Don't Eat What You Don't Like or Need and Don't Feed What You Don't Want to Grow...it's simple really! God doesn't have a desire to make things difficult for anyone. Allow what's written below to minister to your life and pass it along.
(1) You cannot overcome the devil that you're in the bed with. Put it out the bed of your mind and life!
(2) You cannot overcome the devil you feed. The devil I'm referring to is the 'devil-trained' flesh. The devil-trained flesh is fed primarily through these mediums: eyes (what you look at), ears (what you listen to), mouth (what you say), and mind (what you think). A person voluntarily chooses how to use each of these mediums. What you look at, what you listen to, what you say, and what you think is ALL your choice. Satan himself doesn't even choose for you. You must choose wisely and never blame others for your choice of medium, use of that medium, and the results from the usage. The mediums do not change but you control what information, positive or negative, that constantly flows thru them.
(3) Now, more on the flesh: Your flesh is not saved. If or when you accepted Jesus Christ, your spirit was saved/renewed, but your flesh held steady. The flesh is the old, unregenerated man, the sin nature which was inherited from our first father - Adam.
(4) Don't feed or feed on what you don't like or need. Recognize and/or allow God to reveal to you your fleshy appetites. You can't stop feeding what you don't realize that you have been.
(5) Don't feed or feed on past hurts. The creation of the wound may've been someone else's fault, but the continuation of the wound is up to you.
(6) A damaged mind likes damaged things! According to Scripture we should allow our minds to be renewed by the Word of God. So, renew and reuse your mind by the Word!
(7) Whatever causes a fire sustains a fire and whatever extinguishes a fire prevents a fire! It has been said that "Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires." You can extinguish and prevent fires in your life.
For more insight on this, review blog labels: Discipline, Flesh, Mind, Old Man, Sin Nature, Soul, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Warfare, and Thoughts. See below.
DsW
March 16, 2011
March 13, 2011
Race Relations: The Kingdom Approach I
Greetings Kingdom citizens,
As a side study to our 52 Weeks of Praise, I feel compelled to speak on race relations within the body of Christ. To begin, allow me to bring up a few scriptures. You're going to want to grab your Bible for this. Also, be sure to chime in on the discussion by leaving comments.
- SCRIPTURES -
Galatians 6:10 - As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
Proverbs 3:27 - Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
Acts 17:26 - And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.
Galatians 3:8 - And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Revelation 5:9 - And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.
Revelation 7:9 - After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.
Revelation 21:24 - And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
Romans 5:18 - Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
Romans 12:17-18 - Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
1 Corinthians 15:39 - All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
1 Thessalonians 3:12 - And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you.
1 Timothy 2:1 - I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men.
1 Timothy 2:4 - Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 4:10 - For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
1 Peter 2:17 - Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.
Now that we've reviewed some scriptures, allow me to take a deeper look at some biblical precepts to further set the stage for this discussion. Keep your Bible near. We'll come back to elaborate on these scriptures.
Notwithstanding, from just reading them we can derive a good idea of what our attitude and behavior should be as we interact with other believers/citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, regardless of race. As citizens of Heaven, but believers on Earth we represent God. He is seen or manifested to others through our obedient actions. Therefore, it is clear that we should interact, engage, and respond to people as our Heavenly Father would in order to represent Him properly. In other words, it is Heaven's culture that we should shew forth on the earth among men. As it is in Heaven so should we be, execute, and demonstrate consistently on Earth. We are on the earth but not [spiritually] from the earth. Moreover, we are in the world but not of the world (John 17:14,16). Our original spiritual citizenship/birthplace was (and is) Heaven because that's where our human spirit was created in the first place (Genesis 1:26-27). It is only our physical bodies, which house/encompass our human spirits, that were made on and from the earth. So when we were born again, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (e.g. The Holy Trinity) took up residence inside our human spirit NOT our physical bodies. Therefore our connection link to Heaven, our country of origin, is our redeemed human spirit. Why is this important? Because the kingdom principles (Bible standards/laws) that we are to follow have a Heavenly origin just like our human spirits. Therefore, since we originated from Heaven we should adhere to the principles of Heaven. Heavenly principles will produce Heavenly results and wordly principles will produce wordly results. Heavenly results are God's results and God's results are His willed or intended outcomes.
So God's system is established: His principles lead to His intended outcomes or results and His outcomes are the best outcomes. Therefore, His believers should live for and to His outcomes or results. In the mouth of a committed kingdom citizen it would sound something like this:
"Father God in Heaven, I recognize that my life, my purpose, and all I'm to be and do originates from you. I submit to your will (plans and processes) and willed outcomes (results) for my life and through my life to others. As I now set my heart to obey you and follow your heavenly principles, your willed outcomes (results) will be executed to your glory. Help me to hear and adhere to you forever. In Jesus' name, Amen."
