OBEDIENT THOUGHTS
"We 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."
II Corinthians 10:5

I want us to look for just a minute today at II Corinthians 10:5, which describes an attack of the enemy, and the resolution that God has given to us concerning the attack. Now so you are up to speed, the weapons of our strateia are dunatos, or as is better known, the weapons of our warfare are mighty and able to pull down strongholds. But what is a stronghold? A stronghold is defined as an area in which we are held in bondage because of a way of thinking. For me concerning my draw toward pornography, the stronghold was in thinking that every woman wanted me, and later on in thinking that I could never break free from it. My mind was trapped in wrong thinking. For years I wanted out of this cycle but could never get past the lies that played over and over in my head. It wasn't until I fully surrendered to God and began reading His word and His promises concerning me that I began to understand really what I was fighting against. I wasn't fighting against the internet or the countless magazines or even Hugh Hefner himself, but I was fighting against the lies in my mind that had twisted a leash around me and were dragging me further and further downward. Perhaps you know the feeling of a stronghold.
But with the understanding that we have been given spiritual weapons, we must also realize that we have been given the ability through Christ to demolish those things that once held us captive. We are given the ability to demolish arguments and pretensions that stand before us and against God. Well now, that is a great and fluffy thought, but what does it mean? In stating that we 'demolish arguments', the Greek refers to us having the skills to cast down or throw down our opponent. I think of a wrestling match - no not those fake ones on television but instead a high school wrestling match or such. Imagine the guy weighing 200 pounds going against the one weighing only 99 pounds. If I was a betting man, I would put my money on the big guy because he has twice as much muscle, strength and power over the little guy. With one move he could overtake the little guy and pin him. That is us. We are the big guy who has the speed, training, and skill to defeat the enemy. The problem is that even though in practice we know of and joke around about our power and skill, we don't use it when the match is actually going on for real. How many of us can talk a talk about beating up the devil only to find ourselves giving into sin? Yet all these arguments and reckonings are supposed to be what we are taking down. We are not supposed to fail, yet we give in and lose many times because we don't even try.
Still, in addition to demolishing arguments, we are also to use our weapons to demolish every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. Again, do we know what means? It means every item that glorifies itself higher than God needs to be demolished. It could be the sin of porn, or it could a relationship, money, food, the list could go on. Anything that is more important to you than God is an idol, and here Paul tells us that these idols must be destroyed. I look at this way. If I am standing face to face with God, and this thing comes and stands between me and God and looks me now face to face, then that thing has its back turned toward God. In essence, that thing has caused me to turn my back on God.
Paul didn't leave us without an answer, though. He told us what we must do. We must take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Let's look at these words of command and decipher what this really means. AICHMALOTIZO in the Greek means to enslave the thoughts held within the mind. This is what we are commanded to do. Instead of being slaves to sin we are to make sin our slave. We have been given the task of taking these sins before God so that He may punish the evil one. In His way, He will bring about HUPAKOE, which is the method of bringing someone or something into submission. By casting down the arguments, imaginations, and gods that stand in the way, we find our minds free of the distractions that work to veer us away from God. It is in the fight and victory concerning this submission of mindset that we find ourselves then in the position of freedom from the strongholds that so desire to control us.
God has destined us to be strong disciples of Him, yet too many of us have moved from following God strongly to being strongly held by the enemy. It is time we surrender these thoughts captive to God so that these areas in which we are held in bondage because of our thinking no longer enslave us. It is time we wear the armor of God and combat the enemy, putting him with force and in God's power, back in his place. Are you ready to break the strongholds? Then let us start by taking our thoughts captive.

