Getting Free... (more on Thoughts)

In my "Breaking Free" Bible study homework, last night, I was studying about a "steadfast mind", and how we are to "take every thought captive" to Christ & His power. And, Beth shared the steps we need to take to "get free"!

1. Recognize the captor.


2. Confess sin to God.


3. Tear down the lies.


4. Put up the Truth.


5. Take every thought captive.

Here are some quotes from the study...

p.188 - "captivating thoughts are controlling thoughts -- things you find yourself meditating on too often. Focusing thoughts."

p.189 - "Taking thoughts captive to Christ doesn't mean we never have the thought again. It means we learn to 'think the thought' as it relates to Christ and who we are in Him."

p.191 - "Confession means coming to the point of saying the same thing God says about any specific matter."

p.193 - "The demolition of strongholds really begins when we expose and tear down the lies fueling our strongholds."

p.194 - "...if you don't listen to God and obey in the early stages, the longer you wait, the less discernment and strength you have."

p.194 - "If you know a stronghold exists somewhere in your life...yet you cannot identify the lies, you are still a captive."

p.195 - "...the walls of your mind will never stay bare...Once we tear down the lies, we have to re-wallpaper with the Truth or the enemy will happily supply a new roll of wallpaper [for our 'prison']."

p.195 - "God will not release us from anything that has enslaved us until we've come to the mind of Christ in the matter... Once the mind of Christ has taken over, the power of the stronghold is broken and the person and situation will finally begin to evacuate the premises."

p.197 - "Before we can get any controlling thoughts out of our minds, they must become Christ-controlled thoughts while still in our minds."

Steps for getting free...

1. Search God's Word for Scriptures. Find Scriptures that speak the mind of God to your specific stronghold.

- compile a list of Scriptures. Keep looking until you find them. Not just those that rebuke, but also those that speak of God's unfailing love & forgiveness to you.

2. Write these Scriptures on note cards.

- best way to compile them is to use spiral-bound note cards... call them "Truth cards".

3. Take these Truth Cards wherever you go.

- "be prepared to fight for your freedom with some radical choices...expect the battle to heat up when you start tearing down the lies!"

4. Avoid as many forms of deception as possible.

- "flood your mind primarily with truth and secondarily with materials that line up with truth... we must exercise radical caution when we're escaping."

More quotes...

p.198 - "Our thought life is something we'll work on for the rest of our lives."

p.199 - "When we do not make the deliberate choice to think according to the Spirit, we tend to default to the 'flesh'."

p.199 - "When the Holy Spirit convicts me of sin, the purpose is for life & peace."

p.200 - "The more we feed the Spirit of God within us and yield to His control, the more His presence will fill and satiate us with life and peace."


My biggest "stronghold" is currently my overeating & weight issues. And, the cool thing is, I already have an "armory" of verses (both "rebuking" and "uplifting") to combat the lies and replace them with Truth! God has given me many over the last year and a half. :o)