Many will say that the mind is the battleground. No argument, but the battle really IS considerably more. The battle is for all of us: our souls – our minds, our wills, our emotions! And the battle occurs simultaneously in all three. It may start in one but it will always progress to include all 3. I think that this is why when John (1John 1:2) prayed for our health he phrased it … just as your soul prospers. So from this we can see that our soul can prosper and can become the foundation for success in other important issues in our lives.
So what do we do? There is more than one scriptural reference that we are to renew our minds, to put off the old man (Ephesians 4:22-24) – because that’s where we are the weakest. Again, this is something that WE do, it won’t be done for us. Actually, in the last analysis this is the best way to think about and for ourselves. When all we do is think about us – what we don’t have, what we want, etc. – we have the wrong focus. A critical component in renewal is what we think, why else would Paul tell us to think on these things: whatsoever is true, honest, pure, etc. (Philippians 4:8)?
Part of the battle for renewal is that we have to pull out those sins we know continue to control and mislead us. 1John 2:16
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world.”
I believe that everything that is not good for us can be found in one of these 3 thinkings. Our pride, arrogance, insolence, wants can mislead us. We need to pull out by the roots those misleading sins. And we can!
“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God
for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every
high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing
every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…”
(iCorinthians 10:4-6)
However, it is never sufficient to only pull our – we must replace. Remember the scripture that tells us to put off the old man… and to put on the new man (Ephesians 4:22-24). When we have put off we are given the opportunity to put on – Galatians 5:22
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, self-control; against which there is no law.”
Replacement is absolutely critical. If we don’t replace then we leave ourselves open to have those sins attempt to return and once again control. Never forget what happened when this didn’t occur – Luke 11:25. Replacement is never an afterthought, it has to be intentional. The unmitigated joy is that we are provided with the methods to continue on our journey confidently and successfully.
