So, whether we are aware of it or not, a spiritual battle is going on—a battle for our minds. The apostle Paul says of this spiritual warfare: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness" (Ephesians 6:12).
As we mature, we will inevitably notice struggles in our own minds where good and bad thoughts and attitudes battle for dominance to shape behavior. Satan has the power to transmit attitudes and tries to persuade us to do evil. One need only look at some of history's most murderous tyrants—men like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin or Pol Pot—to realize the menace that arises when evil thoughts come to totally dominate one's thinking. It is real, and it is deadly and dangerous.
The apostle Paul explains how Satan operates by transmitting invisible but powerful negative attitudes: "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others" (Ephesians 2:1-3).
Thankfully, the Bible foretells a future time on earth when Satan will no longer be able to transmit his evil attitudes and the world will finally be at peace (Revelation 20:2-3). But in the meantime, we must be careful to guard our minds as this unseen spiritual battle rages around us! GN
As we mature, we will inevitably notice struggles in our own minds where good and bad thoughts and attitudes battle for dominance to shape behavior. Satan has the power to transmit attitudes and tries to persuade us to do evil. One need only look at some of history's most murderous tyrants—men like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin or Pol Pot—to realize the menace that arises when evil thoughts come to totally dominate one's thinking. It is real, and it is deadly and dangerous.
The apostle Paul explains how Satan operates by transmitting invisible but powerful negative attitudes: "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others" (Ephesians 2:1-3).
Thankfully, the Bible foretells a future time on earth when Satan will no longer be able to transmit his evil attitudes and the world will finally be at peace (Revelation 20:2-3). But in the meantime, we must be careful to guard our minds as this unseen spiritual battle rages around us! GN
by Mario Seiglie
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