When The Spirit Separates Itself From The Flesh We Experience Total Freedom

 

We are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are His creation and created in His image. Adam was created in His image and likeness but through the Fall he lost His likeness. We too bear His image and now are being transformed into His likeness. This is a process so that one day we will be like Jesus when we see Him as He is. Now we only see dimly and so we only know Him dimly. The clearer our vision of Him, the greater our likeness to Him. To be like Him is to be like Him in His nature or character. This is what we all yearn to be but our flesh life continues to dictate our behaviour. What is the way out of this dilemma?

 

God has put His Spirit within us to help us to be like Him. We cannot be like Him by following rules or imitating certain behaviours. That is just an outward show. The real you is in you and is revealed in times of crisis. In these times, the outward show will collapse and the real you will come forth. It is like wearing make-up and the real you is revealed when the make-up is washed off. We can fool others most of the time but we cannot fool God. God has given us a solution, which is to submit to Him and He will do the rest. Our will must submit to His will.

 

God commands us to be filled with His Spirit and to walk by His Spirit. This means we have to die to our flesh to be free from its demands. We are then free to follow Him. In the Spirit we will walk in His likeness. He has given us His own Spirit who helps us in our time of need. He will help us in our weakness and make us strong. Nothing is impossible for Him, so that the worst sinner can be transformed by His Spirit. All we have to do now is to be filled and overflow with His Spirit, by praying much in tongues. He will then flow through us and the more we walk in this way, the more we will be like Him.

God Is Interested More In Your Character Than Your Gifts.

 

God created us in His image. This means that we carry in us the divine design that reflects His personality and gifts. God’s attributes are the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, patience, gentleness and self-control. We are to grow in these characteristics to supplement our faith. Without these additions to our faith we are but a clanging cymbal and a noisy gong, or a cloud with no rain. Many in these days go after the gifts as if they are emblems of God's presence and favour. However these can be just a show and when trouble comes such people fail. Only our Godly character can withstand troubled times. Our gifts are only for a season and will disappear when we go to heaven. In His presence there is no need for gifts. In His glorious presence He is all in all.

 

Character is not automatic. This is to do with maturity. Our character matures as we practice God’s attributes in our relationships with others. Jesus commanded that we love our enemies. How is this possible when we have difficulty loving our family and friends? This is only possible by the Spirit. His Spirit in us enables us to operate in the gifts and also the fruit of the Spirit. However we need to be submissive to Him. This means we have to surrender our will to His will in all areas of our lives. Sunday Christianity will not do. Only a surrendered life will do.

 

We either choose to walk according to our flesh or according to the Spirit. The world cannot do this as they do not have the Spirit of Christ. We can do this because we are born again in the spirit and have His Spirit within us. In these last days there will be a separation of the wheat from the tares. Light and darkness will be more obvious, and there will be no place for compromise. Therefore, we will be either radical for Christ or against Him. I choose to be radical for Him. What about you?

How To Differentiate Between Your Soul and Your Spirit

 

Our spirit was redeemed when we accepted Jesus as Saviour and Lord. Our soul is in the process of being redeemed as it is still under the influence of sin. Sin has no more power over us unless we choose to give into it. Our soul continues to rule our lives through our thoughts, feelings and will. We have to submit to the Holy Spirit who lives in our spirit. When we do so we bring captive every thought to the obedience of Christ. This is to be led by the Spirit and to walk in the Spirit. We were so accustomed to our soul life for this is what we experienced since we were born. However things changed when we were born again. Our spirit experienced new birth and now we have to choose to walk according to the Spirit or according to the demands of our soul.

 

Our soul is influenced by the world, the devil and our senses. Our senses are prone to receive from the world and the devil because we have not been fully redeemed. We have to go through the process of sanctification of our soul till it is fully redeemed. This is a life-long process. Even Paul at the end of his life said he is the chief of sinners (1 Tim 1:15). But for the grace of God none of us would be fit for heaven. This is why Jesus came to be the perfect sacrifice for us that we may inherit eternal life. Our soul always seeks to please itself. We need to transformed by the renewal of our mind.

 

Our spirit is redeemed and has access to the Holy Spirit. We now have to read and meditate on the word of God to be transformed from our old ways to the ways of the Lord. The Bible is the inspired, infallible word of God. Our spirit will influence our soul and choose to walk according to the word of God. We will love His word because it nourishes us and edifies us. We unlearn our old ways and adopt new ways of doing things. We learn to love ourselves and love our neighbour. This is a reprogramming process. It does not happen automatically when we are born again. We have to train ourselves to be worthy servants who choose between right and wrong. Many misinterpret His word and compromise. God's word is absolute truth. When we choose to follow Him we become like Him and will do His works.

What Is Your Narrative? Mine Is The Word Of God.

 

We all have narratives that determine our walk in life. Our narratives influence our world view and therefore the stance we take in politics, moral values etc. If we are liberal then we tend to be inclusive and accepting of others. If we are conservative we tend to be restrictive and exclusive. These narratives are made over time and also tend to be familial. We tend to hold to that which runs in our family of origin. Some of us will actively rebel against these family views and become the black sheep in the family. Family values have a powerful way of running our lives. Some ruin us and others strengthen us. Understanding your narrative may give you some understanding of why you behave in certain ways. They are powerful propellers that drive our daily lives.

