87. MONITORING YOUR MIND. 1Corinthians 10:5.

Desires of the flesh and desires of the Spirit are both subject to the mind, that’s why our minds constantly need monitoring. There is nothing wrong with most of our desires, but, if not kept under control these desires can very easily lead to lusts like greed, covetousness, theft, alcoholism, sexual immorality etc. Paul tells us in the above Scripture to “Take every thought captive.” that is - before it takes captive of you. Which means you must do this when it first enters your mind. Why? because when you entertain a thought you empower it, and - make no mistake, it WILL overcome you. That’s what opens the door of your mind to Satan and let’s face it, he has had much more experience and practise at this sort of thing than any of us have. In James 4:7 we read “Submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” On your own you don’t have the power to resist Satan, so don’t even try it! But the moment you call on God and submit your will to Him, you will be more than a match for Satan, such is the power of your God, nothing or nobody can stand before Him. You are the only one who has control over your mind. And you are the only one who can decide who you give that control to, The Spirit of God, or to Satan the Liar. The choice is yours alone. In (Romans 8:6) we read “The mind governed by the flesh is Death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” When a thought keeps turning over and over in your mind, Ask yourself “In what direction is this thought leading me? Is it towards spiritual death, or towards life and peace?” Think about it, You don’t buy insurance after a storm has flattened your home, if you are wise, you get it before the storm comes; So instead of failing and saying “I will never be any different” Look back and ask yourself, “What was I thinking that led to my failure? Was I in the wrong company, or the wrong place, or in the wrong mindset? Have I been reading God’s Word and praying regularly? Have I built my life around people who strengthen me? In the long run, monitoring your mind pays great dividends! We all have a natural mindset, but for the committed Christian, that mindset should be based on Biblical ethics, principals and values. which means that everything that passes through your mind goes through what I call a spiritual filter; which is held in place through prayer and a reading of at least one chapter of your Bible each day. Stop doing that and your filter will soon be redundant and fade away! Just think, what would happen to your body if you didn’t shower or brush your teeth daily. As much as your body needs attention, your soul needs it even more, filtered or unfiltered! You are destined to live on after death, that is, to live forever. So the question is not whether we will live or not, rather – the question should be where and who with, in Heaven with your Lord and Saviour, or in hell with Satan and his demons. Now, That’s worth a thought or two. In (1Corinthians 2:-14-16.) we read “The person without The Spirit does not accept the things that come from The Spirit of God… and cannot understand them because they are (Spiritually) discerned ...but we have the mind of Christ.” For you to have the mind of Christ, you have to invite The Spirit of God into your life? If you haven’t done so yet, I suggest you read (John 3:3-21). In this Scripture Jesus emphatically tells us that unless we are born again of water AND the Holy Spirit we cannot see or enter the Kingdom of God. You will be unable to fully accept or understand the Scripture I have just quoted. So, if you want the mind of Christ I urge you to speak to your Pastor or a Spirit-filled member of your church about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the power of God that He can and will bring in to your life. As you programme your life in accordance with God’s word and consciously submit yourself to do His Will everyday, He will plant His thoughts in your mind. That is what is meant by having the mind of Christ. Just ponder that thought for a moment and thank God that He is prepared to trust you with His very thoughts. What a wonderful God we serve! Here is an example of God putting thoughts in your mind. Someone criticises you and your feelings get hurt, The Lord says to you, “Yes, your feelings are hurt, but part of it is just wounded vanity, we can deal with that, I love you despite all your baggage. Your standing with me isn’t at risk. The person who criticised you may see a flaw. But nobody thinks you’re perfect anyway and it’s better not to have to pretend. Here’s a chance to grow, use it. Even though there are elements of pain in these kinds of thoughts, instead of paralysing you, they can energise you. They are true but they give you ground to stand on. And you realise that if you can keep your mind centred on them, the right feelings and actions are more likely to flow from them. Now you are starting to live out the promise. “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you. Because He trusts in you.”(Isaiah 26:3) Instead of focusing on your critics, learn to focus on God, on your spiritual growth, and on what you can learn from the experience. Thank you for reading these thoughts on “Monitoring our minds” As our eyes are the windows of our Soul, so I believe the mind is the path to our Eternal Destiny; which God Himself lights up through His Word and stretches out before us as we travel the road He has planned for each of us to take while we follow Him. May He Bless our minds today. Phaline.

