For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 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 Corinthians 10:3-5
Of the top best-selling books of all times and in any language, the seven Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling all rank in the top twenty (excluding the Bible and other religious texts). Becoming fans sometime after the third book was published, my children and I couldn’t wait to read the next installment of the magical adventures of a curious and brave wizard named Harry.
Hogwarts, Harry’s school, contained many interesting and magical devices, particularly in the Headmaster’s Office of Professor Dumbledore. Ever curious, Harry traveled back into memories through an instrument called a Pensieve. Gleaming with an iridescent glow, this watery basin got the best of Harry’s curiosity on numerous occasions. With the help of his magic wand, Dumbledore extracted wispy strands of his memory, holding them up to the light before placing them swirling into the luminescent waters of the Pensieve. When Harry drew his face down into the water, he entered the magical world of those memories, watching as an outsider the events unfold from long ago. As he silently observed these memories, sometimes Harry discovered that some memories had been altered to conceal the truth of what really had happened. Those tampered memories were no longer truth, but were in fact lies.
As I recently studied spiritual warfare, I came to realize that the spiritual battleground we fight begins in our minds. The enemy will do anything to distract us, instill fear into us, and keep us from the truth of God’s love for us and the abundant life He desires for us. It all starts with our thoughts.
2 Corinthians 10:4 talks about using spiritual weapons to “demolish strongholds”. In military terms, a stronghold is a fortress built to keep out invaders. In this verse, strongholds refer to the partitions that the enemy builds in our minds to separate our thoughts from God’s truth. When our thoughts run without God’s truth, we start believing lies about God and ourselves. Lies like “I am not worthy”, or “God doesn’t love me”, or “I am not lovable” take hold of our minds and take our thoughts down destructive paths.
By putting on the Helmet of Salvation and using the Sword of Truth (Ephesians 6:17), we can break down these strongholds. Strapping on the Helmet of Salvation protects our minds from the lies the enemy would tell us as we affirm our belief in the power of the resurrected Christ and our identity as belonging to Him. Taking the Sword of Truth, meaning the Word of God, by reading and meditating on Scripture further combats the enemy’s lies.
2 Corinthians 10:5 says we are to take captive every thought. As I pondered what “taking captive every thought” meant, I wondered if that really meant every thought. (That would be “yes”!) What exactly does taking a thought captive really mean? It means grabbing that thought and holding it up to the light of God’s Word and seeing if that thought aligns with God’s truth.
Like Dumbledore, we have to grasp our thoughts, particularly the negative ones, and examine them against the light. Like Harry, we have to bravely face the swirl of our minds to see if these thoughts are true or whether they’ve been tampered with by our own biases or lies from the enemy. Only when we intentionally take every thought captive and examine them in the “Pensieve” of God’s Word, can we break down the strongholds of untruths and become the children of God we were intended to be, saved by the Savior and loved by the King. Free of thoughts that would entangle us and ultimately destroy our identity in Christ, we can live the abundant life of love, peace, and joy.
Heavenly Father, when my negative thoughts start swirling around in my mind, help me take them captive by holding them up to the truth of Your Word. Thank You for the love, peace, and joy that comes from living in Your truth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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Text and photograph copyright © 2017 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of artful figures at Salentein Winery, Uco Valley, Argentina.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
Of the top best-selling books of all times and in any language, the seven Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling all rank in the top twenty (excluding the Bible and other religious texts). Becoming fans sometime after the third book was published, my children and I couldn’t wait to read the next installment of the magical adventures of a curious and brave wizard named Harry.
Hogwarts, Harry’s school, contained many interesting and magical devices, particularly in the Headmaster’s Office of Professor Dumbledore. Ever curious, Harry traveled back into memories through an instrument called a Pensieve. Gleaming with an iridescent glow, this watery basin got the best of Harry’s curiosity on numerous occasions. With the help of his magic wand, Dumbledore extracted wispy strands of his memory, holding them up to the light before placing them swirling into the luminescent waters of the Pensieve. When Harry drew his face down into the water, he entered the magical world of those memories, watching as an outsider the events unfold from long ago. As he silently observed these memories, sometimes Harry discovered that some memories had been altered to conceal the truth of what really had happened. Those tampered memories were no longer truth, but were in fact lies.
As I recently studied spiritual warfare, I came to realize that the spiritual battleground we fight begins in our minds. The enemy will do anything to distract us, instill fear into us, and keep us from the truth of God’s love for us and the abundant life He desires for us. It all starts with our thoughts.
2 Corinthians 10:4 talks about using spiritual weapons to “demolish strongholds”. In military terms, a stronghold is a fortress built to keep out invaders. In this verse, strongholds refer to the partitions that the enemy builds in our minds to separate our thoughts from God’s truth. When our thoughts run without God’s truth, we start believing lies about God and ourselves. Lies like “I am not worthy”, or “God doesn’t love me”, or “I am not lovable” take hold of our minds and take our thoughts down destructive paths.
By putting on the Helmet of Salvation and using the Sword of Truth (Ephesians 6:17), we can break down these strongholds. Strapping on the Helmet of Salvation protects our minds from the lies the enemy would tell us as we affirm our belief in the power of the resurrected Christ and our identity as belonging to Him. Taking the Sword of Truth, meaning the Word of God, by reading and meditating on Scripture further combats the enemy’s lies.
2 Corinthians 10:5 says we are to take captive every thought. As I pondered what “taking captive every thought” meant, I wondered if that really meant every thought. (That would be “yes”!) What exactly does taking a thought captive really mean? It means grabbing that thought and holding it up to the light of God’s Word and seeing if that thought aligns with God’s truth.
Like Dumbledore, we have to grasp our thoughts, particularly the negative ones, and examine them against the light. Like Harry, we have to bravely face the swirl of our minds to see if these thoughts are true or whether they’ve been tampered with by our own biases or lies from the enemy. Only when we intentionally take every thought captive and examine them in the “Pensieve” of God’s Word, can we break down the strongholds of untruths and become the children of God we were intended to be, saved by the Savior and loved by the King. Free of thoughts that would entangle us and ultimately destroy our identity in Christ, we can live the abundant life of love, peace, and joy.
Heavenly Father, when my negative thoughts start swirling around in my mind, help me take them captive by holding them up to the truth of Your Word. Thank You for the love, peace, and joy that comes from living in Your truth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Want to subscribe to future posts? Click here.
Text and photograph copyright © 2017 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of artful figures at Salentein Winery, Uco Valley, Argentina.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
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