 

Narratives born out of worldly systems tend to support worldly attitudes. Worldly attitudes tend to be largely amoral and therefore are largely selfish and callous. People with such attitudes are concerned about themselves and no one else. The world is driven by greed and lust for power and self aggrandisement. In such a narrative there is little concern for the other person. Everything is driven by a lust to improve one's lot at the expense of others. One can see this played out in our world where decisions are made purely based on self interest. This may work for a while but ultimately is self destructive. Addictions and other selfish states often arise from a lust based on greed and power. The lust for power usually is the driver.

 

A Godly narrative based on the Word of God, on the other hand, is primarily driven by the love of God and a love for God. God has revealed Himself to man and those who find Him find true love. God's love always serves and never controls. Father God loves His creation. He sent His own Son Jesus to redeem mankind. He created us and now longs to bring us back into His fold. We were lost in this fallen world and now He leads us to Himself. We choose to follow Him. This narrative will drive us to Him and life eternal. Come drink from His well and be saved today from a worldly narrative to a Godly narrative.

Fix Your Heart On The Healer, Not On Your Healing.

 

 

God is a Healer. His perfect will is to heal all who come to Him, because Jesus healed all who came to Him. Why then do we see many not healed after years of prayer? Could it be because we are waiting for our healing rather than fixing our heart on the Healer? Sickness and disease could be a distraction like symptoms are to the body. A painful little toe can take all our attention and we forget that the rest of our body is well. We spend so much time being distracted by the painful toe and neglect the rest of our body. The devil sends us distractions to keep us focussed on our symptoms rather than keeping our heart fixed on our Creator. This is the time to shift our attention and treat our symptoms as irritations sent to distract us.

 

Jesus came that we may be delivered from the devil. He came to destroy the works of the devil. The devil is the god of this world and he can only affect us if we give into temptation. He sends diseases and disorders to keep us from our assignment given by God. Paul had some thorn that affected him and yet God allowed it. He said God's  grace was sufficient to keep him. He did not let this distract him from his mission. We too are called to keep our heart fixed on God and He will take care of our symptoms. Nothing can touch us when we acknowledge Jesus as Lord. He is Lord of our body and He is our Healer.

 

Today let us remember that the Healer lives in us. When we keep our heart fixed on Him then everything else will flow from Him. Nothing is too hard for the Lord. We belong to Him and He will take care of us. He has promised us abundant life and we accept nothing less here and now. The devil has no right to us and thus we can cancel any and every power he has over us. We are free to be as God has called us to be.

Your Thoughts Are Powerful To Tear Down Or Build Up.

 

Your thoughts are constantly being processed even when you are not aware of them. Most of us are only partially conscious of the thoughts passing through our mind. It is like a computer processing information that is coming through our senses. We smell something or see something or hear something and all these are being processed. Our thoughts elicit, for example, love or fear responses. These thoughts then fire off our feelings and actions. Fearful thoughts elicit anxiety and dread and we withdraw or break out in a sweat. Once we become aware of our thoughts then we can do something about them. However most of the time we are unaware of these thoughts and only experience our feelings.

 

Most of our thoughts are at a subconscious level. When we decide to focus on our thoughts we will be able to identify some of the trigger thoughts that spark off our healthy or unhealthy feelings. Once we become aware of our unhealthy thoughts we can capture them and analyse them. Are these thoughts true or false? Can they be challenged and reversed? This process of analysis and change is what the Bible calls the transformation of our minds (Romans 12:2) . We are transformed through the renewal of our minds. These culprit thoughts are like a telegram, short and sharp. They lie below our conscious thoughts. Some examples of unhealthy thoughts are as follows: I am a failure; I will never amount to anything; I am a loser. Challenge these thoughts with thoughts based on what God says about you: You are fearfully and wonderfully made; You are a winner; You have been destined for greatness.

 

When we become aware of the power of our thoughts then we will begin to monitor them more consciously. Our dreams are a signal of the the type of thoughts we entertain. When we sleep we are less prone to filter our thoughts. Fearful dreams maybe an indicator of entertaining fearful thoughts. Replace those fearful thoughts with thoughts of love and peace. Our thoughts are precursors to our words. We can speak aloud against these fearful thoughts and cancel them. They can be demolished by our words. God's words spoken aloud are like cannons that blast mountains to dust. Every mountain of disease and disorder will disintegrate at the Name of Jesus.

Imprisoned By Rules Or Liberated By Grace. You Choose.

 

Rules regulate our daily lives. Without rules we will be chaotic and head nowhere. Rules like laws were instituted to regulate life. God gave us the Ten Commandments for right living. However over-regulation will limit our freedom to be creative. In fact we were born in rebellion and so all we do is break rules. However there is another way. It is called the way of grace. God initially introduced laws to reveal how wicked our hearts are. We were born in sin and sin always breaks laws. I in myself is not good or bad but the sin in me makes me choose what is bad. This is what is described as Paul’s Romans 7 experience. Many are born again but still live in Romans 7.

