Are you bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ?
Today we’re talking about bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. What would you do if you were the gatekeeper or the ticket taker for an important event? You could only let in people who were authorized to be there, people who had tickets or an invitation or whatever it was. You would be in charge of who got in and keeping out the people who weren’t supposed to be there. This is a great metaphor for your thinking. It’s about letting in Christlike thoughts, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
You are the gatekeeper for your mind of all the thoughts that come to you. You have the ability to let in thoughts and keep others out. Think of the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing. Some harmful thoughts, like temptations to do something wrong, may knock on your mental door disguised as something good and innocent that give you pleasure. But the more you know yourself as the image and likeness of God, the more you’ll be able to discern whether a thought is actually good or bad whether it will lead you to disobey Christ or to follow Jesus more closely.
Just to let you know, this will be the last episode in the Freedom Friday series. This is the 25th in the whole series. My focus has been to share ideas that will help you find freedom from guilt and shame, freedom from what’s happened in the past, whether it’s something you did or something someone did to you. And most importantly, freedom to be who you really are as a child of God. Now, at the end of this episode, I’ll share how you can find all the Freedom Friday episodes in one place. So if you’d like to listen to any of them again, you can.
Our journey together
We have been on a journey together these last several months in these Freedom Friday episodes. I’ve talked about being honest with yourself about what’s happened in the past. Facing your fears, and the deeper meaning of what repentance is all about. I’ve talked about how important it is to identify yourself as a child of God, and I’ve shared how you can be more like Jesus, how to embrace the promise that Paul made that
…we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16 NIV
And we’ve talked about so much more.
Well, today we’re going to focus on something else Paul says to the church in Corinth.
The weapons of our warfare are not carnal,” not material, “but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJV
Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ
Even when you have dealt with the guilt and the shame from the past, and you’ve been honest with yourself and begun to see yourself as God’s dear child made in His image and likeness, there will still be challenges that come your way.
Sometimes there are struggles with doing what God is calling you to do, and sometimes there are struggles with temptations to repeat the mistakes of the past or fall into old ways of thinking about yourself. This happens to all of us, and that’s why I love these verses from 2 Corinthians I just quoted. Paul promises us that we have the spiritual power to overcome these temptations and struggles and bring every thought that comes to us to the obedience of Christ.
Think about that for just a minute. Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
You have the power over every thought that comes to you.
You have the ability to choose, one thought at a time, to obey Christ, to bring every thought you think in line with the way Jesus would think.
Now, this may seem like a huge responsibility, way beyond your ability, but nothing could be further from the truth. God gives you this power because you are His child. You may think you don’t know how to do this, but there is something innate in you. It’s the way God created you that gives you the ability to discern whether a thought is Christlike or not.
You ARE bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ
You know what’s right. Every thought that comes to you is an opportunity to disobey Christ or to follow Christ. Let’s say you are tempted to make some bad choices like you did in the past, or go back to some of the sinful things you thought and did, or maybe you are tempted to think of yourself in a very negative way.
When this happens, when these thoughts come to you, you are the ticket taker of the door to your mind. You have the ability, the spiritual authority to stop them at the front door of your mind, so to speak, and not let them in.
You can ask yourself, “Does this thought help me obey Christ or lead me away from Christ?” The only thoughts you need to let in your heart and mind are the ones that help you follow Jesus more closely.
It doesn’t matter what someone else says or does. It doesn’t matter what the situation is. You have the power and the authority to say “no” to thoughts that would cause you to disobey Christ. Now, don’t wait until you are tempted to think or do something wrong. Take every opportunity to find ways to obey Christ in every little detail of your life.
For me, it’s helpful to study consistently what Jesus said and did. That way I know how Jesus was thinking, how he was acting, how he treated others, how he prayed, and how he loved others. Let Jesus be your model.
Remember, this is a journey
Now, this is a journey. It’s a constant day-by-day living and loving like Jesus did, and there will be some ups and downs. And this is the final message in this Freedom Friday series, that you have the ability to do this. You can follow Christ in your daily life, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
Now, if you’d like to revisit any or all of the episodes in this Freedom Friday series, I’ve created a special page on my website where you can find them all together. Just go to Freedom Friday.
I want to thank you so much for being on this journey with me, and I would love to hear how these Freedom Friday episodes have been helpful to you. Contact me here. You are the dearly loved child of God, made in the image and likeness of God, and you are free to be all God made you to be. God bless.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Photo Credit: Vitaly Gariev
_____________
James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and church mentor. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by learning to think, pray, and love like Jesus. Contact him here.
Make a donation to support the show
Listen and leave a review on
_____________
Bible References
1 Corinthians 2:16 NIV
16 …we have the mind of Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJV
4 The weapons of our warfare are not carnal,” not material, “but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
