Tag: Spiritual

²⁹ If a man sells a residence in a walled city, his right of redemption will last until a year has passed after its sale; his right of redemption will last a year. ³⁰ If it is not redeemed by the end of a full year, then the house in the walled city is permanently transferred to its purchaser throughout his generations. It is not to be released on the Jubilee. ³¹ But houses in settlements that have no walls around them are to be classified as open fields. The right to redeem such houses stays in effect, and they are to be released at the Jubilee. ~ Leviticus 25:29-31^CSB

The Church is the redeemed body of Christ. We are the saved, sanctified, and protected of the world. When we are given something from the LORD, it is protected from the enemy unless we have an opened door. We are dwelling inside the wall of Christ.

Those who aren’t saved, redeemed, and following Christ are outside of His love. They are outside of His protection and, therefore, outside of His wall. When they sin, they sin according to their own nature. When they trade what they have for something else, it’s not a big deal because both things are of the world and are temporary. This isn’t so for the Christian.

When we become blood-bought, we are no longer living to ourselves. We now live to Christ. We are now the arms, legs, and entire body of Christ. So, when we give into our sin, we are going against the new nature that we have through the Holy Spirit.

Because of this, it is like we are selling the house God has redeemed for us. We’ve become the seller in the walled city. And unless we quickly repent, we’ll give into more and more sin until it completely consumes us, and we forfeit our salvation. Peter put it this way.

²⁰ For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. ²¹ For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. ²² What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

2 Peter 2:20-22

When we receive salvation, we accept God’s gift of grace. Then He sanctifies us by separating us from the open city (the world) and bringing us to the walled city (His Kingdom). If we continue in our sin, we are like those who sell their homes in a walled city. It’s only a matter of time before we forfeit our salvation forever.

Dear LORD, please help me not to become deceived or beguiled by this world and all the temporary trinkets it offers us. Help me to be Kingdom-Minded and not earthly-minded. Open my eyes to the schemes of the enemy so that I might not sell my eternal treasures for temporary treasures. Help me to run the race set before me with endurance and focus so that I might finish the race. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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²³ Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. ~ 2 Corinthians 11:23^NIV

The early Church had a vastly different understanding of what it means to follow Christ than the Church today. For instance, Paul boasted about going through tribulations because of the name of Jesus. He said he was more of a servant because of the tribulation he faced for the name of Jesus, but today’s Church argues the complete opposite.

They claim only those who are lukewarm will go through tribulation. They claim that God loves us too much to allow us to go through tribulation because we are the Bride and we’re to be spotless. Here’s the thing, we’re to be spotless from sin, not from bloodshed. In fact, why would only the head be flogged, beaten, and hated, but the body loved and protected from all harm?

To receive persecution from the world because of the name of Jesus is a badge of honor, according to Peter and John. It’s a privilege to be counted as a servant of Christ, so why have we deceived ourselves and others that it is a punishment or God’s wrath?

Dear LORD, please renew my mind so that I might understand and accept Your Truth and not my own. Open my eyes, ears, and heart that I might hear and understand. Strengthen my spirit man, so that I might be able to stand strong in the day of trial. Prepare, oh LORD, for what may come in my lifetime. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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³ For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, ⁴ since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments ⁵ and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. ~ 2 Corinthians 10:3-5^CSB

Lately, my biggest battle has been trying to cast down every thought that enters my mind that isn’t of God. I used to think that if you truly lay something down at the feet of Jesus, then you’ll no longer think about it. If you’re truly over it, those thoughts won’t enter your mind, but then I realized that there’s a difference between me dwelling on the past and the enemy shooting darts full of past memories into your mind.

See, it’s when we dwell on the pain and hurt of the past that we hold on to our own burdens instead of giving them to Christ. But when the thought pops into our mind randomly, and we cast it down, that’s no longer our flesh. That’s the enemy trying to force you to pick back up the baggage that we left at the feet of Jesus.

So what do we do? We continue to cast down every thought that isn’t of God. Why? Because we have this promise from the LORD:

⁷ Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:7^CSB

If we resist the Devil and cast down those tempting thoughts that he throws at us, he must flee, and we will overcome through Christ Jesus. It may not happen overnight, but it will happen if we are faithful to the LORD and submit our hearts, minds, and souls to Him.

So, don’t be discouraged by the attacks of the enemy. Fight until you see victory. Cast down evil thoughts and replace them with good thoughts. Replace pain and hurt with love and forgiveness. Replace anxiety with peace. Overcome evil with good.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Cast Down.

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¹⁹ See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. ~ Isaiah 43:19

Renewing your mind is basically changing the way you think. Replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts. Replacing pessimistic words with words of optimism. Casting down the same old, same old, for the fresh and new.

Therefore:

• Do not let circumstances dictate what kind of day you will have
• Do not let someone else’s words disrupt your peace
• Do not let negative thoughts, which are most probably not true in the first place, take up residence in your mind
• Do not speak rash or say the first thing that pops into your mind
• Your thoughts become your words, and your words will eventually lead to your destiny

Why? Because God is doing a new thing. Therefore, the responsibility is on us to tune in to His frequencies by the renewing of our minds. We stop focusing on the things that are now, that are keeping us down, and we start speaking God’s promises instead.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Prepare For The New.

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⁷ For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: ~ Proverbs 23:7^KJV

As humans think, that is who we are. Meaning that we become our most intimate, and most pronounced thoughts. My daughter, Arie, has a quote on her wall which reads:

Watch your thoughts,
they become words.
Watch your words,
they become actions.
Watch your actions,
they become habits.
Watch your habits,
they become your character.
Watch your character,
It becomes your destiny

Your destiny can be determined by something as small as your thoughts, and that is why it is so important and necessary to renew your mind. Basically, your destiny depends on it. The Scripture is as plain as day: if you think about sinful things, you will be dominated by a sinful nature. But if you want to be controlled by the Spirit of God, and if you want to please God and have His peace that passes all understanding, then you must have thoughts that are pleasing to the Spirit.

If you say, “I will never make it,” then you will never make it. Your words determine your destiny. So, watch your words. Be intentional with your words, for the enemy is always watching, looking for a way to trip you up and keep you from reaching your true potential in Christ Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Rewire Your Mind.

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⁵ Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. ⁶ So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. ⁷ For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. ⁸ That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. ~ Romans 8:5-8

Culture shifts daily. It’s an ever-changing, never satisfying, shifting world. Therefore, society needs to have some sort of standard in order to not go into total depravity, which we are not far from today. For instance, today, we have groups of people getting together to promote the normalization of people who feel like dogs. So, they get together and howl together like dogs. They walk around on all fours, barking while on leashes. This is crazy. This is not normal behavior. It seems like society is ‘pulling out all the stops’ in order to make the abnormal normal; we need a balance.

But for that, we need an unchanging standard, which is God, Who is ultimately our final judge. For the Word of God says that the LORD does not change (Malachi 3:6a and Hebrews 13:8). How do we combat this darkness? We start with us. Paul urges us to not let society or popular culture dictate our thoughts and, ultimately, our actions by accepting their perverted notion of morality.

Well, first of all, we must make a conscious decision to make a change. But before we can actually make a change, we must identify the problem or the thing we wish to change, like anger, lust, and other things that God frowns on.

What I mean is to bring our lives into alignment with God. But how do we do that? By knowing what the Word of God says. You can only know what the Word of God says if you read the Word of God for yourself.

Craig Groeschel said, “Our lives move in the direction of our strongest thoughts.”

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Hold To What Is Steady.

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