Our Thoughts

Dr. Jim Denison

The pastor and author Paul Powell noticed this statement on a bumper sticker: “With God, all things are possible. Without God, all things are permissible.” The warning applies especially to our thoughts, as the Belgian poet Émile Cammaerts noted: “The first effect of not believing in God is to believe in anything.”

How can we defeat the deceptions of the devil so we can make a positive impact on our fallen world?

One: Submit our minds every day to the Holy Spirit.

We are assured: “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). When we begin the day by surrendering our thoughts to the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), we position ourselves to be empowered by his omnipotence and led by his omniscience.

Two: Defeat ungodly thoughts by focusing on godly truth.

Immoral thoughts are sinful in themselves (cf. Matthew 5:28) and inevitably lead to immoral actions (James 1:13–15). The best way to refuse them is to focus instead on godly truth that replaces ungodly lies. We are therefore commanded: “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” (Philippians 4:8, my emphasis).

Three: Advocate for biblical truth.

The best way to learn is to teach. The best way to develop godly minds is to use our minds for God. To this end, we are to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). We do this when we “destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Most of all, we love God and others with our “mind” (Matthew 22:37) when we manifest the “mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). When we submit our thoughts to him, Jesus works through us to continue his ministry in the world.

“[Christ] wants every bit of intelligence we have to be alert at its job, and in first-class fighting trim.” —C. S. Lewis