The Gatekeeper

Second Corinthians 10:5 provides a good model: "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

Think of an active faith as a strict gatekeeper for your mind, one who is deeply concerned about what comes in to occupy it. He wants your brain to be a safe, healthy environment.

Now imagine the thousands of thoughts you have in a day, all lined up, waiting to enter the castle that is your mind. Some of those thoughts bring good tidings and no danger. Others, however, conceal a poisoned dagger.

As each thought steps up, the gatekeeper pulls it aside and frisks it, checking it against truth. Does this thought help my master in his desire to know God? Will it enable him to obey Christ more? Your gatekeeper firmly challenges everything you see and hear.

Run that by me again. Is that true? What does God say? I'll have to check it out.

If a thought or idea passes inspection, it is allowed full entry. But if it is unmasked as a lie, it is taken captive, imprisoned, and not allowed to wander freely in your mind.

Warding Off The Devil's Darts

No matter how many lies Satan has hooked you with already, he does not slow down. The rush of untruth presses on. The devil hasn't merely pawned you lies in the distant past; he continues to attack you with them in the ongoing present.

  

Consider this verse: “Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16). Those "flaming arrows" are thoughts, little lies, which Satan launches into your mind during the course of a day. He and his fallen host—we're talking millions of demons here—have nothing better to do than run around telling lies, as many and as fast as they can. That's their 24/7 vocation because they don't need to eat, sleep, or take potty breaks.

They like their job.

  

If your imagination conjures up an imp sitting on your shoulder, whispering sweet, evil little nothings into your ear all day long, that's fine. It's not really like that, but the picture may help you understand. One way or another, Satan and his unholy pals are itching to stick you with their barbs.

Unless you have an active faith—a shield you're constantly holding in ready position—those lies are going to get you. Whoosh, thunk! Whoosh, thunk! Heh-heh-heh! Stick him some more! Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.

Now, what does "an active faith" look like?

Satan's Hooks - Out Where You Can See Them

Paul talks about being aware of the devil's schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11). It's sometimes helpful to put your enemy's lies down in black and white, unmasking them for the folly that they are. Here's a short encyclopedia of common falsehoods found today. These are deceptions Satan sells day in, day out. He knows that if he pushes a lie often enough, most people will buy it. If you think you've heard and heeded any of the following sales pitches, allow God's Word to do its job. Root the lie out. Find a true way of thinking.

  

There is no absolute truth

Is there an absolute truth? Anyone who believes otherwise has spent the last fifty years in a cave. Forget about the guy who said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). And never mind the fact that "there is no absolute truth" is a statement that contradicts itself . The bottom line is there is an absolute truth and the word of God concerning any issue as far as life is concern is the absolute truth.

It's all good.

Anything works As long as you're sincere about it. Don't think about how ridiculous that sounds; just get out there and go for it. Your heart's in it, so it'll turn out just fine. To be sincere doesn’t necessarily mean you re right because you can be sincerely wrong. The reality is not every thing works, but any thing that comes from God works. 1 John 5:4

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12) . Don't pay attention to that. Death is good, too.  James 1:17

Fitting in is the only thing that matters.

So if you're a Christian, keep it low key. Wouldn't want anyone to be asking you about Jesus, would you? Others might overhear, and that would be totally embarrassing.

"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16) . Come on! Do you know how many people are listening to you? Any idea the amount of gossip you're generating?

College is for experiencing.

So go ahead and dive in. You're free to sample the whole, juicy smorgasbord. Mom's not looking, Dad's not around, and your pastor's too far away to care.

"I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil" (Romans 16:19). Give me a break. How can you know if it's truly evil, if you haven't tried it first? Put that Bible down!

 Only once never hurts.

No one's ever been killed the first time they enjoyed a meth mirage—at least not according to my records. You've never watched a nice horror flick? Get a life! You've gotta see one just to say you have. There's nothing wrong with trying anything once.

"Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" (Genesis 3:11). Er, ah, yeah, right. But that was a long time ago.

Halfway does no harm.

So if you smoke but don't inhale, how's that a problem? It takes four drinks to get drunk; you can surely handle three—and one little extra sip. Just plagiarize a couple of pages; no one will notice. And if you both keep your clothes on, you can have most of the fun without the guilt, right?

"But let the Lord Jesus Christ take control of you, and don't think of ways to indulge your evil desires" (Romans 13:14, NLT). Who said anything about indulging? Halfway is not indulging—really.

Your body is your own.

Yours to do with as you please. Have at it. You can always have a doctor fix anything you don't like later.

"You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Oh, my, you aren't considering that ludicrous option, are you?

Now is all that counts.

Does tomorrow ever matter? Of course not. Don't give it a second thought. Live for today. Gorge, belch, and be oh-so-merry. Life is short, and then you disappear. Who cares about anything that comes after that?

"Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). Would you quit thinking such depressing thoughts!

Knowing is the same as doing.

So suck up the sermon. Cram your brain full of Bible trivia. Just don't let them change the way you live—or anything radical like that.

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says" (James 1:22). Watch out. That Book wants to control your life!

Lazy is cool.   

So relax until the cows calves horses. You wouldn't want to get too excited about life. Do your absolute best to get maximum results out of minimum action. People will stand amazed at your smooth effortlessness.

"Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically"
(Romans 12:11, NLT). I'm telling you, that overblown Book will contradict anything I have to say.

 I don't need to hear that again.

Once is plenty, especially when it comes to religious stuff. How many times have you heard: "For God so loved the world... "? Blah, blah, blah. Yada, yada, yada. You'd think they were trying to sell you something.

"So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory" (2 Peter 1:12-13). You really know how to make a demon's life miserable, you know that?

Unhooking Lies already Swallowed

Be convinced of this: In your eighteen-plus years of existence, you have swallowed a string of lies. That's not a guilt trip; that's reality. Many of the decisions you make are being jerked around by unseen hooks in your mind. It's impossible, as mere humans, to have completely avoided every one of Satan's shams.

  Fully aware of the problem, God wants to take you somewhere: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5, KJV) . In other words, God wants you to think the way Christ thinks. No lies or deceptions in Jesus' mind. That's a wonderful place to be.

  To get you there, God has to do some major renovations. Paul put it this way: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2) . God's primary means of bringing about this mind renewal—unhooking the lies, so to speak—is his Word.

Only truth can undo untruth. Jesus, while praying for you, asked his Father this: "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth" (John 17:17). Here's a loose translation for the phrase "sanctify them": Get them untangled from Satan's net of deception.

  The degree to which you allow your mind to remain riddled with ideas, values, and slogans that come from the devil is the measure to which your existence will be confusing, empty, and outright miserable. A life based on lies is unhappy. No way around it.

That's why you desperately need—on a steady basis—to meditate on the Scriptures. “Truth will set you free” (John 8:32) . The deeper your appreciation of God's Word, the greater your freedom. Don't be passive in your pursuit of truth. Be hungry.