Take Every Thought CaptiveSample

“Dwell in Me,” Jesus says, “and I will dwell in you. . . . However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing” (John 15:4–5 AMPC). Without connection to Christ, we should not expect to see real fruit. Apart from Christ, we can do nothing. In this state we are cut off. Our prayer line to God is down.

Without dwelling in Him we are out of alignment and will miss God-assignments. Only via connection is there great reception to our prayers. How many of us are not seeing answered prayers because, rather than being filled with the Spirit, we are living by the flesh and reacting with anger, fear, irritation, worry, or a sense of being overwhelmed?

It is not what happens that dictates our lives, it is how we respond to it. Do we respond united to Christ’s heart (what He has said, what fruits He is leading us to release, what hope He brings), or do we act on impulse?

Jesus says, “When you bear (produce) much fruit, My Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine” (v. 8 AMPC).

If people know us by our fruit, it is fruit that shines Jesus out of us. I should know; I’ve tried to tell people about Jesus ad nauseum, but nothing speaks louder than a simple four-letter word: love. Especially when it is sacrificial love, moving out in action.

What does all this mean?

It means that if we want to stay connected to the mind of Christ, we must, at all costs—no matter what force is coming against us, no matter how violent a person’s words or how horribly our house has been burned to the ground—choose to:

Stay calm in order to pray and decipher the Lord’s encouragement and path.

Remain at peace to reach people with Him who is the Prince of Peace.

Remain in His love by pondering His Word, feeling His love, and receiving the truth in our hearts even more than in our minds.

Hear His heart by being still and by listening (John 10:27).

Step away, do something else, and give ourselves space before speaking mean words or making the wrong decision.

Think upon Jesus’s grace, love, power, and ability to help us in all things, in all ways, and at all times.

Without doing these things, we drop our connectivity with God. And when we drop our connection, we also lose our union with the indwelling Holy Spirit. This is a sad state of affairs. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ (Phil. 1:19), is trying to lead us in all things, at all times, in all ways, in all reactions, in all words, and in all actions by the very mind of Christ.

No matter the onslaught, the distraction, the problem, the person—do not allow yourself to be cut off from the Vine. Connection is soul harmony and solidarity.

Our goal is to stay connected to the Spirit of God. To live united versus divided from Him. To remain vitally linked to the very mind of Christ. Only then can we—in partnership with conviction, consolation, and direction of the Holy Spirit—effectively take every thought captive. By doing this, we sidestep our fear of failure, demise, embarrassment, shame, or humiliation, or our people-pleasing tendencies.

When we remain in Christ, thinking as He thinks, overflowing with His love, and rising above our issues, we look different from everyone else. Christ in us, the hope of all glory, shines! Our relationship with God rises to a new level. And it is an encouraging place to be, because we know that we are—more and more—becoming and thinking like Him.

Today’s Declaration: Christ is the fullness of my joy, and all my fountains are in Him!