So if anyone is really interested in being all that God wants them to be or having all that God wants them to have, then praying a prayer as such is a must.
Now, with the spiritual stage being set for this discussion, what exactly is God's or Heaven's attitude about race relations among believers? First of all we must understand that God is not against or for any one race in particular. He created all of the races and loves them all equally. In other words, God loves every human equally. No more, no less! His love is all-inclusive- universally and comprehensively. There's nothing a human can do to increase His love for them or decrease His love for them. If we review the creation account of mankind in Genesis 1:26-27 we'll quickly find that ALL mankind, that is every race or nationality, was created in His image. For all races were represented in the first man, Adam. Now after all these ages certainly God would not reduce the value on His own image, especially after going through the trouble [so to speak] of creating us in it. Besides, John 3:16 tells us that God was moved with such love for those created in His image (mankind) that He gave His only Son for them. So God is certainly not pro-white and against the other races. Nor is He pro-black and against the other races. He's equally for all because He created all. This idea is actually fairly familiar to us humans. Just think about how a parent that has multiple children loves them equally. Unless they were born at the same time, each child physically looks different, acts different, and has differing personalities and temperaments. Yet, it is no question that that parent loves each of them because they birthed them. If this be true with humans and their children how much more with God and His offspring?
In part II let's review each scripture shown above individually...
As a side study to our 52 Weeks of Praise, I feel compelled to speak on race relations within the body of Christ. To begin, allow me to bring up a few scriptures. You're going to want to grab your Bible for this. Also, be sure to chime in on the discussion by leaving comments.
- SCRIPTURES -
Galatians 6:10 - As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
Proverbs 3:27 - Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
Acts 17:26 - And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.
Galatians 3:8 - And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Revelation 5:9 - And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.
Revelation 7:9 - After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.
Revelation 21:24 - And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
Romans 5:18 - Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
Romans 12:17-18 - Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
1 Corinthians 15:39 - All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
1 Thessalonians 3:12 - And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you.
1 Timothy 2:1 - I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men.
1 Timothy 2:4 - Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 4:10 - For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
1 Peter 2:17 - Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.
Now that we've reviewed some scriptures, allow me to take a deeper look at some biblical precepts to further set the stage for this discussion. Keep your Bible near. We'll come back to elaborate on these scriptures.
Notwithstanding, from just reading them we can derive a good idea of what our attitude and behavior should be as we interact with other believers/citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, regardless of race. As citizens of Heaven, but believers on Earth we represent God. He is seen or manifested to others through our obedient actions. Therefore, it is clear that we should interact, engage, and respond to people as our Heavenly Father would in order to represent Him properly. In other words, it is Heaven's culture that we should shew forth on the earth among men. As it is in Heaven so should we be, execute, and demonstrate consistently on Earth. We are on the earth but not [spiritually] from the earth. Moreover, we are in the world but not of the world (John 17:14,16). Our original spiritual citizenship/birthplace was (and is) Heaven because that's where our human spirit was created in the first place (Genesis 1:26-27). It is only our physical bodies, which house/encompass our human spirits, that were made on and from the earth. So when we were born again, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (e.g. The Holy Trinity) took up residence inside our human spirit NOT our physical bodies. Therefore our connection link to Heaven, our country of origin, is our redeemed human spirit. Why is this important? Because the kingdom principles (Bible standards/laws) that we are to follow have a Heavenly origin just like our human spirits. Therefore, since we originated from Heaven we should adhere to the principles of Heaven. Heavenly principles will produce Heavenly results and wordly principles will produce wordly results. Heavenly results are God's results and God's results are His willed or intended outcomes.
So God's system is established: His principles lead to His intended outcomes or results and His outcomes are the best outcomes. Therefore, His believers should live for and to His outcomes or results. In the mouth of a committed kingdom citizen it would sound something like this:
"Father God in Heaven, I recognize that my life, my purpose, and all I'm to be and do originates from you. I submit to your will (plans and processes) and willed outcomes (results) for my life and through my life to others. As I now set my heart to obey you and follow your heavenly principles, your willed outcomes (results) will be executed to your glory. Help me to hear and adhere to you forever. In Jesus' name, Amen."
So if anyone is really interested in being all that God wants them to be or having all that God wants them to have, then praying a prayer as such is a must.
