battlefield of the mind

²And do not choose to be conformed to this age, but instead choose to be reformed in the newness of your mind, so that you may demonstrate what is the will of God: what is good, and what is well-pleasing, and what is perfect.

³For though we walk in the flesh, we do not battle according to the flesh. ⁴For the weapons of our battles are not carnal, yet still they are powerful with God, unto the destruction of fortifications: tearing down every counsel ⁵and height that extols itself contrary to the wisdom of God, and leading every intellect into the captivity of obedience to Christ,

⁷Therefore, be subject to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the directors of this world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in high places.

⁷For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of virtue, and of love, and of self-restraint.

³The old error has gone away. You will serve peace: peace, for we have hoped in you.

⁴For the weapons of our battles are not carnal, yet still they are powerful with God, unto the destruction of fortifications: tearing down every counsel

³²And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”

⁶Be anxious about nothing. But in all things, with prayer and supplication, with acts of thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God. ⁷And so shall the peace of God, which exceeds all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. ⁸Concerning the rest, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is chaste, whatever is just, whatever is holy, whatever is worthy to be loved, whatever is of good repute, if there is any virtue, if there is any praiseworthy discipline: meditate on these.

⁵and height that extols itself contrary to the wisdom of God, and leading every intellect into the captivity of obedience to Christ,

⁸Concerning the rest, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is chaste, whatever is just, whatever is holy, whatever is worthy to be loved, whatever is of good repute, if there is any virtue, if there is any praiseworthy discipline: meditate on these.

³⁷But in all these things we overcome, because of him who has loved us.

¹Most beloved, do not be willing to believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are of God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²The Spirit of God may be known in this way. Every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has arrived in the flesh is of God; ³and every spirit who contradicts Jesus is not of God. And this one is the Antichrist, the one that you have heard is coming, and even now he is in the world. ⁴Little sons, you are of God, and so you have overcome him. For he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. ⁵They are of the world. Therefore, they speak about the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶We are of God. Whoever knows God, listens to us. Whoever is not of God, does not listen to us. In this way, we know the Spirit of truth from the spirit of error.

¹The Praise of a Canticle, of David. Whoever dwells with the assistance of the Most High will abide in the protection of the God of heaven. ²He will say to the Lord, “You are my supporter and my refuge.” My God, I will hope in him. ³For he has freed me from the snare of those who go hunting, and from the harsh word. ⁴He will overshadow you with his shoulders, and you will hope under his wings. ⁵His truth will surround you with a shield. You will not be afraid: before the terror of the night, ⁶before the arrow flying in the day, before the troubles that wander in the darkness, nor of invasion and the midday demon.

¹A Psalm of David, before he was sealed. The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? ²Meanwhile, the guilty draw near to me, so as to eat my flesh. Those who trouble me, my enemies, have themselves been weakened and have fallen. ³If entrenched armies were to stand together against me, my heart would not fear. If a battle were to rise up against me, I would have hope in this. ⁴One thing I have asked of the Lord, this I will seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, so that I may behold the delight of the Lord, and may visit his temple. ⁵For he has hidden me in his tabernacle. In the day of evils, he has protected me in the hidden place of his tabernacle. ⁶He has exalted me upon the rock, and now he has exalted my head above my enemies. I have circled around and offered a sacrifice of loud exclamation in his tabernacle. I will sing, and I will compose a psalm, to the Lord.

²⁴And he said to them: “Consider what you hear. With whatever measure you have measured out, it shall be measured back to you, and more shall be added to you.

⁵Let your behavior be without avarice; be content with what you are offered. For he himself has said, “I will not abandon you, and I will not neglect you.”

¹³For he has rescued us from the power of darkness, and he has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love,

⁹All those who have been born of God do not commit sin. For the offspring of God abides in them, and he is not able to sin, because he was born of God.

¹³For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if, by the Spirit, you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live.

¹And Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan. And he was urged by the Spirit into the wilderness ²for forty days, and he was tested by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days. And when they were completed, he was hungry. ³Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, speak to this stone, so that it may be made into bread.” ⁴And Jesus answered him, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ” ⁵And the devil led him onto a high mountain, and he showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, ⁶and he said to him: “To you, I will give all this power, and its glory. For they have been handed over to me, and I give them to whomever I wish.

¹⁸Arrogance precedes destruction. And the spirit is exalted before a fall.

¹Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who are not walking according to the flesh. ²For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed me from the law of sin and death. ³For though this was impossible under the law, because it was weakened by the flesh, God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and because of sin, in order to condemn sin in the flesh, ⁴so that the justification of the law might be fulfilled in us. For we are not walking according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. ⁵For those who are in agreement with the flesh are mindful of the things of the flesh. But those who are in agreement with the spirit are mindful of the things of the spirit. ⁶For the prudence of the flesh is death. But the prudence of the spirit is life and peace.

¹The man who, with a stiff neck, treats the one who corrects him with contempt will be suddenly overwhelmed to his own destruction, and reason shall not follow him. ²When just men are multiplied, the common people shall rejoice. When the impious take up the leadership, the people shall mourn. ³The man who loves wisdom rejoices his father. But whoever nurtures promiscuous women will lose his substance. ⁴A just king guides the land. A man of avarice will destroy it. ⁵A man who speaks to his friend with flattering and feigned words spreads a net for his own feet. ⁶A snare will entangle the iniquitous when he sins. And the just shall praise and be glad.

¹The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, in order to make known to his servants the things that must soon occur, and which he signified by sending his Angel to his servant John;

¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because of this, he has anointed me. He has sent me to evangelize the poor, to heal the contrite of heart,