Don't Quit!

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:9-11). And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart (Galatians 6:9).
 
When the enemy puts pressure on you, lean on the Word of God! God’s Word is His power to deliver you right in the middle of the mess the enemy tries to stir up in your life!

Refuse to cower to unbelief and fear when the enemy turns up the heat by affecting circumstances and senses. Remember that he is a defeated foe. The only power he has is the power of suggestion, and when you make a decision to stand on the Word of God, his power over your life is immediately nullified!
 
During that time between the time you pray and believe that you receive and the time of the actual manifestation of the answer, it’s important to say only what God says about your situation. Call those things that be not as though they were! Say what you believe, not what you have. When you voice the Word of God out loud, fear falls in its tracks. Fear thoughts may come, doubt thoughts may bombard you, but your firm stand on God’s Word will nullify fear and doubt and faith will rise up within you!
 
If you’re believing you receive healing, declare boldly that with His stripes you are healed! Though the symptoms persist, act as though you believe you receive the answer to your prayer of faith! Talk the answer, praise the answer, act the answer, live the answer. Don’t for one moment yield to symptoms and thoughts of doubt. Doubt thoughts that come to mind die unborn if they are not voiced!
 
If you’re believing for finances, a job, or a change in some circumstance, take God at His Word. If He says He hears and answers you when you pray, then that’s it. Don’t move. Take a firm stand with God and His Word. His Word has stood the assault of doubt, fear, unbelief, cynicism, criticism, and negative circumstances for thousands of years. And in all that time, not one of His promises has failed.
 
Hundreds of times over the years God has proved Himself faithful to me as I stood my ground on the Word and did not cave in to doubt and fear. Faith and patience always inherits the promises! Don’t allow circumstances, feelings, thoughts, people, or demons to move you off of your stand on God’s Word today! You’ll come out on top if you don’t quit!

Reconditioned To Open Up to God's Love and Closeness

There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love's complete perfection] (1 John 4:18 – Amplified).
 
We learn by observation, association, and influence. Our belief system, the way we think and deal with life, is entrenched within us from our early years. Our patterns of response to others are generally set by what we saw and heard  in our home life as children.
  
That’s why God admonished Israel to train their children in His ways at a young age. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates (Deuteronomy 6:6-9). Children learn by what they see, hear, and experience. Again, it’s observation, association, and influence.

Many of us are conditioned away from closeness. We are conditioned to hide our true selves, and live behind walls of self-protection. If a child is raised in an atmosphere of harshness and criticism, then the child quickly learns what to do to keep the harsh, critical responses at a minimum.

Personal thoughts and values are kept hidden, so that the changes of harshness and criticism are reduced. As we age, we carry this over into our relationships. And then, when we are born again and establish a relationship with God through Jesus we tend to think, ,feel and act towards God the way we think, feel, and act towards our parents, particularly our father. We tend to isolate our true thoughts and motives, and like Adam and Eve hiding behind a bush after their sin, we hide from closeness with God.
 
So when I speak of opening up to others in close relationship, many shy away due to conditioning in their earlier years that produces fear of closeness and causes them to erect walls of self-protection. And unconscious walls are up when they seek to fellowship with the Lord. Many folk have told me that they know God loves them because the Word says He does, but they don’t feel an emotional connection to Him at all. This is a result of conditioning.


So lack of closeness with others and with God has to be overcome by reconditioning. As you force yourself into the presence of God at first without feeling and acknowledge verbally your love for Him, your emotions and feelings will slowly change.

As you force yourself into closer relationships with others and slowly let the walls of self-protection down, you learn to open your heart life to others and live a life free from the fear of relationship.
 
When I was very young, my father brought a pet beagle home. I was excited about having a new dog around, but was quickly disappointed when “Snoopy” ran from me as I approached him to pet him. Snoopy just would not accept any close human contact. My dad told me that he had probably been abused by the previous owner.
 
I decided that I would not have a dog that I couldn't pet, so I took on the task of reconditioning Snoopy to accept my affection. Each day I would place Snoopy’s food bowl and water in a center section of our back yard and then run around to the other side of the house where his sharp beagle nose couldn’t pick up my scent. Snoopy would not eat until there was no one around.

