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You're listening to the My Morning Devotional Podcast, episode 1487. Today's devo is called Every Thought. Hey there, we're the Alessis, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to-do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time.
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That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a 5-minute daily dose of of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional Podcast. Hello everyone, my name is Lauren Alessi and I am your host for this week. And this is a very open week for me. Someone left a comment on one of the last episodes I did and they were like, Lauren, this is like the most vulnerable I've heard you. And I was like, wow, this is like very humbling for me because I think I'm being vulnerable and I think I'm being open. And like, I'm just not. So I want to thank you for your comment because it's challenging me and it's making me realize like, oh wow, people like it when I'm open and I'm vulnerable. So thank you for the comment.
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Um, that's what this week is, trying to like express what I kind of struggle with, with when it comes to like getting in my head a lot, the internal inconsistency of being like, yeah, I trust you, Lord, and I have faith, but I'm internally, I'm stuck in my head a lot and I don't want to stay there. Um, and if you struggle with this too, comment down. Let's, let's pour into each other. This is a community. I can't be out here like pouring my heart and soul out and nobody else is like, hey, I struggle with that too. That's a very lonely place to be. So please go ahead, drop a comment if you can relate to this. If you are liking the series, this, um, episode— today's episode is called Every Thought. And if you're a Christian, if you're a believer, you know where this is going. So today's verse is in 2 COrinthians 10: and it says this take every thought captive to obey Christ.
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That's not take only the bad thoughts captive, or only the good thoughts captive, or only the thoughts that, like, you feel like giving to Christ.
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No, take every thought captive and obey Christ, or take every thought captive to obey Christ. And to me, this is very challenging because I don't know if this is speaking for me, and you go ahead and you assess what that looks like to you. But for me, sometimes I'll have thoughts of fear, thoughts that, like irrational thoughts. And sometimes I think, okay, but these are good thoughts to have because this is a realistic thought. It's not a negative thought.
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And I kind of laugh at myself because people can be like, no, but you're kind of a negative thinker. I'm like, I'm not negative, I'm realistic. But looking honestly at it, I could be a negative thinker. And the Bible says take every thought captive and obey Christ. The negative thoughts, the positive thoughts, the, the perfectly regular realistic thoughts— every thought, take it captive and say, wait, I may think— this may be my way of thinking, this may be how Lauren tends to think, but that doesn't mean it's the right way of thinking.
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So you know what, Lord, I submit it to you and I want to obey you.. So just because I think it's realistic, Lord, I don't want to be in a negative place. Lord, help me obey you. So I have a mom who tends to be overly positive in her thoughts, and I love it. I think it's like her best quality. We could literally be in a zombie apocalypse and my mom would be like, guys, this is fine. God's going to use this. God's trying to show the world something. And I'm here like, Mom, We're in a zombie apocalypse.
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Uh, there's no getting out of it. Like, we are in literally a zombie apocalypse.
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And that just goes to show you how we all have different ways of thinking, and we all think our ways of thinking are correct, when the truth is God is not asking us to say, oh, that's your truth and you can believe your truth, because that's a worldly way of thinking.
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That's not how God is asking us to think. What God is asking us to do and think is to take every thought captive to obey him. So what does that look like? When a thought comes in your head, ask yourself, is this thought true? Is this thought helpful? And is this thought from God? In Philippians, we hear Paul tell us, think upon good things. Think upon things that are true, that are noble, that are righteous, that are good, that are pleasant. Think upon these things. Don't think upon the things that are false. Don't think upon the things that give you stress. Think upon the things that bring you peace. So we see this in the Bible, that when you have a negative thought, ask yourself, is this true? Is this helpful? Is this from God? And you know what? If it's not true, if it's not helpful, if it's bringing you stress, if it's not from God— because God is a God of peace— so if it's bringing you stress, if it's bringing you anxiety, it is not a thought from God. So if it's not from God, you lay it down to him and you say, you know what, Lord, this idea, this thought, the situation, it brings me a lot of stress. But Lord, I take this thought captive and I give it to you. I have no business thinking about it. I have no business dwelling in it, Lord. I give it to you. And just for a practical note here, something I do when I really struggle getting in my head, I read a book when I was 15 called Redeeming Love. I think most women have, Christian women have. And there comes a point where one of the characters talks about her prayer box, and when a prayer just becomes too big for her to dwell on and to think about, she writes it down, rips apart the paper, and she puts it in her prayer box. And she says, I can't think about it any longer. This is on God to answer. And I started doing the same since I was 15 years old. When things become too much for me to think about, things become too much for me to dwell on, I write it in the prayer box. And you know what, it's not on me to determine, is this from God? Will this happen? Will God come through? It's in the prayer box.
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God's either going to come through or he won't. So ask yourself these 3 questions is it true? Is it helpful? Is it from God? And if it's not, submit it to Christ. Don't dwell on it any longer. Don't waste time getting anxious or stressful or staying in your head. Just submit it to Christ. And let's pray. Dear Lord, we thank you so much that you are a God who wants to bring peace. You're not a God who wants us to spiral. And you say multiple times throughout your word, bring this thought to me, take every thought captive, think upon good things, bring the negative thoughts to me, bring the stressful thoughts to me. So Lord, help us do that today. And for myself and for everyone listening who can relate, Lord, Help us learn, help us learn, and help us to get good at bringing the negative thoughts to you. Help us learn to take every thought captive and submit it to you, to obey you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. So there you have it, your 5-minute daily dose of heaven.
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Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, Share it with a friend, leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow, we pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.
