this and, as a
result, I’m much happier. Hopefully I’m
more useful for God’s purposes. That’s
progress. I recommend it.
Do you really believe that you can
choose what you think?
“Finally,
brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is
right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if
there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell
on these things.” Philippians 4:8
“And
do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and
acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2
“…and
we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,” 2 Corinthians 10:5b
Have
you ever gotten a song or jingle stuck in your head that you can’t seem to
forget? I certainly have. Our minds naturally soak up everything around
us and our spirits similarly soak up what we hear and see. It is where sin starts in us. David saw Bathsheba on the rooftop and he
inquired about her. Then his actions
followed. The seed of sin was first sown
in David’s mind just as it is sown in ours.
That is why God told us over and over through his word to take our
thoughts captive to Christ and to fill our minds with what is good and
excellent and true and pure. God will
not bring our thoughts into the captivity of Christ, we must do it!
We
have available what the world does not until they come to Him – freedom from
sin! “If the Son makes you free, you
shall be free indeed” John 8:36. We have
a choice to “set our minds on the things above, not on the things that are on
earth.” Colossians 3:2.
Let’s
stop being a slave to our old selves.
How do we bring our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ? First, confess your sin and thoughts to
God. Be specific. Pour out your heart to God. Ask Him to not let you love the world or the
things of the world but to help you set your mind on the things above. Ask Him to show you where you need to cut
things out of your life that are not excellent and pure. Second, intentionally fill your mind with
what is good. When you are watching,
reading or listening to something, ask yourself: Is this true, honorable, right, pure, lovely,
excellent and worthy of praise? Also,
practice listening for the conviction or prompting of the Holy Spirit. If we do these things long enough, they will
become habits and we will easily and quickly discern what is excellent and be
sensitive to the Spirit. Finally, what
is more pure and excellent than the Bible?
Memorize scripture. Try a whole
chapter. You will find your mind
reflecting on what you’re memorizing even when you are sleeping. Read His word
daily.
I
once told someone that sometimes when I read the Bible, I find myself shutting
it and not remembering what I just read.
He said to me, “How much water does a sieve hold when you run water in
it?” I said, “Nothing.” He replied, “But
the sieve is clean.”
What
does God promise if we do this? “The
things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these
things; and the God of peace shall be with you.” Philippians 4:9.
God
does not require us to obey. He tells us
what we ought to do and we choose to obey.
As Oswald Chambers also says in his book My Utmost for His Highest, “My personal life may be crowded with
small, petty happenings, altogether insignificant. But if I obey Jesus Christ in the seemingly
random circumstances of life, they become pinholes through which I see the face
of God.” Keep filling your mind with
what is good. Keep obeying. Keep choosing freedom and you will be free to
the very core of your soul.
What
are some of the unhealthy thoughts that you need to confess to the Lord?
Loving the Lord
with all our minds has to do with aligning our minds and lives with God’s
truth. Eugene Peterson, in his amazing book Eat This Book, has identified what he
calls the “New Holy Trinity” of Holy needs, holy wants, and holy feelings. Mostly, disciplines of alignment have to do
with combating our tendency to live by the arbitrary authority of our needs,
wants and feelings. Peterson writes,
It is important to observe
that in the formulation of this new Trinity that defines the self as the
sovereign text for living, the Bible is neither ignored or banned; it holds, in
fact, an honored place. But the
three-personal Father, Son and Holy Spirit is replaced by a a very
individualized personal Trinity of my Holy Wants, my Holy Needs, and my Holy
Feelings…If the culture does a thorough job on us—and it turns out to be might
effective with most of us—we enter adulthood with the working assumption that
whatever we need and want and feel forms the divine control center of our
lives…Without this text, firmly established at the authoritative center of our
communal and personal lives, we will founder.
We will sink into a swamp of well-meaning but ineffectual men and women
who are mired unmercifully in our needs and wants and feelings. [1]
Alignment is
centered around reading, hearing, studying, memorizing, meditating and applying
God’s Word. Hearing and living Scripture
is really central to all the disciplines because this is how we learn of all
else related to loving the Lord. Some disciplines of alignment are:
Bible Reading – It is essential that we have
a regular intake of God’s Word.
Bible Study – We go beyond merely reading
to seeking understanding and application.
Bible Meditation – Praying and reflecting upon
the Bible to increase understanding and application.
Bible Memorization– Hiding the Word in our
hearts.