As I barely peeked around the corner of the house, I could see Snoopy cautiously sneak out of hiding and walk to the food bowl and begin to eat. If I caught Snoopy’s eye as I peeked around the corner, he would run away. Day after day, I sat the food bowl in the yard and ran to the front yard of the house. After several days I was able by reconditioning to actually walk up to the food bowl and pet Snoopy as he ate. But it took days of Snoopy becoming aware that I would not hurt him, and that contact with me would be soothing.
 
We all have some measure of “Snoopy” in us. Fear conditions us away from closeness with God and others. The only way to overcome this fear is by reconditioning. And there is no way to overcome the fear of relationship and take the walls of self-protection down except by risking the closeness of relationship. Remember, it's truth, relationships, and time that bring personal change to us.
  
The results of peace, openness, and freedom from fear are well worth the risk! Let the process of reconditioning start in you today!

Only God Can Meet Your Deep Need to Be Loved

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you (Jeremiah 31:3).
  
We’re born with an innate need to be loved. The human spirit thrives when nurtured by love. Without it, there is an emptiness seeking to be filled. Living without love creates idolatry. Idolatry is getting a legitimate need met in an illegitimate way.
  
Most of the indulgences of the flesh are temporary fixes to a much deeper problem. Some fill the emptiness that only love can fill with food additions. Some fill the emptiness with sexual escapades that will mar life and wreck their future, leaving life empty and defiled. Others dull the pain of emptiness with alcohol or drug abuse. Many are workaholics. They are afraid of the empty they feel when things get quiet and the activity ceases.
 
God the Father created us to be loved by Him. The human heart can only be satisfied by His unconditional love. No other antidote to emptiness works.
  
Human relationships were designed by God to work well only in the context of a love relationship with Him. Without this love relationship, selfishness born of the sin nature will hinder closeness and depth.
  
Jesus reveals to us the sum total of our personal needs as He spoke to some religious folk of His day. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?  Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:35-40).
  
We were created to be loved and to love. Love is the incubator for the human personality.
Without it, life becomes dry, meaningless, and needy. When I speak of love, I must define my terms. This love that comes from the Father is gentle, kind, forbearing, patient, encouraging, genuine, hopeful, helpful, pure, and unconditional. God the Father knows you so well. He knows your deep needs more than anyone. He knows why you think and respond the way you do. He will not criticize or judge you. He will accept you the way you are, and then draw you into Himself and show you a new way to deal with life.
  
It’s hard not to become poetic when speaking of the Fathers love. It’s so hard to put into words. Being with Him brings a fullness inside; a sense of being so loved and cared for that no fear can penetrate. Fear vanishes when you open up and really receive His unconditional love.
  
Choose today to open yourself up to the Father’s love. Ask Him to help you take the walls down. Humble yourself under His loving hand. He will help you. Pour your heart out to Him. Tell Him all of your worries and concerns. Allow your every motive to pass through His loving gaze. Ask Him to help you where you know you are wrong. His love will penetrate the barrier of your flesh. His love can fill every unmet need. His love will change you.

Take the Walls Down Around Your Life!

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7)

I’ve been discussing the importance of relationship the last couple of days. Yesterday, I focused on our accepting God’s unconditional love. And I mentioned that one of the four false beliefs embedded in our souls is that those who fail are unworthy of love and deserve to be punished. This is a manifestation of the fear of relationships that became entrenched in us through the fall of man.
 
When we fail, we feel that God is no longer pleased with us and hence rejects closeness. But He has made provision for our sins to be cleansed and for fellowship to be restored. When we sin, we acknowledge, confess, and repent of the sin, and fellowship is immediately restored with the Father (1 John 1:9).
  
Most of us have lived in an environment of conditional love so long that we are conditioned to keep walls of self-protection up around us. We refuse to let others into our lives for fear of being rejected or punished in some way. This kind of entrenched pattern of response is difficult to break. It’s often so deeply embedded in our soul that we don’t even realize that we have walls of self-protection that keep others at arms distance.
 
Unconditional love removes the fear of close relationship. If you know that a person will love you and accept you no matter what then you can slowly learn how to let the walls down and allow others into your life. This takes time. My friend Chip Judd mentions that the three keys to personal change are truth (the Word), relationships, and time. Once you’ve experience God’s unconditional love, you are freed to love others with no strings attached. And God’s love also frees us to be loved by others in an unconditional way. It takes time to work through the conditioning that living with the fear of relationships brings.  
 
