In Matthew 18:7 Jesus told His disciples that offenses would come. They are just a part of living. In Luke 17:1 Jesus said, “…It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!” Here is satan’s strategy. Rejection is the temptation to sin. The Greek word for offense is scandalon. Doesn’t that sound like our word scandalous? 

Rejection is the temptation to sin by harboring the offense. Offense is the trap stick. To take satan’s bait (rejection) will ensnare us through an offended heart. Since rejection is only the temptation to sin, we have a choice. We can take the bait, or forgive and escape the snare. Proverbs 1:17 says, “Surely, in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.”

We are usually broadsided by rejection. We might not see it coming so it is a shock. Our flesh immediately goes into a defensive mode. The Holy Spirit is present to offer grace so we can forgive and move forward. Here is the snare with offenses. When we are offended we have His immediate grace to forgive. However, if we pass on our offense to someone else, it is gossip and there is no grace without repentance.

Romans 14:21 is in the context of eating or not eating temple meat. The application is there. It says, “…It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.” Years ago I heard a message from a rancher describing a tumble weed. He said that when it is just a shoot, it is green and easily pulled out roots and all. When it grows and dries out, it tumbles around everywhere. It picks up debris wherever it goes. That is a great illustration of how our shared bitter offenses can affect others. They are divisive, and they spread gossipy-contamination.

The set trap is always hidden. It has bait that will appeal to our lower nature. Years ago I read a book by John Bevere. It is called, “The Bait Of Satan: living free from the deadly trap of offense.” Until I read that book I didn’t realize how deadly clever satan’s myriad offense-traps are. People often spread their offense because it makes them the victim. Yet carrying the offense keeps us trapped in pride. Proverbs 11:13 says, “A talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter.”

When we are rejected we are hit with emotional pain. That whole rejection scene is between us and the Lord. We need to pour out our heart. Hannah is a great example for us. She was rejected by her rival. She was looked down on because she was barren. 1 Samuel 1:6 says, “And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb.” In those times a barren woman was viewed as cursed by God.

Hannah was emotionally impacted. That carried over into her physical and spiritual life. Verse 8 says that she wept, didn’t eat, and her heart was grieved. Verse 10 says, “And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish.” Can’t you just feel her emotional pain? Verse 13 says, “Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard…” Eli the priest thought she was drunk. Verse 15 says, “…I am a woman of sorrowful spirit…have poured out my soul before the Lord.” Let us also pour out our heart to the Lord when we are rejected. We need to empty all that pain before Him, so that He can bring the healing that we need to progress on our journey of sanctification.

Reviving Burned Stones is the title to one of my ebooks, and chapter two in Victorious Garden: true heart forgiveness. Both are on Amazon. What does our pathway look like after we have been rejected? How do we process the pain? Our flesh wants to lash out, but our spirit man wants to lean hard on the Lord. Galatians 5:16 is a key verse to the aftermath of rejection. It says, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

Here was a strategic maneuver that we can adapt for ourselves. Rejection is not a one time event. We need to have a purpose set in our heart for the next time we suffer rejection. Nehemiah 4:6 was after they cried out to the Lord to avenge them. It says, “So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up  to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.” The children of Israel did not let the rejection stop them from the work the Lord had called them to do.

Verse 7 says that the enemy was furious because, “…the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed…” Let me take you to Isaiah 7. It reveals the enemy’s strategy. Verse 6 says, “Let us go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in the wall for ourselves…” It is essential to understand that when we are rejected, it is satan’s plan to bring division. He hates close knit relationships. He seeks to divide so he can conquer through his lies.

Let me illustrate from Israel’s time. The vineyards were hedged about with a protective wall. It might have been shrubbery, or a rock wall. They set a watch to make sure that nothing would create a little gap. Something bigger would come and make that gap bigger. Song of Solomon 2:15 says, “Catch us the little foxes…” Why? They would race through the vineyard and knock off the blossoms so that there would be no fruit.

Gaps remain in our relationships through heart unforgiveness. Let us apply Paul’s admonition to the church at Rome. Romans 12:2 in the J. B. Phillips says, “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all His demands and move towards the goal of true maturity.”

What is the world’s way? Revenge! The enemy unleashed revenge in our country with the riots, the burnings, and the hatred. Our hearts get burned through rejection. That isn’t the end of the story. At that moment we have a choice. We can lash out in our flesh, or we can forgive and move forward. If we let the offense build in our heart, we will become like the vineyard in Proverbs 24:30-34. It was full of nettles and thorns because the wall was diligently attended to.

