Fighting the Right Battle

     What do we think? - Part 2

     If you missed yesterday's blog, please go there to see our problem. Return here for knowledge God provides - to believers - to overcome our troubled thought processes. 

     "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:2). 

     Christian or not, we mostly grow up with various positive and negative viewpoints about our culture. The apostle Paul would tell us (Christians) bluntly we're fighting the wrong enemy. 

     "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12). 

     We can confess our sins, trust the Lord's grace, be baptized, join a church, tithe...and still struggle to love God and our neighbors - the two essential commands. Why? Because we're entangled in our sometimes, poisonous thoughts. 

     The devil hoodwinked the first two humans, in Genesis chapter 3, well before "mankind" as we know it existed. He is still leading humans into poor judgment today. 

     Jesus was clear: We must be "born again" to have any hope of salvation. Once we have our new nature, he wants us to continue growing in faith, hope and love. The devil is defeated, but he and other fallen angels still intrude - with God's permission - on minds that rely on their own knowledge. 

     "Let not sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey its lusts" (Romans 6:12). 

NOTE: We may revisit this topic in the near future.