We began our small groups called Lifegroups some years ago and recently what we call The Connection  on Wednesdays at Victory Church so that people would have an avenue of relating to others in a closer way. They are designed to be an environment of unconditional love and acceptance. Let me stress again that it takes time to open your true self up to others. If you’ve been wounded deeply by close relationships in your past, it will be a real challenge to ever open your heart to others again. This is where most of us live!
 
I’ve had close personal relationships in my own life that have ended in the person walking out of my life. That hurts! The tendency is to draw back, erect walls of self-protection, and keep others at arms distance. But for me, close relationship is worth the risk of letting my walls down, and opening up my heart life up to others.
  
Yes, relationships are risky, but believe me, they are worth the risk! Let your walls of self-protection down. Open your heart life to the Father. Pour out to Him your thoughts, feelings, fears, motives, hurts, pain, misunderstandings, and insecurities. Ask Him to help you. Accept His unconditional love, even if you feel that you don’t measure up to His standards. He loves and forgives! He is not harsh and demanding.
 
Then, find an avenue of close relationships where you can let the walls down and experience unconditional love. If you will, you will find a freedom in life that few experience. We were made for relationship.

God's Unconditional Love For You

But, as a matter of fact, it matters very little to me what you or any man thinks of me. I don’t even value my opinion of myself (1 Corinthians 4:3).
  
God create us for relationship. We’re designed by God to relate to Him as a spiritual Father. From Him we are to receive love, nurture and guidance. Of course, sin separated us from God and brought along with it fear and the tendency to hide from God and others. Christ made a way for us to be reconciled to the Father so totally that there is no longer a fear of Him or a desire to hide. We can now approach the throne of God with the boldness of a baby running into its parents arm!
 
The Father gives us unconditional love. That means that there are no conditions that we have to meet for Him to care about us. He loves us when we perform well, and He loves us when we fail. He offers forgiveness and cleansing to us when we miss it. If we confess our sins, He is faith and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
 
Peter denied Jesus in the presence of others three times before Jesus died.  When Jesus was raised from the dead, an angel mentioned Peter by name to those who came into Jesus’ tomb to anoint His body for burial. But go, tell His disciples — and Peter — that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you (Mark 16:7).  The Lord doesn’t turn a cold shoulder to us when we miss it and fail. He loves us and offers to us another chance. For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity (Proverbs 24:16).
 
There is such a freedom in being loved with no strings attached. Most of us have never experienced that kind of love and acceptance from anybody!
 
In the study course Search for Significance, one of the four false beliefs that are common to man is those who fail are unworthy of love and deserve to be punished. We are treated this way in most of our relationships. So when God offers unconditional love, it seems awkward. We feel that we must in some way pay Him back for His forgiveness. But the Father’s love and forgiveness are free gifts to us! We don’t deserve His unconditional love and we can’t work for it. It’s a free gift from Him.
 
When you learn to accept the Father’s love and forgiveness personally, you are then enabled to give that same unconditional love and forgiveness away to others! It takes a while for it to sink into your thought life that the Father could actually love you and accept you when you mess up! Once you grasp this amazing love He has for you, your relationships with Him will be transformed, and in turn your relationships with others will deepen.

Next time I’ll talk about how to overcome the conditioning that keeps us isolated from others.

Close Relationships

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you? So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself (Genesis 3:8-10) There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love (1 John 4:18).
 
Close relationships are an important part of what I believe the Lord wants to do at Victory Church. Our culture is set up for us to easily go it alone. This is spiritually dangerous. God planned that we strengthen each other.

Relational dysfunction is typified by isolation, facades, pseudo-spirituality, works compensating for closeness with others, fear, manipulation, control, and withdrawal.

Churches as a whole tend to be largely dysfunctional. Doing frequently takes the place of being. The feeling of meeting certain expectations to be excepted looms large. And the generalized idea that something must be wrong with me if I can’t get my act together is a normal pattern of thinking for many.

My heart as a pastor is to break the trend. I want to do church life in such a way that church is a safe place; an oasis of love and care; a place where you are free to be yourself; a place where you can expose yourself without fear of rejection.

That’s a tall order in a culture conditioned with all sorts of expectations surrounding the various parts of life at work, in the home, and in church.
 
