from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church https://ift.tt/2SM4wTJ
via IFTTT The battlefield of Christ is in the mind! Thoughts, fears, anxiety, imaginations, dreams, these are the things that matter. To often we focus on actions. Sure actions matter, actions are what will be judged in the end. But the hidden battlefield of thought inside ones mind is where actions spring from. It is the thoughts that we allow which drive the actions we do. Think wrong, do wrong. Think right, do right. Remember what Jesus said... If a man "looks" on a woman with lust in his heart, he has committed adultery. Looking and thinking about the pleasures of sin is what leads us to sin! The thoughts make us guilty because if we don't "capture" the thought, we end up doing the action. Thoughts matter! They are seeds... Either seeds of destruction of seeds of success. The battle is about judging each thought properly and captureing, removing, halting those thoughts leading to evil. What is an evil thought? Anything that goes against God's will or law: I wish I could go party with them. It's too bad I got caught. That would be so much fun if I could do it. I know that is wrong but it sure looks fun. I wish I could have what they have. I hate that person. I really don't like this but I have to. Evil! So many simple thoughts are evil! Perhaps not blatantly evil, but evil still because they lead away from God's mercy, grace, and righteousness. Praising sin, thinking fondly of the pleasures of sin, looking back at sin with longing for the fun, evil! Remember Lott's wife? She looked back, longingly. She missed the pleasures of her old life and looked back at her old home in Sodom. Wham! God's judgement turned her into a pillar of salt. Looking back longingly at the pleasures of sin, missing them in our thoughts; evil! So what do we do? Daily, hourly, minute by minute we actively capture thoughts that are not in line with God's righteousness, and we remove them. We stand against the seeds of sin in our own heart. The flesh will always desire the pleasure of sin. But our spirit desires the righteousness of God once we are filled with the Spirit. The soul sits in the middle and decides to either follow the flesh or the spirit. That is the battle ground. You, your mind, your will, is in charge of the path you choose. As soon as a negative thought pops in, don't give it room to grow, capture it immediately and toss it out. Ungodly thoughts are an infection, they reproduce and spread rapidly. If we don't capture them when small and single, they quickly grow strong and drag our emotions to the flesh. The battle gets harder every second we allow that initial thought to remain. Take captive any and all thoughts that even slightly violate the knowledge and righteousness of Christ. All. Don't entertain lust, greed, envy, hatred, sinful pleasures, memories or desires for pleasure of sin. None of that! Think on what's forward, the holiness of Christ, the good things, the holy things, the things of good report. These thoughts build us up, give us strength, lead us into life and light. It matters what we think. Thoughts will make or break us. Be diligent in monitoring your own thoughts through the lens of scripture. Be quick to capture the ones that violate good or praise sin. Take that first step in deciding to capture the bad thoughts, and God, through the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit will give the power to live righteously. This is victory!