Hebrews 12:2 says, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” It is at that throne that we are bid to come in our time of need. It is there that we will find the mercy and grace to forgive from our heart. 

How did the Lord respond when He was reviled during His walk on this earth? Revile means to berate, rail against, or criticize in an angry way. 1 Peter 2:24 says, “Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.” We react in our flesh, but we respond in our heart to the Holy Spirit’s readiness to lead us through the situation into victory!

Rejection is a universal emotional pain. It seems to be a hurt that everyone experiences in their life. It comes in myriad ways, but the message is that we are not wanted. It makes us feel deficient in an area or multiple areas. We often take it personally, when in fact, it was a deficiency in the one who rejected us. The fiery dart lies begin to bombard us. They usually come in the first person.

The lies might make us turn against ourselves. The questioning lies are all negative. They distort the truth of who we are, and who God created us to be. Any lie that satan throws our way is against our design. Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…” The Lord designed us exactly as He saw fit. His entire purpose for our life was included. Psalm 119:73 says “Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.”

It is essential to consider that Jesus was rejected. Isaiah 53:3 says, “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man  of sorrows and acquainted with grief…”  He knows what we are experiencing when we are rejected. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus suffered ultimate rejection by His Father, in order for us to be accepted in the Beloved.

As we read through our Bible, we see account after account of rejection. Adam and Eve rejected God’s command. Cain rejected God’s way to make a sacrifice and murdered his brother. Israel rejected God in wanting a king. 1 Corinthians 10 gave a brief history of Israel. Verse 6 says, “Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.”

Rejection leaves an emotional hole. We tend to fill it with other things that choke out God’s word from working deep into our heart. It is His word that will bring the instruction we need. We cannot effectively navigate through emotionally painful times through leaning on our flesh. John 6:63 says, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to  you are spirit, and they are life.”

It is pointless to keep bringing up the lies. It is impossible to name them all. However, truth is a far more excellent way to the path of healing from rejection. 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.”

Don’t allow the lies to remain that you have believed about yourself because of being rejected. Demonic lies are the underpinning of rejection. They are all lies designed to control our lives. There is only One that we want to be under the control of. That is where fruit is borne that will glorify the Lord. Galatians 5:22-23 is a list of the fruit of the Spirit. It will be evident in our lives as we walk in the Spirit. 

Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are like a cluster of grapes. A cluster has individual grapes, but they are a whole. So we are in the body of Christ. Individuals that make a whole expression of Him on this earth. The enemy taunted the Jews as they rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 4:2 says, “Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish–stones that are burned?” If you have ever been burned in a relationship, there is hope! You are called to endure. Lay hold of the Lord in a new way. Lean hard on His grace. He will be the Healer you need for your broken heart.

The question comes. Do I believe about myself the same way God sees me? How often does ‘I can’t’ come out of my mouth? Paul didn’t use those words, but he might have thought them when he faced his thorn. Otherwise, why did he plead with God to remove it? The Lord did not take away his thorn. What ‘thorn’ is in your side?

Here is a short poem to help us view another aspect of our thorn-trial. It was written by a woman who lived with intense pain and immobility.  Mendicant is a beggar. The Thorn was written by Martha Snell Nicholson. I stood a mendicant of God before His royal throne. And begged him for one priceless gift, which I could call my own. I took the gift from out His hand, but as I would depart. I cried, “But Lord this is a thorn and it has pierced my heart. This is a strange, a hurtful gift, which Thou hast given me.” He said, “My child, I give good gifts and gave My best to thee.” I took it home and though at first the cruel thorn hurt sore. As long years passed I learned at last to love it more and more. I learned He never gives a thorn without this added grace. He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil which hides His face. 

We lose eternal perspective when we focus on our stressors. Here is what I have learned about negative dialogues. Not only are they toxic, but they keep us in the sympathetic part of our brain. That is the fight or flight. They increase cortisol which increases inflammation. The lies that we have believed are stressors. They counter God’s way. Psalm 18:30 says, “As for God, His way is perfect…” Verse 32 says, “It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect.”

We can quickly take ourselves out of the sympathetic into the parasympathetic by changing our thoughts. Yes, every aspect of our lives is affected by our thoughts. Shift your thought-gears. Focus on the Lord and His faithfulness. Speak that truth in your heart. Then take a deep breath from your diaphragm. It will immediately take you out of your fight or flight to bring your body into peace and rest.

The lies we believe about ourselves cause stress in our bodies. They oppose God and His ways for us. They cause us to bury our emotions as a means of control. It is self-preservation. In truth, we have control over nothing in our lives except our thoughts. No one but you can change the path your thoughts are going. Negative dialogue is NOT a road map that we should follow.

