II Timothy 2: 24-26
And the Lord's bondservant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,
with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance, leading to the knowledge of the Truth,
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.
As those who are being transformed into the image of Christ, we must never pick a fight or argument, but be aware of where that person is coming from and do or say what would be appropriate.
Even when they work against us, we can't afford to get riled up, but be patient with them, speaking quietly, reasoning with them. And perhaps God will open their minds to understand, so they can come to their senses and reason with logic, instead of the twisted thought processes promoted by our enemy.
We all think that we're making our own decisions, but our choices are influenced by outside forces--they're either God's ways or the devil's. We're never free of their domination, pushing our thinking processes.
We need God's Love to push us into doing what is right, to think along reasonable lines, and break free of the captivity of our enemy who wants to destroy us.
O my Father, I know that even though I have Your Holy Spirit living in me, I still am vulnerable to the clever twistings of the enemy, so I need to lean only on You. You have made this Earth for us, and You have told us how to function in it. But our pride and independence lead us to rebel against You in our thinking.
How we think is foundational to how we live our lives moment to moment, and we need You, Father, to guide us. I don't want to veer off Your path for me even a little, I want to stay in Your footsteps, my hand in Yours, my pace matching Yours. Keep me close, Father, as I seek to draw close to You.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
