Taking it captive...but to where?

When you take someone captive, you don't generally hold them captive where you found them.
A bank robber caught in the act is not held by security in the bank.
A murderer is not captured by police and left at the scene.
In every case, the perpetrator is taken away to someone else.
Only then is the criminal dealt with more appropriately and completely.

You can apply this principle to our thoughts..."...we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" 2 Corinthians 10:5b niv

I think the battle is harder if we hold the thought captive in the place where it occurs, or the circumstances in which we are facing.
Many of us when faced with this battle, use the 'tentative captive and distract model'. Where we come against the thought in Jesus name and then try and do something to take our minds off of it. 
The problem with this is that our minds travel where we go. 
Scripture encourages us to not just capture the thought but then to take it somewhere else.
Otherwise you are simply holding it in place, and it will wait to come at you again...

When you take a thought captive, I think you should go all the way!
Take the captive thought to where it can be dealt with properly.
Bank robbers and murderers appear before a Judge. 
The judge pronounces sentence and sends the robber to Jail. 
So to with our thoughts. We should take them to Christ.
Let him pronounce sentence on them.
Because He has the power to help where we are far too weak.

Other Bible translations when read together paint an even broader vision of how this works.
"We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ" nlt
"bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" nkjv

Teaching your thoughts, making them obedient to Christ? How do you do that?
His Word is the foundation of the teaching we should follow.
I have found that the more I immerse my life in the Word, the more I am able to battle my thoughts.
The Word actually casts sentence on my thoughts, when I bring my thoughts before the Word.
I preach at my thoughts even more than I preach to others...

Some things to think about...