Taking Captive Every Thought

Paul writes to "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2nd Cor 10:5)"  But HOW exactly?  Every hour we have hundreds of thoughts popping into our head.  How do we take them captive?  How do we win the battle of the mind?  I've found recently that one way to take ground mentally is to start CATEGORIZING your thoughts.  For instance, is this another money worry?  Am I thinking about that one person in the world again that can get me upset?  Am I thinking about my eyes getting bad, again?  Ok, pick one category, let's say money.  Every time you realize you're thinking about a money item. STOP!  Take captive that thought and give it to God.  You get every other category.  You can worry your heart out over those.  But not money.  That one is God's.  Trust Him.  Grow your faith in Him.  It is the first step in becoming a master of your own thoughts and living as Paul directs us.

2 Words to Stop at the Door

There are 2 words that should be red flags for every Christian: Always and Never. They cause a warped view of the past and are a danger for the present. They are what John Eldridge calls "agreements" with the devil. For instance, "He always is mean to me." Or "I never get to decide where we go." If you hear them from someone else, they are probably agreeing with an Entity that is not Our Father. If you hear them in your own mind, then question it. The thought, in all likelihood, did not come from Above.

The Bible says that we are to capture every thought and view it through a Christian lens (2nd Cor 10:3-5, see below). When you hear Always and Never, be alert and question what you're hearing.

2 Cor 10: 3-5:

3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We 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.