Taking Every Thought Captive

I read an online article last week that claimed that 9 out of every 10 e mails is now spam--junk mail. I believe it. Already this morning, in less than 30 minutes, I have received 4 pieces of junk e-mails. When I lived in the United States, my mailbox would fill up with junk mail, each piece clamoring for my individual attention.

That mail that comes in does all it can to tempt me to open it. It's like those ads on some websites that say, "You are the umpteenth billionth person to access this site! You have definitely won something!" So you take a (ahem) minute to look and 30 minutes later you realized you are late for some meeting, or your tea boiled over, or your beans burned.

My junk e mail says things like, "Are you tired of looking fat? Try our new product, guaranteed to make you look slimmer." It must be an ad for one of those trick mirrors they use at the county fairs, or maybe in certain dressing rooms at certain stores.

And by now you are thinking, "This guy needs to learn about spam control." You're right! Now read on. . . .

There is another kind of junk mail that arrives more often than spam on my computer. It's worldly and devilish thoughts. Those come like an avalanche on some days. They come as loudly as a marching band; or they can slip in as softly as a sunset. But they come. And before I know it, I am dwelling on some thought that God never intended for me to consider.

Our God has given us Christians a powerful weapon. We, through Jesus Christ, can take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. We can consecrate our thought life. We can tell the devil where to get off.

Turn on your spam control. Don't let your mind become a dumping ground for the devil's and th world's defeatist thoughts.