Now, with the spiritual stage being set for this discussion, what exactly is God's or Heaven's attitude about race relations among believers? First of all we must understand that God is not against or for any one race in particular. He created all of the races and loves them all equally. In other words, God loves every human equally. No more, no less! His love is all-inclusive- universally and comprehensively. There's nothing a human can do to increase His love for them or decrease His love for them. If we review the creation account of mankind in Genesis 1:26-27 we'll quickly find that ALL mankind, that is every race or nationality, was created in His image. For all races were represented in the first man, Adam. Now after all these ages certainly God would not reduce the value on His own image, especially after going through the trouble [so to speak] of creating us in it. Besides, John 3:16 tells us that God was moved with such love for those created in His image (mankind) that He gave His only Son for them. So God is certainly not pro-white and against the other races. Nor is He pro-black and against the other races. He's equally for all because He created all. This idea is actually fairly familiar to us humans. Just think about how a parent that has multiple children loves them equally. Unless they were born at the same time, each child physically looks different, acts different, and has differing personalities and temperaments. Yet, it is no question that that parent loves each of them because they birthed them. If this be true with humans and their children how much more with God and His offspring?
In part II let's review each scripture shown above individually...
January 6, 2011
"GET Growing"
Continuing on the "Get Moving" theme, let's take a deeper look at a few things.
The first question one must ask themselves is what should I really "get moving" on? Well, only God can fully answer that question. However, there are some things that you're probably already aware of that you should get moving on. In this installment we consider how we should get moving on our internal growth and character. From a biblical perspective we are talking about being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). In other words, our CHRIST-LIKENESS! How much are you displaying Christ in your thoughts, attitudes, actions, and words?
This year we should aim to really grow internally - a full year of 'fruit of the Spirit' growth, allowing the Holy Spirit to mature us on the inside (Galatians 5:22-23). In nature, all growth is intentional. The same is true for us. No believer can purposely grow without yielding to the Holy Spirit, reviewing scripture, and devoting thought time (e.g. meditation) to improvement (Psalms 1:2, 119:11). In other words, you have to improve you on purpose.
Think about it. All of us have heard sermons or received private instructions from God about things in our character that we need to move on. In some cases we have moved, but maybe not to the extent that we should. In our flesh, all of us sometimes drag our feet on character changes that seem uncomfortable. Nevertheless, being more like Christ on purpose must be given top rank this year. Justly, the receiving of some blessings is based on your maturity (Jeremiah 7:5-7, Isaiah 1:19).
Besides, a lost world awaits the light of your growth and God is the rewarder of the same.
Additional Scripture Review
Galatians 5 (KJV)
22 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 - Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
I Corinthians 13 (NIV)
4 - Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5 - It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
6 - Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7 - It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 - Love never fails
I John 2 (KJV)
6 - He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
Ephesians 4 (NLT)
20 - But that isn’t what you learned about Christ.
21 - Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him,
22 - throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.
23 - Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.
24 - Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
The first question one must ask themselves is what should I really "get moving" on? Well, only God can fully answer that question. However, there are some things that you're probably already aware of that you should get moving on. In this installment we consider how we should get moving on our internal growth and character. From a biblical perspective we are talking about being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). In other words, our CHRIST-LIKENESS! How much are you displaying Christ in your thoughts, attitudes, actions, and words?
This year we should aim to really grow internally - a full year of 'fruit of the Spirit' growth, allowing the Holy Spirit to mature us on the inside (Galatians 5:22-23). In nature, all growth is intentional. The same is true for us. No believer can purposely grow without yielding to the Holy Spirit, reviewing scripture, and devoting thought time (e.g. meditation) to improvement (Psalms 1:2, 119:11). In other words, you have to improve you on purpose.
Think about it. All of us have heard sermons or received private instructions from God about things in our character that we need to move on. In some cases we have moved, but maybe not to the extent that we should. In our flesh, all of us sometimes drag our feet on character changes that seem uncomfortable. Nevertheless, being more like Christ on purpose must be given top rank this year. Justly, the receiving of some blessings is based on your maturity (Jeremiah 7:5-7, Isaiah 1:19).
Besides, a lost world awaits the light of your growth and God is the rewarder of the same.
Additional Scripture Review
Galatians 5 (KJV)
22 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 - Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
I Corinthians 13 (NIV)
4 - Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5 - It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
6 - Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7 - It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 - Love never fails
I John 2 (KJV)
6 - He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
Ephesians 4 (NLT)
20 - But that isn’t what you learned about Christ.
21 - Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him,
22 - throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.
23 - Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.
24 - Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
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