The Battle of the Mind
Philippians 3:18-21 “For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
Here’s a startling statement: either we live for Christ, or we are His enemy.
What does it mean to be an enemy of the cross? That word, enemy, in the original Greek means hateful, hostile, at enmity with God (1). Often we think of hate as the act of rebellion and venomous speech, resisting and fighting against something with every ounce of physical and emotional strength. But hate can be a passive hostility, a rebellious spirit or a hard attitude against something or someone. Hate is a mindset. It won’t dissolve without a change. Unless the mind is convinced, the heart won’t follow.
And here’s the thing. The battle is all in the mind. Satan is the great deceiver. He will convince us, beyond a doubt, that his lie is the truth. He will deceive us into thinking that the darkness is where we will thrive. He will convince us to drink his poison to satisfy our thirst only to laugh and watch us choke on his evil. He will invade our minds and thoughts to keep us from submitting to God and will, rather, convince us that we can and should be our own god. Psalm 10:4 “In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.”
We need to fight this battle right where it’s happening. We need to ask the Lord to intercede in the minds of our sons and daughters and redeem them from the grip of the Enemy. We need to pray scripture to fight Satan. When Jesus was tempted, he answered Satan with scripture, He fought the battle of the mind with the very words of God. Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
Today, let's take time to pray scripture over the minds and hearts of our sons and daughters. God is able to intervene and turn enemies of the cross into faithful followers who love Him with their heart, soul, mind and strength.
Pray without ceasing!
1. G2190 - echthros - Strong's Greek Lexicon (kjv). Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2190/kjv/tr/0-1/