FINDING TIME TO PRAY
“Pray continually.”
I Thessalonians 5:17

I want to start by asking you a question, and you need to answer honestly. Do not, however, answer honestly for my sake because I will never know your answer anyway, but rather answer honestly for your sake. Do you find yourself praying always, or do you find yourself praying only when you are in trouble? I Thessalonians 5:17 is a two word command, stating, “Pray continually.” That’s it; that’s the whole verse. Yet how many of us do what this verse so simply and boldly states? I’ll be honest, I don’t. In fact, as I was praying about what to write today it dawned on me that many times I come to God in prayer only when I need His help. When the car is making a funky noise, I pray. When the bills are due and the money is low, I pray. When someone is physically hurt, I pray. I desire to be like Daniel and pray regardless of the situation, but I find myself more like Jonah praying for help only because I am in a situation.
In the book of Jonah, the story starts out with the prophet receiving a word from God to go to Nineveh and preach against the wickedness of the city. Instead of obeying, Jonah runs the other way and heads toward Tarshish. When a mighty storm comes about, all the men on the sea vessel with Jonah begin to panic and pray to their gods. However, Jonah knows this trouble is because of him and orders the men to throw him overboard. As soon as Jonah is cast over, the sea grows calm (Jonah 1:15) and a great fish swallows Jonah whole (Jonah 1:17). It is here, inside the big fish where he stayed for three days and nights that Jonah prays. It is here where I find myself praying more times than I wish were true also. When circumstance has swallowed me whole and I am sitting in the gunk and disgust of the fish’s bowels, it is then that I realize, hmmm, maybe I should pray.
Why does it take so long to get to this point? I compare this example of prayer to that found in Daniel 6:5-10. The men of the king’s court longed to be rid of Daniel but could find no just cause. He was upstanding, trustworthy, and void of corruption. It was because of his attributes then that they made a law against prayer. They must have spied on Daniel in the past to know his ways and customs, to know that he prayed three times daily looking out toward Jerusalem, and to know he kept his window open. So when the decree was signed by the king, and Daniel went about his normal practice of prayer, they were waiting to take him before the king for his violation of the new law. Yet still the question I ask is why does it take me so long to get to this point? My heart and spirit long to be so connected with prayer that it becomes something I do no matter the circumstance. Like Daniel, I long for prayer to be a normal thing.
I don’t want to pray only when things are slumping, but also when things are going well, average, and even awesome. I want to stop being like Jonah and start being like Paul ordered, praying always. This word ‘always’ is the Greek word ADIALEIPTOS. It means always or without intermission. Having children I find that when I take them to the movies, at some point one of them will lean over and say, “I have to go potty.” Luckily they are old enough to find their way and go alone now, but a few years back I had to go with them still. There was nothing worse than going to a movie only to miss the action scene or turning point because I was waiting outside the bathroom. This intermission ruined the movie for me. And yet, when I pray only in trouble or distress, I am literally doing the same thing. I am breaking up the additional pieces that I could be gaining from by ceasing. Honestly, I grow weary of only watching a portion of the movie, or only gaining enough direction and guidance from God to get to the next step. It is time I buckle in my seat and pray, regardless of the circumstance, and allow God to speak to me and move me as He sees fit. Who knows, by praying continually I may even dodge a few of those issues that may cause me to pray in panic later.

GOD’S TESTING
“Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.’”
Exodus 20:20