86. TURN YOUR LOSS INTO GAIN Judges 11.

In the above Scripture you will find Jephthah the illegitimate son of a man called Giliad. His mother was a prostitute. Jephthah grew-up in the household of Giliad’s other legitimate sons who later chased him away. Saying to him “You will not get any of our father’s inheritance.” (Judges 11:2) So he ended up living in a cave. While there, he gathered a band of misfits and rebels together trained and developed them into a great army and when the Ammonites threatened Israel, the Elders turned to him for help. But Jephthah said to them. “Aren’t you the ones who hated me and turned me from my father’s house? Why do you come to me now that you are in trouble?” (You will always come across fare weather friends, and although one doesn’t need to be rude and refuse to help them, it’s wise to let them know that in spite of their attitude and guilt towards you, as a “Christian” you are prepared to help them. The Elders replied, “Because we need you, If you lead us in battle against the Ammonites, we will make you ruler over all the people of Gilead”. Sometimes a piece of ‘Humble Pie’ and acknowledged guilt along with restitution makes forgiveness a little easier and more valid. and can produce great dividends. Not only did Jephthah gain the victory, he’s named with honour alongside people like Abraham, Moses and David. His life is rich with lessons. And here’s one of the important ones Never be put down by rejection, it can very easily be part of God’s plan for your life at this stage, think of Joseph and his brothers! God might just want to see where and to whom you turn when rejection comes your way. Jephthah was rejected because of circumstances beyond his control, Remember his mother was a prostitute so he was illegitimate. But instead of growing bitter, he moved on and did something good with his life. Perhaps You have been rejected because you were too young, too old, too dumb or too intelligent, pretty, ugly, or poor or privileged, attractive or unattractive, male or female, black or white. etc. By God’s Grace Jephthah took an ugly situation and turned it into a beautiful one. And if you turn your situation over to God today, that same grace is available to you. When Israel’s leaders turned to Jephthah for help they were in distress and wanted “to use” him. So in essence this is what he replied to them. “Let’s get a proper understanding of what this relationship with you is going to mean” At that point he negotiated with them and ended up in a top leadership position. When your trust has been violated, you need to forgive. By doing so you set yourself free. But you must exercise wisdom in how to move forward. God doesn’t expect you to put yourself in a position to be hurt again. Perhaps you’ve heard the story of the guy who went to the Doctor with a severe burn on his right ear. The man explained “I was watching TV while doing the ironing when the phone rang, and I picked up the iron instead of the phone.” Puzzled, the doctor asked but how did you get the other burn on your left ear?” The man exclaimed, “Because they called back.”da! Bottom line, when you’ve been burned by someone, be careful about putting yourself in a position where you can be burned by them over and over again. Forgiveness must be immediate. God demands it, and you are better off for doing so. However, trust must be earned Your offender must show the fruit of repentance – consistent behaviour that gives evidence that he or she has had a change of heart. In Matthew (3:8) Jesus said, “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. We all need these two things. Grace and Wisdom. Grace to extend to others the same forgiveness that God has extended to us Wisdom means, Knowing what kind of relationship you can have with that person in the future. The same people who declared Jephthah “persona non grata” were the same people who turned to him for help when they were threatened by a powerful enemy. So here’s lesson one; Other people don’t determine your future, God does! The Israelites were living in slavery when God made them this promise in Jeremiah (29:11) “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord they are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” So you can be sure God’s plan for you will prevail over every other plan for you. Now lesson 2: A unity walk requires unity talk In Judges (1:12) we read:- Jepthah embraced the new relationship. And then sent messengers to the Ammonite king with this question, “What do you have against me that you have attacked my country”. Note the words “me and my country” He put the hurts of the past behind him and fully embraced the cause. One author puts it this way, “He was ready to walk in unity” and a unity walk requires unity talk. You will be surprised at the impact unity talk will have on your attitude and relationships. You will find yourself less critical of others once you make such “team talk” a habit. That doesn’t mean you will always see eye-to-eye on every issue, it just means the cause and the vision you share are greater than your differences of thought and opinion. In Ephesians (4:3) Scripture tells us :- (Make every effort (means You have to work at it) to be united in the Spirit (not necessarily in opinion) Binding yourselves together with peace.” Thank you for reading how to turn your “Loss into Gain.” Peace among the people of God has a High priority on the list of Spiritual Gifts. It is also one of the first words Christ spoke when addressing His friends after The Resurrection. “Peace be with you” If peace is missing or disturbed in our relationships, we know Satan is at work trying to delete, destroy or even kill our Community. Don’t let that happen. Pray daily for the Peace of The Spirit of God to reign over our Hearts, our homes, our Communities and our Country. God bless. Phaline