Lies make us weak. When the Lord spoke to Paul about his thorn, Paul recognized something. His weakness was his greatest strength. He had to acknowledge that truth in order to go forward. What lies about yourself are holding you back? What lies keep you in fight or flight, pumping cortisol into your system continually? Paul’s understanding was enhanced through the truth the Lord spoke to his heart.

To follow our high standard flesh-expectations, or other’s expectations of us causes stress. They keep us uptight which stops fluidity. It blocks us from being who God has called us to be. Let us view our stressors as an awakening tool. Before each of us is a blank canvas. Let’s draw a collage of verses that address our lies with truth. It will help to bring us back into an eternal perspective. Everything on this earth is temporary. God uses our thorns to reveal Himself to us in a new way.

Have you ever had negative thoughts bombarding your mind? For years they plagued me. In 1993 I learned that not all my thoughts were of my own origin. That was liberating truth. From then on, when I had a negative thought, I would not give it another thought. Before, I would dialogue with it. Afterward, I would ignore it and switch to praise.

Yesterday I was creating a new recipe when the Holy Spirit intercepted my thoughts. He put this thought into my mind: trash your negative thoughts. Since I like to envision and implement my practical steps to freedom, here is the picture that came. In my mind, I took a piece of paper and wrote down the negative thought. Then I triumphantly wadded up the paper and throw it into my trash can. It broadened my understanding 2 Corinthians 10:5 which says to take every thought captive.

In recent years I read some of Caroline Leaf’s books. She is a Christian neuroscientist. She said that negative thoughts are toxic to the brain. Toxic thinking changes our brain’s wiring in a negative direction, and throws our mind and body into stress. So a negative dialogue would create additional stress, as if we don’t have enough in our every day lives. Negative thoughts are like acid that drip onto our neuro pathways and corrode them.

Our brain is so marvelous. We are created by the Lord to function optimally our entire lives. We are created for His glory, and to glorify Him. We do that when we fulfill all that He has for us to do. We will live out His fashioned days for us. The question becomes if we will live them with quality of life. I love Proverbs 3:2. I use it as a prayer every morning. The Amplified says, “For length of days and years of a life (worth living) and tranquility (inward and outward and continuing through old age till death), these shall they add to you.”

Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” All words come from thoughts. Negative thoughts can destroy our health, and most certainly they will reduce our capacity to function. Verse 20 in the Amplified says, “A man’s (moral) self shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth; and with the consequence of his words he must be satisfied (whether good or evil).”

Have you thought about the consequences, or the fruit of your thoughts? I encourage you to get my ebook: Power Of Thoughts, or read chapter one in Victorious Garden (both available on Amazon). James 3:8 says, “But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” Psalm 140:3 says, “They sharpen their tongues like a serpent; the poison of asps is under their lips.” These two verses are startling. They exude with flesh.

The key to a healthy life, physically, spiritually, and emotionally, is through our thoughts. 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.” Psalm 104:33-34 says, “I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the Lord.”

Incongruity is not a word in my everyday vocabulary. Here is a definition: an incongruity is very different from everything around it, to the point of being inappropriate to the situation. 1 John 2:6 says, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” We may say that we have a personal relationship with the Lord, but we don’t exemplify Him through our lives.

By what we say, we document what we truly believe in our heart. Romans 10:9-10 was written about our salvation. It carries over into our everyday life. What we confess with our mouth comes from our heart. Listen to Paul’s words, “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Our progressive sanctification is a process to help us align our beliefs, words, and actions. We are a messenger, or an ambassador of Christ. That means that our witness should portray our message and messenger as the same. We might say that we trust the Lord, but then we draw back into worry, fear, anxiety, anger, doubt, or unbelief. Our words bely where our trust really is. In action, it is in ourselves because we have taken our eyes off the Lord. We have forgotten that what He has spoken to us is eternal unchangeable truth. Let me use the example of His disciples.

Mark 6:45-52 was an account of His disciples in a boat. They were in the middle of the sea, and the wind came up against them. They saw Jesus walking on the water and they were troubled. Verse 30 says, “…Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” Then He got into the boat and the wind ceased. Verse 32 says that they did not understand about God’s provision through the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Why? It says that their heart was hardened.

Hardness of heart comes from the deceitfulness of sin. Our actions or inactions reveal what we truly believe. The disciples were worried. Yet when the Lord reminded them that He was with them, what caused them to worry ceased. Does what you say agree with your actions? Here is another account. Jesus asked His disciples who men were saying that He was. Verse 15 says, “…But who do you say that I am?”