Yesterday I was driving home from my daughter’s childcare with her in the back seat and suddenly heard her rejoicing. I looked back at her through the rearview mirror and questioned with both laughter and wonder, “What is it?”
“My math facts, dad,” she said in excitement. “I only missed 2 questions and I got a 94%. I am so happy!” At that moment her happiness spilled over to me as well. Many nights we have been working on these equations, working to get her speed up and think of ways to make them common knowledge. Sure, they may be simple to you and I, but for a 7 year old, 15-8 can seem impossible. All her studying, however, was being seen as she had passed the test.
Did you know God tests us? Now it is true that He does not tempt us, let us not get confused, but He does test us. In Exodus 20:20 we see just one area where God in a way is passing out the test papers. On the heels of receiving the Ten Commandments, the people of Israel are gathered at the base of Mount Sinai and hearing the thunder, watching the lightening, and seeing the mountain covered by smoke. Moses then speaks, “Do not be afraid, this is only a test of God to keep you from sinning.” God was wanting to impose fear in the people to keep them from straying back to other gods by proving Himself to all of Israel. And in some ways it must have worked, for the people then asked Moses to speak to them himself as opposed to God speaking to them in just this fraction of His might.
But here is the question I have after reading this verse. When did the fear begin to wear off? I ask because twelve chapters later, while Moses is on Mount Sinai for a period of forty days, the people are out building a golden calf (Ex 32). So if I am reading the Book of Exodus correctly, in about forty days after the people hear and see pieces of God’s power they are already failing the big test? Is that right? If it is, then I must quickly look at my own life because forty days is not that long. And I am not saying you and I will be turning our backs on God within forty days, but more so wondering what I must do to not let this happen.
The answer, however, is back in Exodus 20:20. “’ so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.’” The answer is a fear of God. I thought it very interesting when while sitting in church Saturday night I heard God prompt me to begin personally studying on the fear of the LORD. Then on Monday night, while reading the Bible with the kids, I read Exodus 20. Fear seems to be a theme for this stage in my life. But we must define fear. The word in Hebrew is YIR’AH, meaning respect and reverence. The KJV reads the tail of this verse as, “and that His fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.” God wanted the people to respect and reverence Him in that moment so that they would not turn away from Him. His testing was if they would turn. Their answer should have been the constant reverence of God. Their answer, however, was soon after portrayed in a golden calf. Truth be told, they failed the test that day.
Honestly, I do not want to fail God’s test. Of all the tests I will ever take - bigger than a driving test, or blood test, or the SATs, or a pregnancy test (well, not me so much taking a pregnancy test) – this is the one that matters most. Will I fear God enough to not turn back on Him, or will I be dancing with all the others around the golden calf? The test has been given to us all, we are sitting at our desk and filling in the blanks now. What will our answers reflect? Will we pass God’s testing?

DAILY MANNA
“Give us today our daily bread.”
Matthew 6:11

Last night while I was sitting in church, it hit me. I guess I kind of knew it already, but it jumped out at me last night. When Jesus taught the disciples to pray upon their asking, He named a few specific things in the prayer. He first stated that we should give God honor while still addressing Him as Father. He named that we should pray His Kingdom come and will be done as opposed to ours. He discussed the concepts of forgiving others and not allowing ourselves to be sucked into temptation. But the one piece that stuck out last night while I was listening to the minister was, “Give us today our daily bread.” Why is this piece so important?
Go back in time with me to when the Israelites were following Moses out of Egypt and into the Promise Land. In Exodus 16 we read that the Israelites were grumbling that they had no food to eat. As such, God spoke to Moses that He would provide manna and quail for the people. Along with His provision, however, came the rules. The rules were simple - they were only to take what they needed for that day. In the mornings, each person was to gather an omer (roughly 2 quarts) for each person in their tent. If they took too much, they would wake up to maggots as opposed to manna. But there was one exception to this instruction. On the morning before the Sabbath, they were allowed to take 2 omers as there would be no manna to be gathered during the Sabbath as it was deemed work to go out and collect manna at this time. Those who did not collect a double portion of manna that Friday morning woke up to find nothing waiting to be collected come Saturday morning.
Now, here is where God began to speak to me last night. When Jesus advised His disciples on how to pray, it included the giving of our daily bread. In John 6:48 we read that Jesus states He is the bread of life. So, if I look at it as if Jesus is my manna, then should I not be going out to collect Him daily; to eat of Him and have relationship with Him? In order for the people to eat physically, they had to go collect their daily food. In order for me to eat spiritually, I need to daily be with my Savior. But here is the clincher – I cannot expect yesterday’s manna, or yesterday’s time with the Father, to keep. What happened to those who did not finish their allotment? They woke up to find maggots. What happens if I think yesterday’s portion or quiet time is enough to last into tomorrow? I too will find it has rotted. Therefore I need to daily take of Him, meet with Him, live in Him. On the flip side, though, when the people were told to take the extra because of the Sabbath and did not, they went hungry. I cannot afford to have the daily manna go bad, but I cannot also allow there to be no manna to collect.
So here is the point I want to make, or perhaps I should say the point that was made to me last night. Daily we must meet with God. Daily we must come to Him, get alone with Him and allow Him to minister to us His desires for the day. It is not a time for us to come to Him with our list of demands that He must do. Rather it is a time for us to listen to His heart as He listens to ours; a time where we hear His voice, gather His direction and strength, and allow ourselves to be renewed in His might. Failing to do this with the hope of yesterday’s manna being enough simply won’t cut it. No, instead, He gives us a daily portion. For me, I can see myself in the Israelites. I wonder how I have managed as long as I have with maggot filled food or no food at all, but I am not wanting to continue this trend. I want the daily manna.

