Okay, so as Christians we're striving to press on toward maturity in Christ. This comes about by having our minds renewed (Romans 12:1-2). Having our minds renewed requires
Taking every thought captive to Jesus Christ, that is, making every thought obedient to Christ.
So, the next question is HOW?
Well, I think there are numerous ways to apply this Scripture. First of all, we see that the goal concerning our thoughts is that they would show that our hearts, minds, and lives have God at the center. When God is the center, we will seek to have things that He likes close to us and things that He despises far from us.
In order to think like Christ, and so have our thoughts be in obedience to Him, we must be putting things into our minds that encourage us in that direction.
HOW do we discern what those things are?
Simply put, we judge them by the standards laid forth in God's Word, The Bible.
We should pick books, movies, music, friends, magazines, and even clothes and places that are obedient to His Word.
If we are filling our time with things that are in opposition to Him why would we be surprised when our own thoughts, and in turn, lives begin to show evidences of opposition?
Yes! This reminds me of a quote by Amy Carmichael--something to the effect of "If a heart is full of sweet water, when it is jostled, not one drop of bitter will spill over!"
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