Think Again!

96 • Think Again: Transformation That Yields a Return on God’s Investment

The perfection of Christ is combined with my inherent uniqueness, a person created in God’s image. The result is a re-forged replica of Christ as Don Allsman. Sustained Practice The Spirit forges us into the image of Christ by pounding out lies and replacing them with truth. He takes the pile of scrap metal of your life and forges you into a nozzle that delivers living water to a thirsty world. You demolish strongholds by rejecting lies and replacing them with truth. This crushes the toxic crystal structures in your brain, and forms a new, stable structure in its place. To demolish strongholds you need a few minutes each day of focused concentration on God’s truth revealed in the Word. This can be done through prayer, worship, study, meditation, or singing, but you must practice this day after day if demolition is going to occur. You demolish strongholds by observing the traffic of your thoughts, and then decide which ones can stay and which ones must be destroyed. Just as lies turn into branches in your brain, so truth can also form into branches based on what you believe. After three months of sustained belief in the truth, research shows that the structures crystallize so strongly that you can begin to affect others. You can disciple others, generating blessing that overflows from your life. Detaining Lies of the Present Besides demolishing strongholds of the past, you can take thoughts captive in the present . The best defense against a stronghold is to never allow it to take root. So when a toxic lie comes at you, you can choose to detain it by taking it captive. This allows the formation of life-giving structure in your brain. The toxic invader never has a chance to be established. By affirming the truth at that moment, God forges your identity into Christ’s image.