Mind Renewal – This is where we combine the
disciplines of Bible reading, study, memorization, and meditation with the
disciplines of renouncing error and confessing truth. It is identifying errors in our thinking and
combating them with the truth of God’s Word.
Which of the
above disciplines do you practice and how?
Which have you practiced in the past?
30 Lovethe
Lord your Godwith
all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind,and
with all your strength.”
Let’s review how this breaks
down…
Heart --
First-Love
VPriority Love
VAttaching Ourselves to the Lord through…
VDisciplines of attachment.
Soul -- Pure
Love.
VSimplicity of Love
VDetaching ourselves from the world through…
VDisciplines
of attachment
Mind -- True
Love
VVeracity of love
VAligning ourselves with God’s truth through…
VDisciplines of alignment
Strength --
Full Love
VEnergy
of love
VEngaging ourselves in God’s service through…
VDisciplines of engagement
This week we will consider what it means to
love the Lord with all our mind. Let’s start by meditating on Romans 12:1-2
ThereforeI urge you,
brethren, by the mercies of God, topresent your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable
to God,which
isyourspiritual
service of worship.2 And do notbe conformed tothisworld, but be
transformed by therenewing of your
mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable
and perfect.
And Philippians 4:8
8 Finally, brethren,whatever
is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever
islovely, whatever is of good
repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise,dwell on these things.
Reflecting
specifically on this devotional, write out a prayer to God
13 Someonein the crowd
said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide thefamilyinheritance with me.”14 But He said to
him,“Man, who
appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?”15 Then He said to
them,“Beware, and be
on your guard against every form of greed; for notevenwhen one has an abundance does his life consist
of his possessions.”16 And He told them
a parable, saying,“The land of a
rich man was very productive.17 And he began
reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store
my crops?’18 Then he said,
‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and
there I will store all my grain and my goods.19 And I will say
to my soul, “Soul,you have many
goods laid up for many yearsto
come; take your ease, eat, drinkandbe merry.”’20 But God said to
him, ‘You fool! Thisverynightyour soul is required of you; andnowwho will own what you have prepared?’21 So is the man
whostores up
treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Prayer: Reflecting specifically on this
devotional, write out a prayer to God.
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$3,600.00. That’s how much money I made my first year of
practicing law. Claudia was home with an
infant, so that was our family income. We
tithed. We couldn’t afford to tithe, but
we believed that we couldn’t afford not to.
From a human perspective, it made no sense, and we could easily have
rationalized keeping the money. We
needed it (or thought we did). Tithing
was a step in faith, a surrender of what we could see (our limited income) for
what we couldn’t (God’s faithfulness) God was faithful, and continues to
be faithful, through good financial times and through tough ones. He is Almighty God, always faithful, always
caring, always providing, always with your best interests at heart. He is worthy of your trust and your
surrender. When I think of giving, I
automatically think of tithing. To me,
the two concepts are inseparable. I have
yet to meet a person who tithed, and who later told me it was a bad idea. I have yet to meet a person who tithed, and
who later told me God hadn’t been faithful.
Instead, every tither I talk with would never consider not tithing. Every tither has stories of God’s
faithfulness, God’s provision, God’s love exhibited as a result of the tither’s
surrender and obedience. Either there
are a lot of people making up phony stories about God’s provision, or God’s
reward for obedience is real.
People’s stories of the wonderful results
of tithing can be inspiring and motivational, but here’s something really
inspiring and motivational:
38 Give, and it
will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running
over, will be poured into your lap.For with the
measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Luke 6:38
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will
also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.7 Each of you should give what you have decided
in your heart to give,not reluctantly or under compulsion,for God loves a cheerful giver.8 And God is ableto bless you abundantly, so that in all
things at all times, having all that you need,you will abound in every good work. 2
Corinthians 9:6-8
8 “Will
a mere mortal robGod?
Yet you rob me.“But you ask, ‘How
are we robbing you?’“In tithesand offerings.9 You
are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me.10 Bring the whole titheinto the storehouse,that there may be food in my house. Test me
in this,” says theLordAlmighty, “and see if I will not throw open
the floodgatesof heaven and pour outso much blessingthat there will not be room enough to store
it. Malachi 3:8-10
33 But seek
first his kingdomand his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33
Either these verses are true, or they are
not.
If they are not true, then keep your
money.
How has this devotional challenged your
thinking on giving?
How is giving an issue of loving the Lord
with all your soul? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Prayer: Reflecting specifically on this
devotional, write out a prayer to God.
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