Greetings, brothers and sisters in Christ and children of God,

What are your thoughts? Kind of a vague question, isn’t it? However, it is our thoughts that lead to actions if we are not careful. If we linger too long on a thought, we tend to act upon that thought. It is important that we are careful with our thoughts, for our thoughts can lead to unrighteousness. They themselves become our temptations.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians that we are to take our thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5). We are to make our thoughts obedient to Christ. When we make our thoughts obedient to Christ, we can then punish every act of disobedience, once our obedience is complete. To take your thoughts captive means to take control of your thoughts. This would align with the fruit of self-control, which is among the nine fruits of the Spirit.

If we are angry with a brother or sister and we dwell upon the thought of what to say and, based on how we feel at that moment, because of emotions, we tend to speak our thoughts without truly thinking like Christ. This can lead to unrighteous actions or situations. We must be careful to take thoughts that we know are not righteous or thoughts that are not like Christ captive, so we do not act unrighteously.

Men, I address you. If you are married and although you believe you are faithful to your wife because you have never physically had relations with another woman, yet you thought unrighteously about another woman, you have indeed committed adultery against God and your spouse (Matthew 5:27-28). If you are single and feel it is okay for you to think these same thoughts about a woman, know that dwelling on these thoughts can lead you to the temptations, which can lead to actions of unrighteousness if your thoughts are unrighteous. You, then, even being single, commit adultery against God. 

Ladies, I put to you the same. Women also have thoughts of unrighteousness, but they seem to conceal them better than men. Still the same, you have the ability, because you are like man, to have such thoughts, and if you, as a spouse, have such thoughts of unrighteousness, then you commit adultery against God and your spouse. If you are single and have such unrighteous thoughts, then you commit adultery against God.

Certain philosophies can also be ungodly, which is what Paul was writing about in 2 Corinthians: the arguments and pretensions against the knowledge of God. Paul calls us to take our thoughts captive that are against the ways of God so that we can fill ourselves with obedient thoughts that are Godly thoughts which lead us to do Godly acts, righteous acts. 

When we dwell on our thoughts long enough, the thoughts can turn to action, no matter what the thought or circumstances are. If it is an unrighteous thought that we dwell on, we commit an unrighteous act because our thoughts are not just in our mind but in our heart.  The physical action can only begin with a thought and the desires of the heart. 

Give your heart to God and put your heart in the righteous hand of the Lord so that your heart can lead the mind and thoughts of righteous living and dwell not on unrighteous thoughts, but take the unrighteous thoughts captive.

Last week, the little lambs got to experience building a tower as they learned about the Tower of Babel and how the people of God became prideful, and because of their pride, their language had been changed, and it caused such confusion that they could not continue building their tower. This week, we will return to the New Testament as we follow Paul on his prison voyage to Rome and his shipwreck on the Island of Malta—a lesson on God’s protection.

I look forward to praising the Lord with you tomorrow with songs of joy and dancing before the Lord of all creation. If, for whatever reason, I do not see you tomorrow, may the Lord bless you with joy, peace, and self-control, and may he guide you, protect you, heal you, and comfort you when you need it.

God bless you,

Your brother in Christ

Michael (aka Mr. Michael)