Years ago we sang this song: I went to the enemy’s camp and I took back what he stole from me…David was a renegade warrior. 1 Samuel 30 is the whole story.

First David inquired of the Lord. He went out under God’s word to him. Verse 8 says, “…Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.” Verse 19 ends with, “…David recovered all.” What did he recover? Their city was plundered. Their wives, children were taken. He and his men brought them all back.

What has the enemy plundered from you? Isaiah 5:13 says, “Therefore my people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge…” Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…”

There is something wrong with this picture. 2 Peter 1:3 says, “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us…”

The enemy of our soul seeks to keep us from knowing the Lord, and walking in His provision. The truth is stated well in John 10:10. “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy…”

The Lord is Truth. I love John 1:14-16. Jesus is the Living Word. He is full of grace and truth. Verse 16 in the Amplified says, “For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received (all had a share and we were all supplied with) one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift (heaped) upon gift.”

If verse 16 is not your experience, then you have been plundered. Truth is to be lived, embraced, and experienced. Daily reading His word equips us to guard our hearts and minds and not give the enemy’s lie another thought.

Renegade Thoughts Part Two
When we are walking in His righteousness, being led by the Holy Spirit, our thoughts will be conformed to God’s will. It is imperative that we know satan also has a will.
2 Timothy 2:26 says, “And that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”
The will of satan is to ensnare, entangle, and capture our hearts. Our heart is our belief center. If he can get us to believe his lies, they will become our truth. In my past, there were lies in my heart that truly seemed more real than God’s truth. In 1993 I learned that not every thought was of my origin. That radically changed my life.
That is why John 8:32 says, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” It is describing experiential truth. Truth that we have mined from God’s word as we read it daily and bring it into our heart. The truth that sets us free from our captivity then becomes a sentinel to warn us of enemy encroachment.
Encroachment means an intrusion into a person’s territory or rights. Here is an excellent example of how this happens. John 13:2 says, “And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him.”
See, it is through thoughts. Here is another. Acts 8:22 says, “Repent therefore of your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.”
Note that Jesus never sinned. A believer sins more through their internal dialogues than actual physical sins. Years ago I read a biography of Dwight L Moody. He said something like, I have to be kept continually filled with the Holy Spirit because I leak.
Galatians 5:16 says, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

Renegade means to desert and betray an organization, country, set of principles; having treacherously changed allegiance. We are created in the image of God to be glorify Him in all that we say and do.
John 15:16 says, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”
Here is an example of a renegade thought. Any thought against yourself, others, or your circumstances is classified as renegade. Why? It goes against your design, and it is in rebellion against God’s choice.
Self-hatred, self-rejection, bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness are all rebellious attitudes against God’s word. 1 Samuel 15:23 says, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord…”
We are created with the ability to think, process, and to create. When we use our ability against God’s way it is rebellion. Ephesians 2:2 says, “…the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.”
Our obedience or disobedience is a heart issue. What we think in our heart governs our actions. Many of David’s psalms address this truth. Psalm 19:14 says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”