Page 6 - Grace Connections Magazine April
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God loves you enough not to let this Let us choose not to let our mind
pollution of the mind remain. He knows stay trapped in the dark and miss how
that toxicity of thought will keep you wonderful it is to live in the light!
from experiencing Jn.10.10 – the
abundant life that Jesus died for you to The Apostle Paul is referring to
live! strongholds or centers of opposition to
believing right, thinking healthy and
As a young believer I was never living the best life in the light of the good
aware that there was this battle going on news- all that you are now in JC!
in me, in my mind-for my thought life! I
didn’t know that I had thinking I’d 2 Cor. 10.5 - “We are destroying
allowed to camp out in my mind that was sophisticated arguments & every exalted &
destructive and an open door to satanic proud thing that sets itself up against the
influence. true knowledge of god, and we are taking
every thought and purpose captive to the
So I stumbled, a lot- living in guilt obedience of Christ.”
and feeling like a failure. God began to
open my eyes to his grace and total We have within our minds “citadels
forgiveness to the point that it began to of arguments and “schemes” that confuse
erode my condemning guilt. I began to and keep us in fear that need removed so
recognize my strongholds of thinking I we can grow- go forward, be all we can
was incorrectly allowing the enemy to be! It is time to pull the toxic weeds from
control. the garden of our mind!
Now this influence needs to be dealt Paul is using the concept of taking
with by every believer. If we refuse to prisoners of war, but in this case the
renew our minds and allow all the prisoners held captive are faulty patterns
polluted thinking to remain in our mind, of thought that defy God’s authority.
God’s plan for that believer will be Deliver me from me and deliver me to
slowed like a clogged drain. It’s time for you! Taking authority over our thinking
Holy Spirit draino in the old braino. might be a bigger more energy draining
activity than wrestling with the enemy.
Our believing and thinking life, He has to go as we surrender to God and
indeed all of our life, will be stunted like a resist him. (James 4.7)
in a lake of too many fish, like having too
many negative thoughts! The result is our But our stinkin thinking is a whole
growth and maturity, that your Father different and difficult struggle at times.
wants you and I to have, will not happen. To further understand this let’s try the
Amplified version: “Our weapons are
Are you ready to change? Are you divinely powerful for the destruction of
ready to pay the price do whatever it fortresses. we are destroying sophisticated
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takes to change your thinking? arguments and every exalted and proud
thing that sets itself against the true
knowledge of God, and we are taking every
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