Take every thought captive!

(2Corinthians 10:5)  “…take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

Lately I’ve noticed a new phenomenon about my subconscious and how even my dreams are affected. When I walk in the Spirit as we are all called to do on a daily basis, then my mind is consistently being renewed as it proves (works out) what is that good and acceptable will of God for my life. I leant to walk in obedience, this is the call for ever born again Christian. We have all been called to obey. Obey who? Our heavenly Father and His Word, the Bible gives us direction, it is the lamp for our paths. It the Shekinah glory of Christ’s brightness that leads the way. He is the way the truth and the life!

Yes we will get feeling and hunches at times and we may even hear people whisper what we want to hear and believe it is God who has spoken, and all its been is our lusts and our wants running away with themselves. But if we use the bible accurately, all this means is when we pull out a scripture it must be looked at in context, we must understand the underlying lesson.

Let’s use an example… “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, "Because I bore him in pain." Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!" And God granted what he asked.” (1Chronicles 4:9-10) 

“Jabez was more honorable than his brothers”. As you read it, what does it mean to you? I have a verse that springs immediately to mind, but how and to whom was he honorable? Although it does not clearly state it, I believe he was more honourable to the Word of God and to God. Some theologians suggest that history teachers us that he comes from a family of scribes. However it is not enough to be absolutely certain, but it does help with my reasoning. I still need stronger confirmation; I need to confirm it by the Word of God.

If we follow the thread of scripture in the next verse we see that Jabez requests something from God. He asks for material wealth and to be kept from pain and he asks God to be with him. God grants Him His request. How will we be sure that God will be with us and grant us our requests? Where else do I find a verse in the bible that teaches me about honour, possessions and God being with us? Let look at what the Lord Jesus taught; in Matthew chapter 6 He gives us insight as to how we should live as believers. He teachers us to live by faith, now faith toward God means we trust Him and we believe that He will provide, this in turn represents honour. Yet for us to be the beneficiaries of God provision we need firstly to qualify, so what qualifies us? Obviously we will only ever qualify if we are covered by the blood of the Lamb, but there is more, how can there be more? Let’s look at the verse; “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33) 

Years ago someone wrote a book on this exact verse and many seemed to be caught up in frenzy as the hunt for worldly possession now sprung to life in a new light, Name it and we could claim it. Wrong! A misrepresentation of scripture! Firstly it was a contract between God and Jabez, not his mother or his brothers nor anyone else. That is the first point. We are told by scripture to imitate all the good examples throughout scripture, so that we may learn to be more Christ like. Jabez was a good example but if I take this verse out of context for my life I enter into error. How so? He was honorable and put God first, I know this because the Lord Jesus teachers us that we need to put God first in our lives and how do we do that, well we seek out His righteousness, only then am I entitled to be the beneficiary of His promise. Ask yourself Has God ever blessed outside of His Word, never! Will a non-believer in what Christ accomplished on Calvary ever enter heaven, no never! It is all about seeking His purpose for our lives, and this must be the forerunner in our lives if we are to share in Jabez’s blessings, in God’s blessings. Every blessing throughout scripture hinges on obedience.

Now with that in mind when I am disobedient I open myself up to sin and my brain then entertains thoughts that do not come from God but the devil, as he is the father of sin. Christ died to free us from the bondage of sin. This is now important; if I know that I should not lust after a woman with my eyes and I ignore the warning an entertain the thought, I then feed my mind with what Christ came to free me from, I keep sin alive! I am not seeking out God’s righteousness for my life and then this thought is stored in the recess of my brain. Even my dreams now entertain these thoughts. How I know this is that my dreams even teach me. Let us not glibly drop our guard, we must always put on the mind of Christ, we must arm ourselves with every opportunity to walk in obedience. Does the Bible teach us to do this? Yes it does! “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” (2Corinthians 10:5)

When this becomes part of our daily routine even our dreams begin to change. May God give us a resolve to seek Him out in everything we do, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone