2 Corinthians 10 - Battleground of the Mind

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2 Corinthians 10

​Our mind is our greatest asset and it can also be our greatest downfall. There is a battle for our mind. An ongoing, intense war. And we need to be alert and take a defensive posture instead of sitting back and hoping for the best. But how?
 
Paul says, “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.” (2 Cor 10:3-4)
 
Though we walk in the flesh we don’t have to fight these battles in our fleshly mess. Because flesh-waged war looks like manipulation, power grabs, deceit, backstabbing, cheating, gossip, abuse of power…to name a few.
 
Indeed, there is a mighty battle raging all around us and in us, but we can wage war differently than the world. We can pick up weapons that are not of this world.
 
Paul continues, “…we take every thought captive to obey Christ...” (2 Cor 10:5b)
 
The battle starts in our mind. And the strongholds are the lies we believe to be truth. Worldviews that say there is no God, we aren’t accountable to anyone, everything is permitted, this life is all there is so live it up, new enlightenment is where it’s at, we should be able to do what we want when we want with whoever we want. Or attitudes that entangle us like worry, approval seeking, fear, shame, bitterness, insecurity. These strongholds are born and grow in our mind and IT IS WAR! But WE CHOOSE what we think. We have divine power to DESTROY these strongholds.
 
Because when strongholds are defeated in our mind – when we destroy lies and our thoughts are captive to things of Christ – our response is different. It is one of knowing who and whose we are; knowing that we are loved and forgiven and valuable. And as a result, we forgive, love, build up instead of tear down, care for the needs of others even more than our own, serve joyfully. We live in freedom, we take risks, we trust God. Everything changes when our minds are taken captive by the things of Christ; when our minds know and believe truth.
 
What we think matters. What we focus on matters. What we fill our mind with matters. It is critically important that we protect our mind…that we are selective and super picky about what we let in…what we read, watch, listen to. And that we focus our mind on things of God and truth. Always. Consistently.
 
Kenneth Copeland says, “The battleground of the mind is where life’s most precious victories are won or lost.”
 
Lysa TerKeurst says, “The more we read God’s truths and let truth fill our minds, the less time we’ll spend contemplating untruths.”
 
Praying today that we make habits of being very aware and proactive about what fills our mind. Let us strive to take every thought captive to obey Christ.

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​Sonneglas …innovative and beautiful mason jar lights developed in South Africa originally for people in areas without electricity. 

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