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The Daily Christian Life – Dealing with the Strongholds in Our Mind

For our weapons of warfare are not fleshly, but inherent ability by the God towards the tearing down of strongholds, casting down logics and every high thing lifting itself up against the knowledge of the God and bringing every thought into captivity into the obedience of the Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Within our mind we can build up strongholds that are very difficult to overcome. These can be false beliefs or temptations like living by law, speaking in tongues, drinking alcohol, pornography, lying, stealing or anything else that holds us. Often these strongholds are built with the help of others who influence what we believe and how we perceive life. However, when they come up against the knowledge of God, we struggle to overcome them.

Dealing with what goes through our minds can be very difficult when we are not using the methods provided for us in Christ. Our battle is not fleshly, it is spiritual, it is a battle for the mind, and this is why it is important for us to frame our minds correctly. Remember, framing the mind is about setting a proper boundary around who you are and what you allow to remain in your mind. As Christians our frame of mind needs to be on the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above where the Christ is seated at the right hand of the God, Frame your mind of the things above, not the things upon the earth – Colossians 3:1, 2

Having this frame of mind, we can then compare the thoughts in our mind with whether or not they fit and if they […]

The Daily Christian Life – Dealing with the Strongholds in Our Mind2023-12-14T08:48:15-08:00

Armor for the Christian Life

Within Scripture, two sets of armor are described for the Christian. Panoplia (πανοπλία) is the heavy armor used by Roman soldiers for defense. Hopion (ὅπλον) expresses a weapon of warfare that can included armor.

When the Chief Priests and Pharisees dispatched a troop of roman soldiers to arrest Jesus, they came armed with weapons (ὅπλον), John 18:3.

As we apply the truth to overcome the desires from the sin nature, after reckoning to ourselves that we have died with Christ and are co-raised with Him to walk in newness of life, we are to yield our members as instruments (ὅπλον) of righteousness, Romans 6:13.

The night is well spent, the day is near. Therefore, we are to cast of the works of darkness, putting on the armor (ὅπλον) of light, Romans 13:12, so that we walk properly as in the day, having put on Christ as our outer garment so that we are making no provisions for the flesh and its desires, Romans 13:13-14. This armor (ὅπλον) includes the breastplate of faith and the helmet of salvation, 1 Thessalonians 5:8.

When dealing with persecution and tribulation, we are to commend ourselves as those who belong to God by the internet ability of God, through the use of the armor (ὅπλον) of righteousness, 2 Corinthians 6:7.

Our daily armaments (ὅπλον) of warfare are not carnal but in the inherent ability of God we use them to tear down strongholds, which are the reasonings that exalt themselves above God, bringing the working of our minds into obedience to the Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:4-5.

Panoplia (πανοπλία) is our heavy armor that is used when we are attacked by Satan so that we are able to stand firm against him, Ephesians 6:11. With […]

Armor for the Christian Life2024-11-14T06:34:39-08:00

The Love of God: Longsuffering

God’s quality of love is defined in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Because we are in Christ, and Christ is in us, through being led by the indwelling Holy Spirit as we seek to fulfill His desires and feel at ease with who we are in Christ we are able to express this type of love towards other Christians, Galatians 5:22. This is not a love that is to be directed at unbelievers or the world, for it is by this love towards each other that they will know that we are disciples of Christ. Rather, we are to do good to all, but above all, love the brethren, Galatians 6:10.

The love is longsuffering … 1 Corinthians 13:4

Longsuffering is the long holding out of one’s anger against unreasonable people. It is not the same as patience, which is remaining under a circumstance as we wait for a resolution, Colossians 1:11.

Longsuffering is very important when it comes to dealing with other saints as we mature in our faith. For we are to warn the unruly, comfort the little souled, uphold the weak, and be longsuffering towards all, 1 Thessalonians 5:14. This does not justify a sharp or bitter person that everyone must put up with their “quirks”. If that is you, stop it, for this is not expressing love towards others; rather, it is selfish and has no place among the saints. We are to serve each other in humility and objectivity of mind with longsuffering, Ephesians 4:2-6. As a farmer is longsuffering concerning the fruit of the earth, we are to be longsuffering towards each other, James 5:7-9.

One of the aspects of being a Pastor is to be persistent in teaching the truth, convicting, rebuking, exhorting with […]

The Love of God: Longsuffering2023-12-14T12:26:19-08:00

Good (ἀγαθός)

Good is a word that describes activity that is beneficial, wholesome, and sufficient to be acceptable for its purpose. It is used to describe humans, trees, treasures, speaking, and most of all God.

Although humans can do good, only God is good (Luke 18:19), for goodness is an aspect of His nature. However, even though humans are not good by nature, we do know the difference between good and evil and can choose to produce good things in our lives rather than malignantly wicked things (Romans 2:15). The heart is the center of a human, where the person resides. It is within here that we will store up good treasures to use later, or malignantly evil ones to use against others (Matthew 12:35). What we allow to remain in our minds and within our hearts directly impacts our actions; therefore, our weapons are not fleshly, but are mighty in God for the pulling down of those strongholds within us that raise themselves up against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:4-6), by which we destroy the evil treasures, so our storehouse is filled with good.

Although the law is good, we do not live by it because through it is the full experiential knowledge of the sin nature (Romans 7:12-13) and rather than giving us victory over it, it becomes the sin natures strength against us (1 Corinthians 15:56). Trying to do good by law leads us into frustration and the realization that within our flesh no good dwells, for as soon as we desire to do good, we find that we lack the ability to do it through our flesh (Romans 7:18-19), and we end up doing things that lack in character, which we do not […]

Good (ἀγαθός)2023-11-25T07:54:10-08:00

Conclusions of the Mind (νόημα)

How a person’s mind works is seen in their actions, which are a result of the conclusions the mind makes. By taking the word for mind and adding a specific ending, the Greek language is expressing the result of the working of the mind, so not just the thoughts, but the conclusions resulting from our thoughts.

As Christians, we are not to be ignorant of the workings of Satan’s mind (2 Corinthians 2:11). In Scripture, the methods that he uses are revealed to us (Ephesians 6:11); therefore, we are to stand firm against him. He also blinds the results of the working of the mind for those who do not believe (2 Corinthians 4:4). When presented with the truth of Scripture, the suppositions of those blinded are incorrect. A good example with this is the Gospel for Salvation, which is clearly stated in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Yet how many “gospel” tracks modify the message of the gospel to “repenting of your sins”, “making Jesus the Lord of your life” and so on, which are different gospels that are not good news at all (Galatians 1:6).

Due to Israel’s rejection of God’s covenant of promise and seeking their own righteousness, even today, when they read the Old Testament a veil covers the mind (2 Corinthians 3:14) so they do not understand and draw proper conclusions based upon what it states.

We have a renewed mind in Christ, a mind that can understand the things of the Spirit and produces correct suppositions based upon fact so it is able to discern what is the will of God (Romans 12:2). When we do not use this frame of mind, we can be led astray from the simplicity that is in Christ […]

Conclusions of the Mind (νόημα)2023-11-25T08:05:34-08:00
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