Watch this scene unfold. In verse 16 it says, “Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” In verse 21 Jesus told them that He was going to suffer many things, be killed, and then raised on the third day. In verse 22 Peter rebuked Jesus. Verse 23 says, “But He turned and said to Peter, Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

How do we rebuke the Lord? We rebuke Him through our disobedience. It is not in our words but in our actions. Peter one moment said that He believed, and the next He was opposing Jesus. What is the gospel? 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 says, “…that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” When we believe the gospel for ourselves, we enter into eternal life. That is the beginning. Then we live out the gospel when our beliefs and actions affect the lives around us.

All strongholds have a foundation. If it is a demonic stronghold, the foundation was laid by a lie believed. If it is a Scriptural foundation, it was laid at the time we accepted Jesus as our Savior. 2 Timothy 2:19 says, “Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: The Lord knows those who are His, and Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

Our solid foundation is unshakable because it is eternal. Paul instructed his readers to be careful how they built on their foundation. 1 Corinthians 3:12  says, “Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.”

Our salvation is a marvelous stronghold. Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Psalm 71:3 says, “Be my strong refuge, to which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress.” Psalm 62:2 says, “He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.”

Ephesians 4:27 says, “Nor give place for the devil.” 1 Peter 5:8 says that the devil seeks those he can devour. When we open our lives to sin’s traps, we give the enemy of our soul real estate in our heart. He seizes that opportunity and sets up a stronghold within. We no longer battle his fiery dart lies from without. We have to renew our mind  so we can fight from the inside of our heart.

Psalm 119:11 says, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” Jeremiah 1:10 recorded how we are to deal with inner strongholds that have a stranglehold on our lives. It says, “…to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.” The other day my neighbor was pulling out shrubs. He had thoroughly soaks the roots. Then he tied a rope around the first one. I watched as he pulled his truck forward and the whole shrub just came out ~ roots and all.

Here is our practical application. The Holy Spirit has shown us our demonic stronghold. I will use fear as an example. We soak our heart with verses that speak to this issue. Here are some references you can look up if you like. Isaiah 41:10, Isaiah 26:3, Psalm 118:6. Psalm 56:3-4. We soak our roots by reading these verses over and over. It is like taking medicine, only we are saturating our roots with truth.

When any thought of fear rises from within us, we fight it through His word. That is like taking a rope of His word, wrapping it around the fear, and pulling it out roots and all. We need to confess that we allowed that fiery dart to enter and set up camp. We renounce the lie! We affirm our hearts with the truth of God’s word. That is the effective process of uprooting, pulling down, destroying, throwing down, and then building and planting. Remember, it is God’s word that is mighty for pulling down strongholds. It also empowers us to rebuild with gold, silver, and precious stones.

Our misplaced expectations can lead us to usurp God’s rightful place. Remember, the enemy of our soul tried to usurp God’s place. Nothing we do will sway our Lord. His attributes remain unchanged and steadfast no matter what we want Him to do for us. Expectation is hope. Have you ever hoped that the Lord would do something in a certain way? When he failed to meet your expectations how did you react? 

You see, it is all a set up to get us to believe satan’s lies so that he can control us. Then through our disobedience usurp God’s plan for our lives. He hates God, and he hates us because we are made in God’s image. We are called to walk as Jesus walked. We are brought into intimate communion with the Lover of our soul. We are His body, and He is our Head. He has called us to walk in all that He has purposed for us. Yet, we can get derailed through misplaced expectations.

Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a man, that He  should lie, nor a son of man, that He should  repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” David understood. Psalm 62:1 says, “Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation.” Verse 5 says, “My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.”

What can we expect from the Lord? We can list any or all of His known attributes, and be confident that He will fulfill them. Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.”

Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.” I love to look at the skyline as I go on my daily walk. The heavens are filled with His artistic cloud formations. Proverbs 3:19 says, “The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens.” He asked Job questions in Job 38. Verse 4 says, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?…” Verse 6 says, “To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone?”

When our expectations are on what we want God to do for us, or on others, or circumstantial changes, we error. We set ourselves up for broken expectations. There is no one, anything, or situation that we can rely on. Psalm 118:8-9 says, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.”

What are the lies in expectations? They are myriad. I remember standing in my living room in 1967. I had just bought my first house ($10,500 with $86.00 a month mortgage payment). I cried out to the Lord, “Who am I? I have to be this for that person…” I was raised as a preacher’s kid and there seemed to be a lot of expectations. It set me up for self-rejection, discouragement, and guilt. I believed those lies. I was bound by them for years. 

