2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage battle according to the flesh,4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.5 We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. The arrogant attitude toward the Word of God will get us every time because God's Word is pure and undefiled and without error. To bypass the Word when living our lives is a major mistake and one that leads down a path of disobedience. To water down the Word means we are doing the opposite of what the above scripture is saying and our thoughts will NOT be captive to the pure truth of the Lord, and yes, to the Lord.
The best thing we can do is run everything through scripture and we need not put our own "spin" on it because our "spin" is flawed with human reasoning. A person who is not a believer is a person who does not have the reasoning power of the Holy Spirit and they will think differently than God, so it is flawed. You don't have to listen to very much news to see that our human reasoning is very flawed and up is down and down is up. Jesus illustrated how our human reasoning can miss the mark so much by what He said in Matthew 20:25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them, and those in high position exercise authority over them.26 It is not this way among you, but whoever wants to become prominent among you shall be your servant,27 and whoever desires to be first among you shall be your slave. Jesus fine-tuned how this whole thing works for his disciples and showed them how things should be for them in their thinking. The Word of God does that for us IF we actually read and study it.
God has warned about not knowing His Word and in Hosea 4:6 God says 6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Since you have rejected knowledge. This is a serious subject with God and you can see that not reading and studying His word sets us on a flawed course in our thinking. All of this brings into focus the importance of how we love God and in Matthew 22:37. Jesus says 37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ Our thoughts really do count for something, but they should be filtered through the truth of the pure Word of God and nothing less. It is difficult for me at times because I have strong opinions about certain things and those opinions were shaped by my parents as a child and by friends as I grew up.
I need to put all of that to the side and get God's perspective on what to think and how to think it. If I love God I will pursue Him and nothing else and all of His great truth will permeate my thinking and change me at my core. Paul believed this so much that he made a bold statement about our minds in 1 Corinthians 2:16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. We have the mind of Christ? The Living Word of God is so powerful and pure that it changes the very way we think about everything. But the Word cannot change our minds if we don't read it. Get a very understandable, true translation of God's Word and begin to explore the pure truth of God and you will be setting out on an adventure of pure truth that will rock your world! Then, everything you say and do will begin to change drastically as you take on the mind of Christ.
God is faithful to showing us how to live and think. But we must use His Word absolutely and without our human reasoning when receiving it. Don't taint the pure pool of wisdom that only comes from God's Word. It is mind-changing in an extraordinary way!! It truly IS the thought that counts.
The Pilgrimage Continues..
David Warren