Lesson 14: Warring Against the Flesh: Casting Down Imaginations
Question 7
The gospel powerfully replaces the food images in our minds, leading us to satisfy ourselves in Jesus and find spiritual, mental, and emotional refreshment and health.
And so, for a moment, see Jesus as they took Him to a mock trial (Luke 22:2), judged Him as innocent (Luke 23:14-15) yet condemned Him to death (Matthew 27:26). They beat Him (Luke 22:63), put a crown of thorns on His head (John 19:2), pulled out His beard (Isaiah 50:6), and striped His back with a lead whip (John 19:1). Then they took Him outside the city of Jerusalem (Hebrews 13:12). See Him carrying His cross up Calvary (“place of the skull”--John 19:17). Soldiers lay Him on top of the cross and pound nails into His hands and feet (Luke 23:33). Then He is raised on that cross, between heaven and earth, between God and man (Isaiah 52:13). He is indeed coming between God and man, intercepting all of God’s arrows of wrath (Job 6:4), and taking them for you.
Like the uplifted pole in the wilderness (Numbers 21:4-9), the cross is upheld that you might turn, look, and experience healing from the snakebite of sin (John 3:14-16). So, stay here for a minute, examining Jesus’ sufferings, His death in your place, the blood He shed to cover over your sin. Listen to His cries to the Father, not for Himself but for you: “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Look at how the Roman soldier opens the heart of Jesus (John 19:34), and understand that Jesus chose to open His heart to you (John 10:18), to show you the full extent of His love (John 13:1). He willingly died on the cross to forgive you completely (Ephesians 1:7), purchase your full pardon (Romans 5:6-10), and secure your eternal life (John 3:16).
Question 7. As you consider this picture, what thoughts do you have of Jesus right now?
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
The cross is where you will find freedom, not only from overeating but also from the thought strongholds about food. If you learn to begin meditating on the cross, the Holy Spirit will start to cast down the previous thoughts, throw down the images, purify your mind, and wash your conscience (Titus 3:5).
This is how we war against the flesh.