Adam started all this relational separation and fear when he sinned and subsequently hid from God when He came down for some fellowship in the garden one afternoon. The verse above reveals that fear was the root of Adam’s hiding. Sin brings guilt and it’s twin, condemnation. They both foster a deep seated inferiority that manifests in us all.

But we can be free from the fear of relationships. The New Birth and knowing who we are in Christ restores closeness with us and the Father. His unconditional love and forgiveness enable us to look away from our past as though it had never been. And it frees us to be able to share our most intimate thoughts with Him.

The New Birth and knowing who we are in Christ also enables us to be freed from the fear of rejection which keeps walls of separation up between us and others. As we grow in love, fear controls us less and less. You can measure your spiritual growth by looking at how free you are to give your inner heart life and deepest thoughts to the Father. He longs for you to draw close. When you draw close to Him, His love so fills you that it becomes a normal thing to accept others just as they are with unconditional love. Do you allow others to be themselves in your presence, or do you make them feel that they must measure up to your expectations before you will befriend them?

Allow others into your life. Open your heart and your home to fellowship. Share a meal and get to know others better. A great place to start for you may be The Connection meetings that we have every Wednesday night at Victory Church. There we share a meal together, enter into worship, hear a brief Word, and then just talk.  Or, get involved in one of our lifegroups which meet twice a month. You’ll find strength and freedom as you open your heart life to other believers.

What Are You Listening To?

And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure of thought and study  you give to the truth you hear will be the measure of virtue and knowledge that comes back to you — and more besides will be given to you who hear (Mark 4:24-Amplified).
  
Bad news is everywhere these days. Be careful that you keep a rich supply of the Word built up in you. God our Father has lost none of His wealth, and Has lost none of His ability to supply our every need.
 
Faith comes through what we hear. Be careful about what you hear most. Don’t allow the voice of unbelief from world sources to drown out the voice of faith you receive and hear from the Word. Take plenty of time to meditate in the Word these days. Keep your faith in God’s supply strong inside of you.
 
Below are scriptures that will boost your faith in God’s supply! Fill yourself with faith from them, then believe that you receive God’s best!

Psalm 50:10-12
For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. (11) I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are Mine. (12) "If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness.

Exodus 19:5
Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.

Leviticus 25:23
The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me.

Haggai 2:8
The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,' says the Lord of hosts.

Psalm 24:1
The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.

Psalm 89:11
The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; the world and all its fullness, You have founded them.

Psalm 112 – New Living Translation
Praise the Lord! How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands.(2) Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed.(3) They themselves will be wealthy, and their good deeds will last forever.(4) Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous. (5) Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly.(6) Such people will not be overcome by evil. Those who are righteous will be long remembered. (7) They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. (8)They are confident and fearless and can face their foes triumphantly. (9) They share freely and give generously to those in need. Their good deeds will be remembered forever. They will have influence and honor.(10) The wicked will see this and be infuriated. They will grind their teeth in anger; they will slink away, their hopes thwarted.

Deuteronomy 8:18
And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.


1 Chronicles 29:12
Both riches and honor come from You,and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.

Psalm 84:11-12
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. (12) O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!

Psalm 34:8-10
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! (9) Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. (10) The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.

Psalm 33:18-19
Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy,
(19) To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.

Psalm 37:18-19
The Lord knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever. (19) They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

Psalm 111:5
He has given food to those who fear Him; He will ever be mindful of His covenant.

Isaiah 1:19
If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;

Proverbs 10:22
The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.

Proverbs 22:4
By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.

Proverbs 15:6
In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, but in the revenue of the wicked is trouble.

Matthew 6:33 - NLT
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Luke 12:31-32 - NLT
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.
(32) So don't be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.

Romans 8:32 - Amplified
He who did not withhold or spare [even] His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all other things?

Philippians 4:19
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

1Timothy 6:17-19 - NLT
Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. (18) Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.
(19) By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.

2 Peter 1:3
As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,

3 John 2
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

Separated From the "World"

I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world (John 17:14-16).

God’s people have always been a separated people. We are to shine as lights in the darkness around us. We have the influence of salt in a bland, sin-filled world.

John tells us not to love the world. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:15-17).

The world is defined by Kenneth Wuest as all the floating mass of thoughts, opinions, maxims, speculations, hopes, impulses, aims, aspirations that are at any time current in the world.

Smith Wigglesworth defines the world as that which cools my affection towards God.
Here in 1 John, the world is defined as the sinful longings of the flesh and eyes, and as the pride of life.

