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In my last four blog posts, “Your Enemy’s Most Effective Strategy,” “You Are a Victor, Not a Victim,” “What to Do with Rogue Thoughts,” and “Where Thoughts Come From,” I’ve been discussing the importance of managing our thought lives.
As believers in Christ, we’ve learned that thoughts either come from our new heart or outside our new heart.
And the thoughts that come from our new heart union with Christ will only be good.
Thoughts coming from the outside-in can be based in truth or lies, depending on their original source.
We know that Satan is the originator of all lies.
We talked about his most effective strategy in the battle going on in our thought lives: feeding ungodly thoughts to us in first-person pronouns (I, me, my, mine, etc.) so that we will think we generated them.
And if we believe these ungodly thoughts are coming from us, then we will have a difficult time believing we are the pure, righteous, and holy bride of Christ.
I would like to point out that Satan can also feed us thoughts in second- (you, your, yours) and third-person (he, she, it, him, they, theirs, etc.), but the first-person pronouns seem to pack the most punch in his ability to dupe us into believing that the ungodly thoughts are coming from us.
Bottom line, our responsibility is to accept the truth and reject the lies by judging the thoughts we experience in light of the truth of our righteous identity in Christ.
If they are ungodly, they are not coming from us.
Sometimes, when ungodly thoughts bombard our minds, it is important to say, “That thought did not come from me! I refuse to own it, meditate on it, or act on it. I am the righteousness of God in Christ.”
This begs the question, “Are we supposed to rebuke every single ungodly thought we experience?”
No!
That would be like trying to keep several tennis balls submerged in water at once.
Sooner or later it would wear us out.
The best defense in dealing with ungodly thoughts is a good offense.
So, how can be proactive in battle going on in our mind?
Grab your favorite beverage and your Bible and listen to the following words from your Beloved about the light and easy way to live in love with Him all day, every day:
“My flawless bride, now that you have knowledge of your enemy’s schemes, you will experience and express My cherishing love and exuberant life much more often.”
“I didn’t tell you that truth alone will set you free; I told you that knowing truth would cause you to experience the freedom I died to give you.”
“As long as you live on this earth, it will be your responsibility to take rogue thoughts captive.”
“And I have given you everything you need to do this.”
“I will never leave you alone in this battle.”
“You can do all things through My strength!”
“While capturing rogue thoughts is a necessary defensive strategy in the battle going on in your mind, your best defense will always be a good offense.”
“And one of the most effective ways you can be proactive is to allow Me to captivate your mind to the point that there is room for little else.”
“I want you to think about everything that is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, reputable, excellent, and praiseworthy.”
“In doing so, you will be thinking about Me and all the good things that come from Me.”
“When you become obsessed with Me, the things that don’t matter won’t matter.”
“I want you to keep your mind set on our eternal spiritual union.”
“Right now, you are seated with Me in heaven.”
“And at the same time, I am living within you on this earth, loving you perfectly.”
“I want you to intentionally acknowledge and enjoy My personal affection for you.”
“Let Me continually lavish you with My unconditional love, and you will find yourself falling more in love with Me every day!”
“Living in love with Me on this earth will cause you to see Me in everything.”
“I will take your breath away with the sunrises and sunsets I paint for you to enjoy in just that moment in time.”
“I will serenade you with love songs that will cause you to swoon over Me.”
“I will reveal My love for you in countless ways each day as you keep your focus on Me.”
“Living in love with Me on this earth is only way to truly live!”
(The above words from your Beloved and Scripture List is an excerpt from my book, Fifty Days in His Pursuing Love Devotional.)
When we become obsessed with Christ, the things that don’t matter won’t matter.
If you’ve ever been in love, you know how it is.
You can hardly think of anything else but your beloved.
Living in love with Jesus will be the most enjoyable way to manage your thought life.
Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”
Right now, and forever, you are seated with your Spiritual Husband in Heaven.
Thinking about that can only yield good results.
Philippians 4:8 says, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
Jesus is the embodiment of all these things.
Jude 1:21 says, “Keep yourselves in the love of God.”
This doesn’t mean you have to earn His love.
It means that He loves you, no matter what.
So, think about His unconditional love for you, and you will automatically sense love for Him rising up within you.
You will live in love with Him when you see that He is already and forever in love with you.
In my next post, I will share how—even in the midst of troublesome circumstances on this earth—we can celebrate the knowledge that our Happily Forever After in Christ has already started!
You can also watch my YouTube video where I share what’s in this post.
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If you enjoyed this post, I invite you to check out all of my books and my video series based on my first devotional.
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