Thoughts sent by the devil are problems to us.
Thoughts generated by our own flesh are problems to us.
Thoughts from God are by the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, who
always speaks the truth from God and brings to us the heart of God on the
matter at hand so we can know the will of God as we live on this present earth
and can choose to go in the way of God.
The apostle John said:
I
Jn. 4 … Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are
of God:
Spirits bring ideas to our
minds. Some ideas are from God and the
Holy Spirit. Some ideas (thoughts) are
from the devil but sound good and even semi-reasonable but lead us into the way
of destruction if we choose to go that way.
Some ideas (thoughts) are generated by our own flesh which contends
against the Word of God and the way of God.
It is our role, as Christians,
to do what the apostle Paul instructed …
II
Cor. 10:5 … Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into
captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
As long as we walk on this
earth we contend for the faith in the Word of God, in God, in Jesus who is the
Word.
The flesh has to be kept under
the control of the Word of God.
Galatians 5 … 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest,
which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions,
heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like:of
the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they
which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
We learn to die daily to the flesh, not permitting the flesh to rule,
keeping the flesh under the control of God and the Word and the Spirit of God.
Paul said: 27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection:lest that by
any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. I
Cor. 9
This is something we learn day by day while we live on this present
earth. And much of our battle is in the mind, in
those thoughts that come to us and in the emotions evoked by our flesh and by
the flesh of others … the hatred, the
resentments, the lusts, the desires for praise of humans, the desire to outdo
others … all these are battles which we overcome second by second
through God and submitting to God and keeping ourselves under the control of
God.
Through God we overcome.
In the book of Revelation,
Jesus commissions each of the churches with the charge of overcoming.
Revelation: (Jesus says to the churches)
2:10-11
… be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
11
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He
that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
Faithful … unto death … Even when it costs us something we
cling to the Word given us by God. And
we do this to the end of our lives on this present earth, choosing what God
says to us, ignoring our emotions which are often contrary to God. Rejecting contrary ways of other humans. Resisting opposing ways of devils.
All this area of covercoming
has to do with deliberately choosing to believe what God says.
There are many times we become
weary, especially in sharing things of God with others, in and out of the
church. It can seem to us futile. But I keep going because of the following 3
scriptures.
Heb.
3 … 12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of
unbelief, in departing from the living God. 13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you
be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we are made partakers of
Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
(Exhort means:
to urge earnestly by advice and warning)
Heb.
10 … 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of
some is; but exhorting one another:and
so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
I Corinthians 15 … 58 Therefore, my
beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of
the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is
not in vain in the Lord.