Romans 12:2 tells us to “be transformed by the renewing of the mind.” Then 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 tells us that the “strongholds” in our being must be torn down, and our thoughts brought into captivity unto Christ. Finally, Hebrews 4:12, quoted above, likens the word of God to a “sword” that discerns between “the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

So, when we put these verses together, we may say that the strongholds in our being must be overthrown, our thoughts captured by Christ, and our intents put to the sword; for 0nly then will we experience the transformation that comes from the renewing of the mind. Surely this is a real experience of spiritual warfare in the battle for our mind! (The Old Testament gives us a marvelous picture of this warfare, and its result, in an incident that took place as the Children of Israel were taking possession of the Good Land. See “The City of the Book.”)

Unlike the “strongholds” spoken of in 2 Corinthians, however, the “intents” of our heart in Hebrews 4:12 are not always negative. Rather, the problem with these is that they are so often not in accord with our conscious thoughts. It is in that sense that they must be dealt with, so our thoughts outwardly match our intents inwardly.

Not too long after I was saved, another brother told me a story from when he was a new believer and was living in a house with several other young brothers. That is, he decided he was going to fast, because he read in the Bible that believers are supposed to fast.

So, he did not eat anything for a few days. But then, on the third day, he suddenly had a feeling to bake a chocolate cake for the other brothers. Of course, he would not be able to have any himself, since he was fasting, but out of his love for the brothers he would bake a cake for them to eat.

So he started to make the cake, mixing all the ingredients together. But then, as he was getting ready to put it in the oven, he looked at that delicious chocolate batter and just felt, “Well, one little taste wouldn’t hurt.” So he had one spoonful, and then another—and eventually, that cake never even made it into the oven! Rather, it was all gone, along with his fast.

In this case, his conscious thought was to care for the other brothers, telling himself, “I’m going to bake a chocolate cake for them.” But evidently, his real intent was, “I am going to get that chocolate cake for myself.” That was the difference between his outward thought and his real, inward, hidden intent—hidden even from himself.

I’ve always thought this was a funny story, and a good illustration of the difference between our thoughts and intents. But, it’s actually a serious matter when our thoughts and intents differ from each other—one which can have very serious consequences. To give an example of that I will share quite a negative experience from my own history in the next Note in this series.

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—  12 February 2026 —