Thoughts
2 Corinthians 10:5b “…and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ:”
The scripture tells us that God looks on the heart, while man looks on the outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7). Christians are so busy getting their lives in order, desperately trying to conform to some set of seemingly unattainable standards, that they have forgotten that how a man thinks is how he is (Proverbs 23:7). Every outward action first has an inward thought. What we as people fill our minds with will eventually control us. The Apostle Paul says to take every thought captive. There are moments when I can’t fathom why I had such a thought, but I do know that if I don’t do something with it, it will certainly turn to something more hideous. I take that thought and turn it over to the guard who locks it up in a cell called the “obedience of Christ”. I give it to God, change my mind and think on something true, honest, lovely, just, of good report (Phil.4:8). I must not allow myself to think on those false thoughts. I must not allow myself to be drawn in by their mesmerizing ways, or be poisoned by the nectar of their fruit. God says take those thoughts captive! It is a daily discipline that takes us from moment to moment. I must be vigilant I must be sober minded (1 Peter 5:8), if not Satan will use it to slay me.