NAME BADGES
“Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
Romans 8:17

Saturday night my children and I attended WinterJam. For those of you who have not heard of WinterJam before, it is a Christian concert that lasts over four hours, normally includes about 8-10 artists, gives time for teaching God’s Word, and only costs $10 a person. Every year the artists change, but the show never disappoints. A few years back the headliner was the Newsboys, while this year we were privileged to see TobyMac. Now while I will agree that TobyMac ended the concert well, I cannot say that in my opinion he stole the show. I personally would have to give that honor to Matthew West. This thought has nothing to do with me getting older and not being able to handle the hip hop beat, but has more to do with his music being relatable. Matthew West is a story-teller, and he draws people in.
While I was listening to Matthew, I began to see myself in one specific story he told. Up on the jumbo-tron was an image of a man who looked maybe not much older than I. He began by saying his name and then identified himself with his problem. For this man it was drugs. While nursing a sports injury he became addicted and eventually was dropped off at a drug rehab because of the love his parents had for him. In his own words he described how he began to find freedom and ultimately find Christ again. As the segment ended he mentioned how he used to introduce himself as the guy with the drug problem, but how now he introduced himself to all as a child of the one true King.
As I heard this account, right before Matthew broke into his song inspired by this story, I remembered an entry I had written back in 2009. At the time my divorce was still semi fresh, and the way in which I was judged by others kept me marked. I felt as though I was walking around with a huge ‘D’ on my chest for divorce, much like the ‘A’ in The Scarlett Letter. Over time I had to work to stop listening to who the world said I was and listen to who God said I was. It was not easy, believe me, for the voices of the world screamed louder than the voice of God at times. But I humbly say that I am not worried now by this judgment due to divorce. It does not by any means, though, mean I do not struggle with other name badges.
Growing up I have worn the name badges of addict, loser, defeated, unlovable, failure, and idiot to name but a few. At times I have let these names truly define me. But these are not the name badges God defines me as. He calls me His Son, more than a conqueror, loved, the apple of His eye, accepted, and redeemed. Quite a difference in the name badge I stick on my chest verses the one He places on me. And yet, His is the one that matters. I should not be introducing myself as Daniel the divorced with a failed marriage. God has made me to be more than simply defined by that. Instead I should introduce myself as this gentleman now does.
Hello, my name is Daniel, and I am a child of the one true King.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJlCj9_Sfj0

THE ‘RESET’ BUTTON
“Then the One sitting on the throne said, ‘Look! I am making everything new!’ Also he said, ‘Write, “These words are true and trustworthy.”’”
Revelation 21:5

