Let’s Dance: Leading My thoughts – Tuesday
Proverbs 4:23
…but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (NIV)
We’re talking this week about winning the battle for the mind. That’s the ultimate battleground. Satan’s greatest aspiration is to distort and impugn our thoughts because if he can get us to believe a lie, he can more easily get us to live a lie. We are never more deceived than when we don’t know we’re deceived. A lot of folks are convinced that they’re weak, helpless, hopeless sinners incapable of ever changing. Of course, if we believe we can never change, we most likely won’t. Such is the power of the lie, and, as John 8:44 teaches, “Satan is the father of lies.” God’s solution is to help us renew our minds, which leads to transformed lives.
When we became Christians, our sins were washed away, but our predisposition to think and behave a certain way wasn’t. If you were strong-willed, determined, and angry before you went into the baptistry, you likely came up out of the water the same way! Nobody pushed a “clear” button in your brain. That works with computers, but not people.
When we become followers of Jesus, our spirit is regenerated, but our minds must be re-trained to live according to God’s truth. The Bible calls this “pulling down strongholds.” A stronghold is merely something that has a strong hold over you. Another word for it in the scriptures is “foothold,” meaning a place to stand. Once Satan gains a place to stand in our lives, the footholds become strongholds and generally take days, weeks, or even years to tear down.
Many Christians don’t understand this, which is why they often end up leading lives of desperation or quiet despair. “Why am I not different?” they ask. The answer, dear friend, is “strongholds.” Dismantling them takes time, prayer, resolve, the help of the Holy Spirit, and influencing your life with truth through scripture. Take those things lightly, and you’ll remain a captive, a poster child for strongholds.
Tuesday’s Reflection
Here’s the good news: anything that can be learned can be unlearned. Would you agree with that? Ask Jesus to help you, and He will. But be patient, dear one; it’s a journey, not a destination.
Strongholds sometimes come from direct Satanic attacks, which is why Paul told us to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ; he knew that some thoughts come directly from Satan. More on that tomorrow. Meanwhile, here’s a link worth your time.