The world looms large as an enticing danger to every believer. For that reason we must guard ourselves. If we love the world (1 John 2:15), we could become friends with the world, which is actually classed with being an enemy of God (James 4:4). We then could become spotted or tainted by the world (James 1:27). The end result of all of this is being conformed to the world (Romans 12:2).  And if a person continues in that, he or she could be condemned with the world (1 Corinthians 11:32).

A believer that becomes friendly, spotted, in love with, and conformed to the world, is open to receive the chastening of the Lord. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world (1 Corinthians 11:31-32).
 
He does not want us to lose our spiritual life to the influence of the world. So the Father gives us an opportunity to repent, and if we choose not to judge ourselves from this behavior of becoming like the world, He then chastens us. When God chastens, His hand of protection is removed, and the enemy is allowed to move in where he then seeks to steal, kill, and destroy.

Let’s keep ourselves today, so that the enemy has no inroad into our life through the world. Jesus has prayed for us to be kept from the world. Let’s refuse to compromise. Let’s be salty, light filled believers!

No Fear

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but He has given us a spirit of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7 – Amplified).

A fear based life is an unsettled life. What’s going to happen in my future, in my home, in my travels, in my body, in my finances? A faith based life expects God to act in every circumstance and situation that life brings.
 
A fear based life is based on feelings and circumstances. A faith based life is a life that is lived by the Word! What God says settles everything to the faith based life. A calmness, a rest, a hope, a security, and great joy accompany the faith based life. Depression, gloom, irritability, dread, hopelessness, and tiredness accompany the fear based life.

Make the switch today to be a person who lives by faith and not by fear based sight! Each day will become an adventure as you and the Father go through the day talking with one another, strategizing with His Word about the details of what you’re doing. Faith based living does not consult with the flesh, circumstances or opinion. Thus says the Lord rules the faith based life.
 
Fear attracts satanic activity, and draws a person into difficulty. The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe (Proverbs 29:25). Job ascribed his troubles to his fear that opened the door for the enemy to attack him. For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me (Job 3:25).

Don’t allow fear to rule your life. Fill yourself with the Word. Ask yourself what the Word says about every area of life. Refuse fear and the emotional baggage it brings. Lift your hands, praise God, and declare the Lordship of His Word over your life! Speak the Word and run fear out of your life today!


 

The Life Changing Word

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life (John 6:63).
 
The Word contains God’s very life and nature. Feeding on the Word is not like reading Shakespeare or classic literature. These contain no power to change. But God’s Word is the power of God unto salvation for spirit, soul, and body (Romans 1:16-17).

Time in the Word is time spent in the presence of the Father. And just as you take your car into the mechanics shop for a tune up, so the Word tunes us up spiritually. It rids us of the habits and attitudes that hold us back. It makes adjustments in all areas of life; our home, our business life, our private world, and has to power to break en-grained habits of conduct.

The Word provides spiritual nutrition so that we grow into the likeness of Christ. The Word is spirit food. Keep your spirit richly fed with this manna from heaven.

One Word of caution though. Just reading the Word with no purpose to change or act will do no good. Spiritual growth will be stifled, and personal progress will not be realized. It becomes self-evident over a period of time whether or not we are submitting ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus through the Lordship of the Word.
 
Notice again James 1:22-25 (NIV): Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it — he will be blessed in what he does.

The author of Hebrews likewise gives us this warning: Hebrews 5:12-14 (NIV).
In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.  
Be sure to feed on the Word daily with the attitude of acting on what you read. Be determined to change any action, word, attitude, motive, or conduct that disagrees with the Word. Keep a sensitive ear to the Holy Spirit by consciously asking yourself what the Word says about what you’re doing throughout the day.

If you’ll practice this for 21 to 28 days, you’ll begin to form a habit of walking intimately with your Father. This time next year, you’ll not be the same person!

The Invisible Shepherd

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever (Psalm 23).
 
The Father sees us as sheep, and He has the role of a shepherd in our lives. Here are some practical truths about sheep and shepherds that apply to our relationship with the Lord.
  
A shepherd knows his sheep by name and the sheep train themselves to know the shepherd’s voice. Sheep are helpless to defend themselves against enemies, and easily wander into danger.
  
