As we approach closer to the end, almost everyone is looking at the evil around them. Very few, unfortunately, look at the evil within themselves. There is no better time than the present to examine the evil lurking in each of us. Remember, that each of us will be judged by a most Holy and righteous God. I must say in the beginning this will not be a popular topic, for looking within can be the most humbling and humiliating experience of our lives. However, it is much better to do it now, rather than being totally exposed and humiliated at the throne of the Almighty. Now, you will have an opportunity to change. When the last trumpet is sounded or if you experience an untimely death, then it will be too late. So, if you are willing to take this journey from within let us proceed. The Holy Spirit will be our guide. He will take you to places that you could never have imagined. Hopefully, it will cause you to have many hours of self-reflection. My hope and prayers are that all who claim to be Christians will take this journey allowing the indwelling Spirit to bring deep conviction to their souls. Let’s begin.

The first stop in the journey is letting go of everything we think we know about ourselves. Depending on how old you are, you have already established certain standards for yourself. Although some of these little unpublished rules and regulations tend to change from time to time in a world of varying opinions, typically it’s easy to retain a certain level of pride for your accomplishments in fulfilling your goals. We all know that pride is a cardinal sin that’s rather blinding as it magnifies our self-esteem and tends to build barriers around ourselves from receiving any rebuke or admonishment from others about our seamless character. When we drop the barriers, then we allow the Holy Spirit to uncover every hidden flaw, digging deep within our hearts to lay a firm foundation. Won’t you allow the Spirit to convict you of every unseen sin? If we truly humble ourselves before God, asking Him to search our hearts and show us every unclean thing, then the Spirit will be happy to oblige (Psalm 139:23-24). We must, then, learn to let go by turning from every sin the moment it is discovered and exposed by the Spirit. If you are willing, it’s nearly impossible to read the Bible and not be convicted of some unseen sin. It is best to discover them now, rather than when it’s too late to do anything about it.

Our next stop on the journey is to carefully examine our every thought. Although these thoughts are hidden from others in the world, they are not hidden from God and the indwelling Spirit. Every thought is laid bare at the throne of Almighty God. God takes such a critical view of the thoughts of humanity that He destroyed the entire world with a flood because of their evil thoughts and vain imaginations (Genesis 6:5-7). I don’t want to shock your insensibility but every person on the planet has entertained an evil thought or vain imagination at one point in their lives. These thoughts often come without notice, either directly from the old sin nature or prompted by the powers of darkness, either way, they must be stopped and cast out immediately. It’s almost impossible to live in today’s world without encountering evil thoughts from every segment of society from lust-filled entertainment to massive greed-driven advertisement. This should cause us to be constantly on guard to immediately cast out the evil thoughts by replacing them with righteous and holy thoughts. Again the Holy Bible is our best resource to understand the nature of evil and the absolute beauty of righteousness in our thinking (Philippians 4:8).

Now, vain imagination is a much deeper topic that is capturing most of the minds of fallen humanity. Simply put fallen humanity is always looking for an escape from a world gone mad. This has been attempted from books to television and from an endless supply of videos to the growing number of social media platforms, but nothing has truly satisfied the demands of fallen humanity. For millions of years, humanity has found success in entertaining vain imaginations in the sanctuary of their own minds. They have successfully conjured up taking trips to distant lands and even to distant star systems. They have imagined interacting with different people or strange creatures all the while being the most important person. Imagining themselves with great wealth, superior strength, and otherworldly intelligence can occupy many hours locked away in the confines of their own minds creating their own adventures. This vain imagination is clearly a trap of the devil to keep us in bondage and away from following God’s will for our lives exclusively. As we take a deep look within, we must be honest with what we find bringing them before God in true repentance. Please remember, that God wants our entire self every moment of every day. To do anything less serves Satan, the god of this world. Cast out the vain imaginations and serve God with your every thought.

The mind is an amazing creation by the hand of God. Although Satan and the powers of darkness are behind the manmade creation of artificial intelligence, it will never be equal to what God has created. Although AGI will appear to come close and mimic the image of the beast in the Book of Revelation, it will never have the capacity to love one’s enemies and to serve others without ever expecting anything in return (Revelation 13:15). Although our minds were created in love to be love, since the fall it also can plan all manner of evil in the secret chambers of the mind. We may be found innocent in a court of law by saying, “Yes we thought it, but we never did it” but in the court of Almighty God, we would be found guilty as charged. Jesus Christ put His finger on it when He said, “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 25:28). So, whatever a mind thinks about doing is indeed a sin even though you did not follow through on the trespass. Look within! Have you ever thought about revenge, hurting others, stealing, lying, cheating, deceiving others, or committing a sexual act with others, all done in the cloister of your own mind? The list is not exhaustive where every sin begins in the mind. Cast out the thought immediately and if necessary, rebuke the powers of darkness.

Are you still with me? We are taking a journey within, now, before it’s too late. Our every sin will be exposed, and our hearts will be opened for all to see, so it’s best to deal with it now. Allow the indwelling Spirit to convict you of the sin by listening to Him (John 16:8, 13). If you have not heard the Spirit, then you have not been listening. You will need to stop listening to the world first, all of its lies and propaganda, then you will be able to hear the indwelling Spirit. Once we are convicted of the sin of thinking, which includes vain imaginations, then we must repent by casting out the thoughts and agreeing to never think about them again. You may need to repeat this many times for Satan does not give up easily especially when he discovers that you have a certain weakness. God will help you if you seek His help in prayer. Cry out to God now, not when it’s too late as you stand before the Judge. Every time you cast out the evil thoughts and vain imaginations confess them before the Lord, and you will receive the refreshing waters of forgiveness. I hope you see how important this is for our nation as well. If God destroyed the entire world because of their thoughts, then He can do the same with a nation. I am not suggesting “thought police” but we should spread the word that everyone needs to be mindful of what they are thinking about and cast out the evil thoughts and vain imaginations immediately. Dear children, please don’t wait, ask God to help you conquer the evil from within. Judgement is coming.