MEM

Dale Cresap (edited) "God’s word teaches us to take every thought captive. What then are we to do with these captive thoughts? Each one requires an appropriate disposition according to its source and type. To handle them properly we must understand where they came from. We do not generate all of our own thoughts. We generate some of them, some come from The Messiah, and some come from the adversary. The thoughts received from The Eternal One we should embrace and pursue. Our own thoughts should be conformed to His Word and His thoughts, and those from the adversary should be rejected outright."

2Cor 10:5 KJV Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Col 2:8 NAS See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. (NAS; New American Standard Version unless indicated)

2Tim 2:26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

Luke 22:31 "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat;

Acts 26:18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.'

Paul complies to his mission:
2Cor 2:11 in order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.

2 Corinthians 11:3 But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

1 Peter 5:8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death.

Romans 1:21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Matthew 15:19 "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.

Romans 7:23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.
1 Corinthians 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, " He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness";

Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.
1 Peter 1:14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, 15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;

Matt 4:4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'"

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Romans 15:4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

John 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

Proverbs 15:26 Evil plans are an abomination to the LORD, But pleasant words are pure.

Psalm 19:12 Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. 13 Also keep back Thy servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

(* editing is done to shorten length - you are encouraged to read the full commentary where applicable)

Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinks within himself, so he is…

Matt 9:4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, "Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?

Proverbs 12:5 The thoughts of the righteous are just, But the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.

1Cor 4:5 Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God.

Phil 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.

YHVH, empower us to properly judge our thoughts and conform them to Your Word.

Col 3:2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

Rev 2:23 'And … know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.

Eternal One - fixing our thoughts on Your Word is a way to express our love for Your gift of life.

1. Who were the first four disciples Yeshua (Jesus) called to follow Him?
2. What was the principal Biblical weight by which others were regulated?
3. Where did Peter instruct us to cast all our anxiety?
4. For how long has Christ, as high priest, been made perfect?
5. During the course of Passover, how many days were the Israelites to eat bread made without yeast?
6. Who was the companion of Shadrach and Meshach?
7. Who said, "It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one"?

(Lessons from humility and faith.)

Phil 2:7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Rom 6:5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection,

Yeshua, may we humbly yield to Your leading that we might be like You.

Here is a great example of the power of united prayer.

2Chr 32:9 After this Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem … saying, 10 "Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria, ‘On what are you trusting that you are remaining in Jerusalem under siege? 11 Is not Hezekiah misleading you to give yourselves over to die by hunger and by thirst, saying, "The LORD our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria"?

2Chr 32:15 ‘Now therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less shall your God deliver you from my hand?’"

2Chr 32:16 And his servants spoke further against the LORD God and against His servant Hezekiah. 17 He also wrote letters to insult the LORD God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, "As the gods of the nations of the lands have not delivered their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah shall not deliver His people from my hand."

2Chr 32:20 But King Hezekiah and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed about this and cried out to heaven. 21 And the LORD sent an angel who destroyed every mighty warrior, commander and officer in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned in shame to his own land. And when he had entered the temple of his god, some of his own children killed him there with the sword.

2Chr 32:22 So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all others, and guided them on every side.

Glorious YHVH You hear the prayers of Your humble, obedient servants - Blessed be Your Name.

An exercise in We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 2Cor 10:5

Material in this section is based on various prayer diaries.

(MEM: You might want to copy this and tack it up to read when the sky is gray.)

Arcelor-Mittal Steel, feeling it was time for a shakeup, hired a new CEO. The new boss was determined to rid the company of all slackers.
 
On a tour of the facilities, the CEO noticed a guy leaning against a wall. The room was full of workers and he wanted to let them know that he meant business. He asked the guy, "How much money do you make a week?"
 
A little surprised, the young man looked at him and said, "I make $400 a week. Why?"
 
The CEO said, "Wait right here." He walked back to his office, came back in two minutes, and handed the guy $1,600 in cash and said, "Here’s four weeks’ pay. Now GET OUT and don’t come back."
 
Feeling pretty good about himself, the CEO looked around the room and asked, "Does anyone want to tell me what that goof-ball did here?"

From across the room a voice said, "Pizza delivery guy from Domino's."

The tool of man’s choosing

Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes, trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper.

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Have a good day!

Michael Boldea Jr.

Words are pegs on which to hang ideas

As long as you have windows, life is exciting

There is a bridge to cross before I get to the stream, but not until then

No woman lives long enough to try all the recipes she clips from newspapers and magazines

A person who leans toward laziness never seems to have time to do anything

Feed your faith, and your doubt will starve to death

A little oil may save a great deal of friction

Then all of you came near me and said, "Let us send men before us, that they may explore the land for us and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up and the cities into which we shall come." The thing seemed good to me, and I took twelve men from you, one man from each tribe. (Deuteronomy 1:22-23; ESV)

*(This document was edited for length)

Blessed be YHVH (Genesis 14:20 And blessed be God Most High…)

2Cor 10:4 CJB … We demolish arguments 5 and every arrogance that raises itself up against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey the Messiah.

1. Peter, Andrew, James, and John - Matthew 4:18-22

2. The shekel

3. On God - 1 Peter 5:7

4. Forever - Hebrews 7:28

5. Seven - Exodus 13:6

6. Abednego - Daniel 3:13

7. Laban - Genesis 29:26