Take It Captive!

What does it mean to live by the Spirit? First we recognize that the Spirit desires what is opposite of our sin nature and then we surround ourselves with influences that feed the Spirit and eliminate those that feed the sin nature. The second thing that is essential to living by the Spirit is in the area of your thoughts. Your thoughts are like a rudder of a ship...you will become as you think many times.

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..."
Romans 12:2

"Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body is full of light. But when they are bad, your body is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness."
Luke 11:34-35

How we think is crucial to living by the Spirit, because the Spirit always guides us into truth!

"But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth..."
John 16:13

If we think we can hide behind some private thought life that doesn't hurt anyone, then we are only kidding ourselves. It will directly affect our relationship with the Lord. Sometimes our thinking is due to us being misguided by the philosophies of this world. This is the silent killer, because it is not blatant rebellion. If you are thinking like the world, then you will constantly be wrestling with the Holy Spirit who is trying to guide you toward truth, and there is no joy in that! If we continue down that path, we eventually become deaf to the Holy Spirit's still small voice trying to guide us. So what do we do when we encounter thoughts that are outside of God's Will or thinking that leads us away from truth?

"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
2 Cor. 10:5

We have to be intentional and aggressive about evaluating our thinking and choosing to think in terms of truth (making those thoughts obedient to Christ). Our thoughts can betray our heart and push us in a direction away from God. We have to renew our minds and guard our hearts, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us toward truth! If we can do this, the Holy Spirit will lead us and keep us in the Will of God. Choose to think right!

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