85. HOW TO DEAL WITH DOUBT. John 20:25

Have you ever doubted? Do you ever have doubts? Will you ever doubt? Of course the answer to all three of the previous questions is a resounding YES. You are not the first and certainly not the last person to doubt the existence of God and His Scripture. Some people, not having received what they thought they were entitled to from God, throw their hands in the air, pull out the plug and allow the baby to go down the plug-hole with the bathwater; hoping this God business will just go away, but it usually doesn’t!. It will hang around their minds and conscience sometimes for years until it is dealt with one way or the other. Once we know about the existence of God, we have to make a definite choice to accept or reject Him. He will keep pursuing us until we do. Either we get to know Him rather than ABOUT Him, or turn our backs on Him completely, and decide not to have anything to do with Him. That doesn’t necessarily mean we deny His existence, it means we don’t want to have anything to do with Him; certainly not at this stage of our lives If we choose this, He may leave us alone for a while and allow us to see how we get on without Him But remember, Death doesn’t always give a warning, Scripture says, “If to-day you hear His voice, harden not your heart” None of us knows what’s around the next corner. One thing is sure, God will always let you know when and where you can find Him. If we decide on the former, God will help us by turning-up in one form or another, to show His Love, His Faithfulness, His kindness, His power patience etc. You probably wont understand it at the time, but there will be no doubt as to who has changed circumstances to accommodate you and your doubts. And this will happen in the most unusual places, times and conditions. Just as it did with Thomas the Apostle. Thomas wasn’t there when Jesus appeared to His Disciples after the resurrection. He, like many of us, didn’t accept other people’s experiences they just weren’t good enough for Thomas – He had to have his own experience and form his own opinion. Isn’t that so like us! And Jesus made sure he got that opportunity. Notice, Jesus didn’t put Thomas down for doubting, He understands that any queries arising from an honest heart isn’t a sceptical question, it’s a search for truth. And ultimately isn’t that what we are all wanting? Especially in today’s world, and we should settle for nothing less. Therefore we need to search, find and live by it. And I venture to say the best and only place we can be sure to find that truth is in our Bibles Why? Because The World, Our countries, Our Governments, Our educational systems and even some of the churches have let us down. So we turn to Jesus Christ who is The Truth, The Life and The Way. He alone is the one we can trust. Please, Please; Don’t trust or believe what you hear or read from any other source until you have checked it out with a good Bible. A good teacher will always cross-reference their words with Scripture. The Bible tells us; that after eight days the Disciples were once again inside, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came...stood in the midst of them, and said, “Peace be to you” Then He said to Thomas ‘Reach out your finger here, and look at my hands, and reach your hand here, and put it into my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ And Thomas answered Him with these words; “My Lord and my God” (John 20 :26-28) We glean two important lessons from this story 1. Your doubts can actually lead you to a new level of faith. When the bottom drops out of your world, When the pain of your circumstances becomes unbearable, when a shattering event occurs and doubt marches in unannounced, don’t deny it – acknowledge it. Times of doubt can be classrooms of learning when they drive you to God for answers. As you work your way through them, you reach a new level of faith. (2) Your doubts can lead you to a stronger and deeper personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The Testimony of others will only carry you so far. Ultimately you will need your own deep, strong, personal experience with The Son of God. And you can have it! You will know without a shadow of a doubt that when something happens or is achieved that could not have occurred or been accomplished without the express Hand, Will or Purpose of God. You will know and have your own experience. On that, one day you will see for yourself God in action. Don’t miss it! It will change your prospective and strengthen your faith. Thomas started out doubting Jesus and ended up dying as a martyr for His cause. Think about that!. Some of us have taken the message of Christianity and put it in a box marked ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Ever feel like you need permission to cry when you lose a loved one? Or feel intimidated about admitting, “I really don’t know for certain?” The story of doubting Thomas teaches us that not only is it okay to doubt – sometimes it’s even necessary! If you don’t know, you wont grow. You’ll wind up with somebody else’s answers, and in many cases they will be inadequate for your questions – even if you are honest enough to ask them. Has some well-meaning religious soul pushed you into a corner and tried to make you believe that your questions are an offence to Christ? If so, it’s time to listen anew to the tender words of the one who knows your doubts and fears better than you do; ‘Peace be with you.’ He said… ‘Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe.’ (John 20:26-27) It’s okay to pray ‘Lord, like Thomas, I still struggle with doubts. I haven’t got my life all together yet, not until I am with you will that happen. Thank you for accepting me in my struggles and not ignoring my questions. Thomas reached the place where he could say “My Lord and my God” Thank you for being patient with me as I strive to reach that place as well.’ So how do we get through our doubts? Like Thomas! By facing them honestly, bringing them to Jesus, and growing spiritually as a result of them. If you need help, Go to your Pastor or the Elders of your church they are always ready and willing to help. Thank you for reading these words on dealing with our doubts. Whether we have grown up inside or outside church, we all have doubts. Satan’s greatest weapon from the time of Adam has been to make us doubt Our God. But Jesus called him The father of lies, so don’t follow him, he will entice you far away from God and right into the pit of hell. Stay with the One who loves you, has given His life for you and only wants the very best for you. God Bless Phaline.