To be honest with you, I am not a very ‘techy’ guy. I used to work for a cell phone company, but I wasn’t even able to tell you how to turn a phone on. I work now around computers all day, but I cannot tell you how to fix it when it breaks or the program sticks. For me the answer is always ‘reset’. In some ways I wish I had this option in life. If I could go back in time and ‘reset’ some of my stupid moves, I would love it. I would love to ‘reset’ that day in 1986 when I took a walk and stumbled upon my first porn magazine. I would love to ‘reset’ my senior year of high school when I lost some of my stance for Christ by dating a non-believer, much like King Solomon did with his many women. And I would give anything to ‘reset’ all those times when God has spoken and I have ignored Him.
In many ways, God also uses a ‘reset’ button. The difference, though, is that He wrote the owner’s manual. As such, He knows how the system works, the product’s intent, and the final outcome. However, along the way He gave the product the option of freewill. It is this freewill that gets us in trouble most of the time. It is because of freewill that I made the decisions I did growing up. With me as His product it is safe to safe that He never intended for me to look at porn, date someone who would detour me from Him, or allow cotton to be stuffed into my ears. No, His intent was that I follow the steps He outlined and move solely in His shadow.
So what do I do, knowing that I have drifted from the original purpose that I was created for and have allowed the world to sway His intent? The answer is simple, or at least simple to say. I allow for Him to ‘reset’ me. In Revelation 21:5, when the vision John has been given the ability to see is just about done, we read the words, “I am making everything new!” I don’t know about you, but those words bring hope and freedom to me. God, knowing my past junk and selfish moments, is making all things new; He is resetting my life. This ‘reset’ cost Him, for His Son died on the cross for my sin. But He gave His Son so that I could have life. He hit the ‘reset’ button because of His love for me.
Maybe like me, you too have made some mistakes, sinned whether on accident or on purpose, and found yourself also wishing for that ‘reset’ option. The good news is that today it can be possible. If we confess our sin to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive our sin and cleanse us from unrighteousness. In truth, He presses the ‘reset’ button for our lives and allows a fresh start. So then, what is stopping you for the ‘reset’? Isn’t it time to ask Him for a do over?

SPIRITUAL SUICIDE
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23

Growing up during the 80s, I endured the styles of the time. For those of you who like me were around back then, do you remember the onslaught of fluorescent colors? Or how about the leg warmers, stretch stir-up pants, and parachute pants sported by many? My disbelief comes still when I think back to the big hair-dos. I need to ask, what were we thinking? But it was all part of the time we lived in. Now while I have shared before that the music selections we were allowed to listen to growing up were Christian based, I recall listening to one artist who sported the big hair. Do any of you recall Rick Cua? He, in my opinion, was a very cool, big-haired, man. His songs seemed to always cut to my heart, and, yes, I still have a few of his cassette tapes – yes, tapes.
I remember watching a Christian based show as a youth where Rick Cua was the special guest. The interviewer and he were discussing a problem that was rising in America at the time. They were discussing suicide. When the statistics were read and the opinions exchanged, Rick offered help to those contemplating taking their life with his song, Don’t Say Suicide. The chorus says: Don’t say suicide/It’s your move, consider it well/Don’t say suicide/The choice is life, or the lie that comes from hell. You may look at these words as elementary or lack-luster, but I can guarantee you they have stuck with me through many of my own problems.
I woke up this morning heavy from a dream where I heard specifically a voice saying to me, “Help!” In the dream I saw a man who was holding a gun to his head and pleading for someone to come and offer him a reason not to go through with it. Then I heard another voice saying, “The wages of sin is death, and too many people are committing spiritual suicide.” This may seem awkward, but I assure you this was my dream. The fearful part was not the voices I heard, however, but that I knew this person holding the gun just as I knew the voice speaking about the wages of sin was God Himself. I woke up heavy.
I apologize if this devotional seems a little scattered in content, but here is the point that I feel God has placed on my heart for today. Physically you may not be contemplating taking your own life, but what about spiritually? Are you and I making decisions willfully to sin? If so, then we are in essence holding the gun to our head. The wages of sin is indeed death, and to move into sin with purpose is the pulling of the trigger. Think back with me. Was it not the sin of a number of Israelites following Korah in betrayal against Moses that caused the ground to open and swallow them (Num 16)? Was it not the sin of King Saul that stripped his self-worth and demoted him of title (I Sam 15)? Was it not the forsaking of God and the embracing of the religions of his wives that steered Solomon away from the truth (I Kings 11)? In all these cases, and in many more, spiritual suicide was committed.
I urge you, as does the man in my dream, to cry out for help. Too many of us are walking into sin. We are not blind in this walk, but we are purposed. We have in our mindset that this sin will not harm us. But we are wrong – it will kill us. Let us stop convincing ourselves of the lies and come to grips with the truth that the wages of sin really is death. Let us put the gun down, and come back to God and His ways. Don’t say suicide.