HSD: Kill it Dead

Come here. Come take a walk with me.

Daydreaming feels so good sometimes, doesn’t it?

So many of us who are burdened under tedious tasks and daily obligations are supported by the mind’s tendency to wander to more ideal places.

Long meeting at work? You think of after-work plans.

Long day of household chores? You envision yourself crashing face first into fluffed pillows and fresh linens.

The state of your mind holds the power to direct the entire trajectory of your day.

It’s really neat when you think about it.

You know who else thinks about how neat this is? Pretty obsessively, even?

Satan.

He not only thinks about this, he weaponizes this.

He understands that all he has to do is plant a seed.

All he has to do is manipulate your perspective, or plant a seed of nostalgia, or create a seemingly harmless yet vain thought.

All he has to do is whisper and wait for you to come into agreement with that whispered lie and adopt it as truth, or that feel good memory and adopt it as true peace and…he’s in.

Remember, we just discussed how important it is to believe God the first time? We’ve been reminded just how Adam and Eve’s first sin was actually more about them coming into agreement with Satan and how this agreement led to the physical execution of disobedience.

Before we even get into the word of today, I need you to say something out loud, so you never forget…

“No matter how good a sinful thought feels, it is a weapon of warfare designed to lead me to destruction.

I must kill it dead upon recognition like the Prisoner of War that it is.”

But let’s backtrack a bit here.

What is a sinful thought?

The Word reveals to us two very helpful scriptures to recognize these demonic agents at work against our minds: what sinful thoughts are and, conversely, what they are not.

The Word says, “And He said, what comes out of a man, that defiles a man, for from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All evil things come from within and defile a man.” (Mark 7:20-23)

So here’s what we can conclude from this Scripture:

Remember when we talked about coming into agreement with Satan? This chapter speaks to this.

While I encourage you to read Mark 7 in its entirety for yourself, here’s a quick summary:

The Pharisees were busy judging Jesus’ disciples for eating bread without washing their hands in a special way to meet the standards of tradition.

Jesus calls them out on their hypocrisy while referencing Isaiah and ends by telling them that it isn’t what goes inside a man from the outside which defiles him, it’s what comes out of a man that defiles him.

While the analogy was predicated on physical consumption, Jesus was speaking about spiritual consumption as well.

While the Pharisees were busy lamenting over tradition, they were guilty of practicing traditional rituals while forsaking the heart of God’s commandments.

They were in agreement with the wrong things.

When Satan comes to cloud our thoughts with things we don’t need, this analogy should serve as a reminder that it’s not Satan’s attacks from the outside which defile you, it’s about what you allow to resonate; what you come into agreement with; what you let in; what you entertain and allow to find place in your heart.

Once you come into agreement with Satan and entertain his lies or his vain imaginations, you’ll inevitably begin to produce poisonous fruit. You will inevitably be defiled because of the physical evidence of what you have allowed to be produced within you.

God’s Word tells us this, “The fruit of The Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness [and] self-control.” (Galatians 5:16-26)

So anything opposite of what was just mentioned is evidence of Satan’s poisonous fruit which sprouted from the seed you allowed to be planted and mature within you by failing to guard your thoughts.

This is why you must say this as often as possible:

No matter how good a sinful or vain thought feels, your mind is being whispered to by a demonic agent that has been assigned to take you down.

Kill it dead.  

The Word tells us this, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-6)

You have been given authority to arrest these thoughts and slam them down before the Lord where they will be forced to surrender to His Mighty Power.

Stop entertaining thoughts you know aren’t in alignment with God’s Way.

It’s a gateway. It’s an invitation.

Reflect on this. Pray on this, and if led, receive this and move forward.

Do better with what you know.

And while you’re at it…

Do everything else you are led to do…

with Love.

Holy Spirit, I thank You for this Word today. Please let it meet the eyes of every person who needs to hear this so that they may be encouraged to move forward and lead others to you with Love. We love You, Lord, and we thank You. In Jesus’ Name to the Glory of the Father, we thank You. Amen.