…bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5

 The concept that thoughts turn into action is best summarized by the quote often attributed to Lao Tzu: "Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny". 

 Have you ever experienced this for yourself? A sinful thought comes into your mind and later that day you find yourself fulfilling that desire. We all have done this and it gets frustrating because we want to live a life pleasing God. How can we avoid fulfilling these lustful desires and evil thoughts?

 Today’s scripture brings this process into play for the everyday Christian. We are to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. That might sound good on paper, but getting that job done might seem impossible, but is it really impossible for you to avoid putting sin into action? God has given us His Holy Spirit to not only provide wisdom, but help us fight the daily battles that go on in our mind. What’s truly powerful is the Holy Spirit prays constantly for us Romans 8:26-27. God has equipped you with all the necessary resources to discard those sinful thoughts, so you can keep living a life of obedience to Him.

 The next time a sinful thought enters your mind, stop giving it more attention, and pray, asking God to erase that thought and focus on the cross of Christ. What He did for you, to save you from eternal damnation, should be reason enough not to indulge in behaviors that can tarnish your witness, even worse, harm your relationship with Jesus Christ. It may take days, weeks, maybe a lifetime to honestly bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, but when you do your life will align more with Christ and in the process God will bless your obedience.