Our Thoughts Captive

We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5

 

Our thought lives are so important … that they aren’t supposed to be our own. The verse from Paul includes a chain of command. First, we are to master our thoughts … instead of being mastered by them. But we don’t take our thoughts captive to do our bidding. This isn’t the power of positive thinking. We’re simply taking prisoners for our Commander. Every thought is to be captured and examined against the standard of Christ and then subjugated to that standard. It is not gentle process, but a ruthless and radical one. Paul used the language of battle. The first part of the verse reads … “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God” … we take captive every thought and make obedient to Christ.

From 2001 to 2006 the U.S. Army used the recruiting slogan … “An Army of One.” It was eventually replaced because it appeared to devalue teamwork … but there was a positive idea behind the motto. The byline of some posters read, “Smart, Strong and Prepared.” Thoroughly trained and well-equipped soldiers know their part in the conflict. Each man is an army within the army. Each must to go in well versed in the goals and objectives of central command.

The battlefield of the mind is a dangerous, potentially deadly conflict. Unexamined thought patterns lead to retreat, desertion and collateral damage. Enemy thoughts allowed into secure areas wreak havoc in our lives. The reason so many Christians fall prey to the devil is simple … they don’t know the objective and goals of their Commander. The only way we can realistically capture and subdue every thought to Christ … is if we know Christ’s will for our lives. This doesn’t happen magically or accidentally. Christ’s first battle plan, given to His closest lieutenants was, “go and make disciples of all nations, … teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20 They carried out His orders so diligently, that 2000 years later we have Jesus’ commands in a neatly bound field manual. You can use it to renew your mind … or you can be conformed to the pattern of the world dominated by the enemy of our souls. Romans 12:2

 
 

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