The Father makes us to lie down in green pastures. A good shepherd will give his sheep the best food, and will lead them for miles to the greenest, most lush pastures. Good food means a healthy flock. Life is sustained by water, and the shepherd always looks for an abundant source near the grazing field. The Father is Jehovah Jireh to us. He provides us with everything we need to live in blessing. He’s always looking for the best supply for all of our needs!
 
The Father restores our souls. A shepherd looks after each sheep, and seeks to make it feel secure and cared for. The Father wants to minister to us and heal the emotional wounds that life brings. The Father as our shepherd restores our soul. He leads us to partake of the engrafted Word that will renew our minds and release pain from our emotions (James 1:21). He will lead us away from the activities of the flesh that rob us of peace and inward rest, and urges us to spend time with Him so that He can brush away our fears with His comforting Word.
 
The Lord our shepherd is with us in times of danger. The valley of the shadow of death is a gully on the side of a mountain that the shepherd and sheep must pass through to get back home. Animals of prey watch from the surrounding hills for sheep that stray. The shepherd has a rod to defend the sheep from the prey. On the other end of the rod is a hooked end that the shepherd uses to grab the sheep by the neck when they are about to leave the fold. Sheep feel secure from danger as long as they know the shepherd is nearby to defend them.
  
The Father prepares a table before us in front of our enemies. A shepherd will look for a flat place in a field where the sheep can lay down, eat lush grass, and rest. As the sheep eat and rest, the shepherd is ever watching for the prey that seeks to harm his sheep. The sheep eat and rest in security as long as they can look up and see their shepherd.
  
The Father anoints our head with oil. A Shepherd will anoint his sheep on a hot, dry day. Oil soothes the parched skin and brings refreshment in arid eastern countries. Wounds from brier scratches or snakes bites are cared for by being dressed with oil. The Father ever seeks to bring healing, health and restoration to our parched lives.
 
Our cup runs over. It’s one thing to have a full supply, It’s another to have so much that your cup runs over! That’s what our shepherd desires for us as His sheep. He wants us to have more than enough!
  
His goodness and mercy are extended to us every day of our lives. His mercies are new every morning! Blessing chases us every day! Allow the Lord to be your shepherd today. Listen for His voice. Watch for the guidance He brings through His Word to you. Expect Him to nurture you and care for you spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically. He is a good shepherd!

 

Let God Fight Your Battles

But You are holy, O You Who dwell in the holy place where the praises of Israel are offered (Psalm 22:3 – Amplified).
 
Believers have several weapons at their disposal as they fight the good fight of faith. They have the Word of God, the name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, and praise and worship!

The Father watches over His Word to make it good as the Sword of the Spirit comes out of our mouth from our hearts in faith (Jeremiah 1:12). Demonic forces tremble when the command of faith is given in the Name of Jesus (Philippians 2: 9-11)! And we overcome satanic forces by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony (Revelation 12:11).

But of all the weapons in our arsenal, perhaps praise is the strongest. When praise is offered, God Almighty shows up in the atmosphere! The weightiness of God, the power of who He is manifests when praise is uttered. The power of God’s kingdom is aroused when our praise and worship are expressed.
 
In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were praising and worship so loudly that the other prisoners heard them as they were held in chains in the dark prison. Instead of the atmosphere of the prison invading them, they decided to invade that atmosphere of darkness with the presence of God! And their chains fell off, the prison doors were opened, and they were set free! God responded to their praise, shaking the ground under their feet, and shaking the unbelief around them that threatened their lives!
 
During battle, the Israelites were instructed to put Judah (praise) in the forefront of the combat They would sing, for the Lord is good, and His mercy endures forever!  Israel’s enemies would be defeated time after time by an unseen host of angels as Israel fought with the weapons of a new type of spiritual warfare, praise and worship!

God has not changed. He still responds to praise by pouring out the weightiness of His presence, causing unseen enemies to flee. Don’t cower down to circumstances today.

Put on a good praise and worship cd; worship alone in your car or at home; or make a melody in your heart to God. However you do it, go after God in praise and worship today. Pull out that weapon of praise, and allow the Lord to fight your battles. The battle is the Lord’s. The victory is ours to enjoy!

Harness Your Self-Will!

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your member as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God (Romans 6:12-13).

After Adam sinned, mankind turned selfish and self-centered. Before the fall, Adam lived for the glory of God, but after he sinned, he lived to please himself without considering God and His plans for him.

