#taking every thought captive

[igate777]

TAKING EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE. CHAPTER 12. PATY 2. ELEVEN CORE NATURE OF HUMAN THOUGHTS SYSTEM. by Portalsgate Broadcast

ELEVEN CORE NATURE OF HUMAN THOUGHTS SYSTEM.1. Thoughts Are Powerful Influences Over the MindThoughts are not passive entities; they exert s

[igate777]

CHAPTER 8 OF TAKING EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE: ANSWERING 7 QUESTIONS ABOUT THOUGHTS. QUESTION 2. CONTINUATION. by Portalsgate Broadcast

The core concept of divine integration starts with recognizing that the human mind is the main connection between spiritual reality and huma

[katsgospel]

Deceitful Strongholds

Satan has set up some deceitful strongholds in my mind, no doubt about it. Fully realizing this today as my time spent in the book of James this morning is causing me to confront the reality of my thought life recently:

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. 

It all begins as a thought. A part of me has a bad feeling that the seeds of the "bad fruits" are already sown in my soul and it's just a matter of time before I reap what I have sown. I sense in this moment that it has only been God's grace that has prevented me from experiencing the disastrous fruit of my sin so far that would potentially kill and destroy me and those that I love. I decided to look up some commentary on "taking my thoughts captive for Christ" and stumbled upon this blog post called "How To Take Every Thought Captive: A Battle For Your Mind." In commenting on the effects of spiritual strongholds in the mind of one particular girl, the author writes:

Satanic forces could not destroy her soul, but they could influence her mind until her usefulness in making God’s name great was marginalized.

So much truth in this for me personally. I think Satan knows that I am bound to God for eternity, that there is nothing (or very little) that He can allow into my life that would cause me to turn my back on God. But what he can do is try to slow me down. So I imagine these days it's a fine balance for Satan day-by-day of pushing me far enough for me to stumble and becoming useless for God's kingdom but not so far as to fully break me which inevitably leads to me running into the arms of my heavenly Father and clinging to Him. It's really the subtlety that's quite brilliant.  I'm reminded of a passage in C.S. Lewis's book Screwtape Letters where the demon Screwtape writes to His nephew Wormwood to be wary of "dry seasons" in a Christian's life:

"[God] wants them to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles. Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon the universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys."

I believe Satan knowns that He cannot separate me from God- my belief is rooted in the truth of the Spirit that I have been redeemed forever and that nothing can separate me from the love of my heavenly Father through the sacrifice of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ . So I'm realizing now that Satan for these last few months has changed tactics and been launching a subtle attack on my unsuspecting mind and my thoughts in hopes of setting up strongholds in my mind, fortresses of lies that take me captive and hold me prisoner from becoming all that God desires me to be. Sadly, I have not been on the lookout and he has succeeded, and it's taken me much too long for me to realize it. I should have been on my guard, armed and ready for battle (1 Peter 5:8). 

If Satan cannot have my soul, he longs to render me useless as a warrior for God's kingdom, or worse, causing others to stumble or reject the gospel due to my poor example and witness. Crazy how the sin in our lives can completely cloud our vision and ability to see ourselves and discern our circumstances clearly. God has been gracious on my soul, but has been waiting for me to come to the realization that the enemy has set up camp in my brain. 

So this morning I am taking back ground loss in the battle against my flesh, repenting of my sin, spending time equipping myself in God's word and praying for the Spirit to guide me and give me clarity in my circumstances. Nothing like spending time in God's word to really force yourself to take a good look at yourself and revealing the uncleanliness of your soul. More to come on this I'm sure. 

[fearless-eagle]

Taking Every Thought Captive!

Taking Every Thought Captive!

Well, I hesitate about this post from Ransomed Hearts because of two reasons. 1)     First, it seems like it is geared toward women only. But, in reality any child of Christ males or females experience spiritual warfare. 2)     The second reason I hesitate is because while the author did not say it, but this idea of struggling through spiritual warfare with Satan because he is trying so hard to…

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