Ungoverned Imaginations: A Wild and Raging Nemesis

We all live coram deo – before the eyes of God – whether we believe that or not, it is still true. Even the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts are crystal clear before the One to Whom we must give an account. There is nothing hidden that will not one day be disclosed. We are to keep our accounts short with the Lord. This does not mean we do not falter and fall – not one of us is perfect. We are not sinless, yet believers are to be in the process of sinning less. Sin is never our friend – it always brings death – and believers are to quench every spark of it through His power before it breaks into a roaring flame. Believers in Christ Jesus have an advocate on high Who intercedes for us on our behalf and He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We can get awfully dirty walking through this world. And God wants our lives to be a narrowing as He purges and prunes the iniquities in our hearts and actions. “Turn from evil,” is His call to us and He graciously helps us accomplish this. There is no other God like our God.

When we live with ungoverned imaginations and emotions, all too often our delusions will take root and once taken root, we act. Paul tells us we are to count ourselves dead to sin as it is not to be our master, rather Jesus is. And we are to become slaves of righteousness – bringing our imaginations under the obedience of Christ - not sin - or the myriad of other delusions taking captive our thoughts and minds. We are to take captive every thought making it obedient to Christ. As Christians, our Model is the Lord Jesus Who Paul writes in Philippians 2:5-11 (NIV): “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Our jobs are to humble ourselves and it is God’s job to exalt. Seriously, what do we have that we did not receive?  

As Christians, God tells us to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. Our sanctified imaginations will make all creation a stairway to heaven. And this can only be done through the empowering of the Holy Spirit within us. The world is loud and in our face and depending upon mere flesh and human reasoning will fail us – every.time. Thankfully, we do not go forth in our own strength but in the strength of the One that raised Jesus from the dead which is sufficient to meet our every need. Every need.