³ For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. ⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not ^[a]carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, ⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NKJV)

Yesterday we talked about using ancient weapons against an ancient foe. One of the most ancient of these is our mind. If we are not bringing every thought captive we are losing the war before the first battle.

Everything, and I mean everything, starts first in our minds. While God made our body to function in many ways automatically and involuntarily, He did not make our minds in this way. He made us creatures of thought before action. Even when we feel like we are simply acting out of rote, there is a mental component that must exist first for that rote action to happen. We may call it habit, but habits are formed from thoughts then actions.

Thus, the first battle in our war against the flesh begins in the mind. We must begin by taking every thought captive and putting it before the Lord so that He might act upon it through the Spirit. When our minds become so captive to our sin nature then we are simply giving into that nature before we even have time to bring it before God.

Reflect on: Your mental game. Is it strong when it comes to taking every thought captive?