Spiritual Weapons and Communication continued
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day! As usual, I ate too much, but enjoyed spending time with my son and his soon-to-be bride (and Rick, of course.) My daughter is visiting her friends in Australia for a month, so we missed her presence today. I’m excited to be adding a new daughter to my family though! What a joy she is! I am very thankful for an amazing daughter-in-law!
This is my favorite time of year so I will continue to bask in the glow of the holiday spirit. I've learned a long time ago to not get caught in the hustle and bustle of buying too many gifts, spending too much money. My goal is to keep focused on why we celebrate it; for the birth of our glorious Savior. On with my post.
It always amazes me how we read verses in the Bible over and over, and then one day, they jump out at us as though we’ve never seen them before. These verses from Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 10 are doing that to me. I’m convinced they are the absolute key for success in this world, and most especially, in marriage. Verses 5 says it all. Study It carefully and hold it in your heart.
2 Corinthians 10:5a “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.” Our spiritual weapons (the armor of God) have the power to demolish arguments, not just control them, but demolish them! We need to use those weapons continuously.
The word pretension means-affected behavior intended to give an appearance of greater importance, status, or knowledge than is warranted (Encarta ® World English Dictionary). The King James Version says in verse 5, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God.” In other words, we have the ability to demolish thoughts and words that would claim a higher level of importance than the word of God.
Verse 5b says, “And we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” That means our thoughts should all be in line with scripture or God’s word. When those thoughts arise that may seem to be sound and important, we need to carefully validate them with the word of God. If they aren’t true to His word, we need to take them captive, or erase them from our thinking before they become words.
The rule of thumb I try to follow is, Edify, Edify, Edify. Edify means to enlighten: to improve the morals or knowledge of somebody (Encarta ® World English Dictionary). If your words aren’t doing that, you need to seriously look deeper into taking your thoughts captive. You have no right to criticize or put down your spouse or children.
We take our thoughts for granted, often assuming we have no control over them. A lame excuse for saying whatever you want, we need to learn to take control. I’ve seen numerous marriages destroyed because one of the spouses feels justified in voicing their thoughts. No matter what the world tells us, it is not acceptable behavior for anyone, especially to your spouse.
If you find it difficult to control your tongue and speak only words of edification, I urge you to take some time to THINK about what goes on in your mind. Pray about it; ask God for His help. It is a matter of saving your marriage…or not.
This is my favorite time of year so I will continue to bask in the glow of the holiday spirit. I've learned a long time ago to not get caught in the hustle and bustle of buying too many gifts, spending too much money. My goal is to keep focused on why we celebrate it; for the birth of our glorious Savior. On with my post.
It always amazes me how we read verses in the Bible over and over, and then one day, they jump out at us as though we’ve never seen them before. These verses from Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 10 are doing that to me. I’m convinced they are the absolute key for success in this world, and most especially, in marriage. Verses 5 says it all. Study It carefully and hold it in your heart.
2 Corinthians 10:5a “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.” Our spiritual weapons (the armor of God) have the power to demolish arguments, not just control them, but demolish them! We need to use those weapons continuously.
The word pretension means-affected behavior intended to give an appearance of greater importance, status, or knowledge than is warranted (Encarta ® World English Dictionary). The King James Version says in verse 5, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God.” In other words, we have the ability to demolish thoughts and words that would claim a higher level of importance than the word of God.
Verse 5b says, “And we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” That means our thoughts should all be in line with scripture or God’s word. When those thoughts arise that may seem to be sound and important, we need to carefully validate them with the word of God. If they aren’t true to His word, we need to take them captive, or erase them from our thinking before they become words.
The rule of thumb I try to follow is, Edify, Edify, Edify. Edify means to enlighten: to improve the morals or knowledge of somebody (Encarta ® World English Dictionary). If your words aren’t doing that, you need to seriously look deeper into taking your thoughts captive. You have no right to criticize or put down your spouse or children.
We take our thoughts for granted, often assuming we have no control over them. A lame excuse for saying whatever you want, we need to learn to take control. I’ve seen numerous marriages destroyed because one of the spouses feels justified in voicing their thoughts. No matter what the world tells us, it is not acceptable behavior for anyone, especially to your spouse.
If you find it difficult to control your tongue and speak only words of edification, I urge you to take some time to THINK about what goes on in your mind. Pray about it; ask God for His help. It is a matter of saving your marriage…or not.
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