The mind has been referred to by many as a battlefield. It is true, there are many ideas that contend for supremacy in the mind of man. The victorious one will dictate the actions of a person and will leave their mark on history. The others disappear and will never be known in the external world.

And it seems the more time we allow to any given thought, the more likely it is to germinate and be the one to spring forth into action. Perhaps this is why we read in Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Many times we can go through life and forget to be intentional about our thoughts. A lot of our thoughts are such a product of habit that we don’t even notice their passing through. But if we take stock of our lives and see how much is influenced by idle thinking, we might be inspired to be more careful.

Perhaps the temptation is to believe our thoughts are private and no one will see if we languish in evil thoughts. We gamble on the notion that the corrupt thoughts are going to be the ones to disappear and at the end of the day we will smell like roses even if we were meditating on dung.

But this is an unwise gamble. I have found that corrupt thinking results in some kind of outlet if it is given any permission to roam. 

2 Corinthians 10:5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 

Here is another reminder of the importance of being intentional with our thoughts. If we take every thought captive to obey Christ, we do not have to worry about which ones find an outlet. We can make the evil ones disappear rather than hoping they do.

Thoughts are a subtle thing and trying to get a grip on them seems like an insurmountable task at times. But as much as some bad things become second nature, so can good practices become habitual with repetition. If it was an impossible task, I am sure Paul would not have commanded it to be done. 

So let’s cleanse our minds by the blood of Jesus and take every thought captive by the power that dwells within. If any thoughts originate from evil forces do not use your own strength, but rely on the One who has already won that battle for you at Calvary.