I want to encourage you to be all that God created you to be. You are uniquely you. You are created for the good works that God preordained for you. Only you, and you alone, can walk in them. He has abundant provision. John 3:34 Amplified says, “For since He Whom God has sent speaks the words of God (proclaims God’s own message). God does not give Him His Spirit sparingly or by measure, but boundless is the gift God makes of His Spirit!”

Our thoughts come from what is hidden in our heart. Our thoughts are based on our experiences which give voice through our motives behind our thoughts. Our thoughts precede our actions. Our actions reveal our character and habits. Then what are mindsets? They are inner strongholds. They capture and imprison our heart convictions. They are like citadels, or fortresses that guard us.

Daniel is a great example. He purposed something in his heart. What was it? It was a non negotiable, deep seated conviction, or a mindset that ruled his thoughts and actions. It was a righteous stronghold that could not be entered or shaken. Job is another example. Job 31:1 Amplified says, “I dictated a covenant (an agreement) to my eyes; how then could I look (lustfully) upon a girl?” Perhaps eye covenants should be part of the wedding vows.

David sinned with Bathsheba. He had no inner conviction. He gazed upon her. There was no covenant with his eyes. They roamed at his will. Yet he was called by God as a man after His own heart. Psalm 51 was David’s confession. In verse 10 he asked God to, “Create in me a clean heart, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” 

Psalm 16 was written by David. Verse 8 says, “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.” By setting the Lord before him, he created a stronghold-conviction. Moses set something before the children of Israel. Deuteronomy 30:15  says, “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.” Verse 19 says, “I call heaven and earth  as a witness today against you, that I have set  before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.”

Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Anything that we set our eyes on in this life will be temporal. James 3:15 says that the world’s wisdom, “…does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.” 2 Timothy 2:25-26 says that we are to correct those who oppose God and His ways. Here is why, “…if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 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.”

Inner demonically influenced strongholds come through fiery dart lies. They are lies that we have believed which then penetrated deep. They became an inner stronghold. They oppose God and His ways. They are fortresses of thoughts. The lies are deep seated and continually seep into our thought processes. They are satan’s counterfeit to spiritual strongholds of God’s word that will enable us to resist the devil and all his wiles.

How do you know if you have mindsets? Look for stubborn practices, ruts, or hidden sin. 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…” Hosea 10:13 says, “You have plowed wickedness; you have reaped iniquity. You have eaten the fruit of lies, because you trusted in your own way…”

There is great news! 2 Corinthians 10:4 says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.” Verse 5 aptly described a stronghold. It says, “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…” I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your understanding. May He illuminate the dark corners of our heart where the demonic strongholds are hidden. His word-sword is ready to slice it in two, and then tear it down!

1 Corinthians 2 is a great chapter with marvelous truths. Verse 16 says, “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.” Philippians 2:5 says, “Let this mind be in you which also in Christ Jesus.” As I was thinking about this my mind went back to 2 Peter 1:4. Through God’s exceedingly and great promises, it says, “…that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature…”

Our thoughts precede our actions. Our actions reveal the depth of character that resides in our heart. We are created in Christ to be His fragrant witnesses. However, the enemy of our soul wants to use us as his instrument through sin. What does Romans 6 say? We are dead to sin. Dead things cannot be stimulated. Verse 13 says, “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin…”

How are we supposed to walk in the newness of faith? Verse 13-14 goes on, “…but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you. For you are not under law but under grace.” Our mind is a member of our body.

We are saved by grace, and we live to the glory of the Lord through His grace. As in salvation, it is as we continue to yield to the Holy Spirit, that we are empowered to be all that He has called us to be. What has He called us to? 2 Timothy 1:9 says, “Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.”

A holy calling requires holy living. John 17:17 says, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” All that we need to live in His holiness is given to us through His word. It is His hidden word that filtrates through our thought processes to keep us free. If we don’t have His word hidden, we have nothing to fight with against the enemy. 1 Peter 5:8 indicates that he is always roaming around to see who is weak in their faith. He is looking for one he can isolate and destroy.

1 Corinthians 12:27 says, “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” Hebrews 10:24-25 is about the function of His body’s members. It says, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

We are called to walk with others in like precious faith. We are His army. We need to have each other’s back. Are you accountable to someone? If not, you are satan’s target. He whispers lies in your ears through his fiery darts. He sets trails of unseen sin-traps. God told Cain an important truth for us to remember. Genesis 4:7 says, “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” Accountability is our mind’s sentinel. It gives us that extra edge for warding off and crushing satan’s advances.