The new birth transforms our spiritual lives. The nature of sin is replaced by the nature of God. But the residue of sin remains buried within the soul and must be rooted out! Paul made the appeal to the believers in Rome to dedicate their bodies to God, and to renovate their minds so they wouldn’t be pressured by the world to conform to its ways.

The soul is composed of the mind, the emotions, and the will. The spirit wants to interact with the soul for the glory of God. The body wants to interact with the soul to fulfill its cravings. The soul is in the middle of a battle, and is the deciding factor between spirituality and carnality. If the mind is set on fleshly things, then the flesh dominates. If the mind is set on spiritual things, then the spirit rules through the soul.
 
The battle of your life every day is to continually make the choice to walk in the spirit. To do this, you must guard the ears and the eyes from exposure to the lusts of the flesh. A decision for the flesh gives the residue of the old man in the soul permission to conquer the spirit! A decision to act on the Word gives the Holy Spirit through your human spirit control.

The will is the king of the soul. Your will determines what you think about and what emotions you allow to run free. Your will determines whether you yield to the Spirit of God in your spirit by yielding to the Word, or whether you yield to the lusts of the flesh by allowing thoughts from past or from the outside world through the eye and ear gate to rule your life. Again, your will is the deciding factor!

Jesus addresses the will in every gospel. If any man desires to come after Me, let Him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me (Matt. 16:24). Jesus emphasizes this truth. It’s mentioned in every gospel. To deny yourself, you must be willing to lay every thought, every emotion, and every desire at His feet by comparing each of these to the Word. Does some thought, action, or emotion violate the Word? If it does, then you must choose to say NO to it.

We must die daily. That is, we must choose daily to yield our will to the Father through the Word. And then carefully choose what we give attention to in our minds and emotions. To do this, our wills must be wholly recommitted to the Father through the Word every day!

Perhaps we should make David’s prayer in Psalm 19 ours each day: Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer!

Capture Your Thoughts!

…We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ.
(2 Corinthians 10:5 NCV).

As I mentioned yesterday, a pure mind creates a pure life. The Father wants our minds to be conformed to the image of His Son just as much as He wants that for every part of our being.

My mind was filled with all sorts of impurities when I first came to the Lord. Before Christ I was almost completely controlled by my mind and my emotions. After I submitted my life to Jesus and was baptized in the Holy Spirit, I often found thoughts in my mind that my heart resented.

My mind would frequently run from one thing to the next as though it had a life of its own. I discovered that you can have an educated yet undisciplined mind. An undisciplined mind is a mind that is allowed to go wherever it pleases at the will of environment and circumstance.
    
I realized that thought association occurs in a millisecond, and happens so rapidly that you scarcely notice. Anything you see can remind you of an unpleasant or sinful event in your past. A certain color of clothing, a particular style, the silhouette of someone in the distance, an overheard song, a certain smell of cologne or perfume, a particular model of car, a certain terrain, an overheard conversation while walking in the mall, or a host of other things stimulate our minds and remind us of past happenings. And our mind takes these things and runs a rabbit trail. The problem is that you may not like where the trail leads, particularly if you’re a believer!

I tried everything to control my thoughts; praise and worship, speaking the name of Jesus against the thoughts, or just plain refusing to think them. Each time they slowly came sneaking back. The only thing I found effective was to place a scripture in my mind and force myself to concentrate on the scripture. When I did this, I found I could control my thoughts.

At first, I struggled. I would let the mental rabbit trail run for several hours before I even became aware that my mind was going in the wrong direction! I knew that to change a habit, you don’t concentrate on the negative of refusing the habit, but you replace the habit with something else. So the moment I found myself going the wrong way down a one way street mentally, I would force myself to think on scripture, and to my utter surprise, it worked!

Now, after years and years of practice, I can say that my mind is under my control. I choose what I think about, and will not allow my mind to go into certain areas. It has to obey me! My mind is not in charge! My spirit, the real me, is in charge of my life as directed by the Holy Spirit through the Word!

Start today to take mental inventory. Are you controlling your thoughts, or are your thoughts controlling you? Begin today to purpose to think on things that are true honest, just, pure, lovely, virtuous, and worthy of praise (Phil. 4:8). If you’ll keep it up for several weeks, you’ll begin the process of forming new habits of thinking. And you’ll experience the peace of God in daily life