 

There is a way out. Thanks be to God in Jesus we are no more bound by rules. It is not that we now do not uphold the law but our hearts have changed to do more than what the Ten Commandments require. This is the law of grace. This is the Romans 8 experience. How sad to see that many still prefer the old ways of pleasing God by rules. In the flesh we are proud to display our righteousness by boasting about our good works. Yet we know that our good works can never satisfy the righteous requirement of God. How foolish we are to keep in the old ways when the new has come to deliver us from our old ways.

 

Today Jesus is calling us to abide in Him as He abides in us. No more toiling and labouring under the old master. We have a new master who has paid the price for sin. Jesus’ death on the Cross paid the price and delivered us from the law of sin. Now we are free to live lives free from the power of sin and free to live abundant lives. No more labouring under the old tutelage but free to be me. I am so grateful for the salvation I enjoy in Jesus. Come and join me in the river of life and live.

Think Your Way To Health, Wealth And Prosperity.

 

God is good and He desires the best for His children. He has revealed His will to us through His word. However few search the scriptures to know His will. Most fear God as He is perceived as a judge and not a Father. God is a God of love and justice. He is truth and His truth is absolute. His truth is not an opinion but absolute truth, which is a certainty based on His character. God judges fairly and in Him there is no fear. We fear that which we are guilty of. For example, we fear punishment because of our sin. God provided the solution for our sin in Jesus. Now we are free to be His children who can call Him Father.

 

God's promises are true and never change. Apostle John prayed that his friend Gaius be in health in his body even as his soul prospers (3 John 1:2). This means that as we are changed by His word we receive His goodness. We are changed and transformed by His word. It is like brain washing. We need to be transformed in our thinking to be changed, healed and restored. God's word reveals Himself to us and we become like Him as we gaze into His face. We are transformed from a beast to a beauty. We are transformed from our carnal self to our Christ-like self. Our thoughts are renewed in line with His word. We learn to trust His word more than our thoughts or the opinions of others.

 

Prosperity is our lot when we walk with the Lord. Poverty is not God's will for us. God is a rich God. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. In heaven the roads are paved with gold. Poverty is of the devil whose agenda is to steal, kill and destroy. God's will is that we prosper not only in wealth but in health and in our soul. Therefore let us today begin to trust His word, meditate on His word and be transformed into His image. We are called to be priests and kings and we must think like a Priest and a King.  We become what we think in our innermost thoughts.

My Journey From Ill Health To Divine Health. Prophetic.

 

I would like to share my journey from believing in divine healing to living in divine health. I have always believed in divine healing. Yet I continue to be challenged by disorders like diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. I have experienced God’s healings, some miraculous and others gradual. I have believed in praying for others for divine healing. Some have been healed and others continue to struggle. I have questions about why some get healed and others don't. Some die in health and others die after an illness. In an imperfect world there are imperfect answers. In heaven there is no sickness or disease. Jesus was never sick when He walked on earth. Yet we have the same Holy Spirit who indwells us and we have been promised healing and health. Why then do we see so many sick amongst us?

 

I don't have a definitive answer to this. However I know God heals today. I have experienced two miraculous healings. I suffered from psoriasis for over a year. Suddenly it all disappeared one day and it was as if I never had it. On another occasion I was leading a prayer meeting but was having a severe sore throat. I was prayed for during the meeting and suddenly it disappeared as if it was never there. In another case, my painful knees were healed over time. Now I can play tennis without the need for knee braces. I am looking forward to being healed of diabetes and hypertension. I will remain in faith to see this come to pass one day.

 

Now I have entered a new phase of believing in divine health. As a doctor I was trained to diagnose disease. My whole training was focused on studying diseases. Very little of my training was to do with health. However God is in the business of divine health. He has promised us health and prosperity as our soul prospers. God never sends diseases to us. This is the doing of the enemy. God reverses sickness and disease. Therefore we can believe  that God's perfect will is divine health for us. I have to change my thinking, from thinking ill health to thinking health. Moses at 120 years was reported to be in the health of a young man. The children of Israel never suffered disease or decay when they left Egypt. We must believe God when He says He wants us to be made whole not sick. Today let us choose to walk in divine health.

Heart To Heart Communication Is An Art.

 

Heart to heart communication is to many a challenge. We see children communicate what they feel without any inhibition. Out of the mouth of a child truth is spoken. Yet as they grow up they lose this innocence and become sophisticated and lies are covered up nicely. They lose the art of true communication. There are so many meanings in one word and some of us get confused and ask what did he/she really mean? We misunderstand and make assumptions, which complicates matters. One lie is covered up with another lie and in the end all we do is communicate lies. This was not our intention but this is what happens. How do we recover this lost art of communication from our heart?

 

We need to go back to basics and be honest in our communication. The best communication is to be open and direct. The worst kind is to be indirect and closed. Open communication is to tell the truth as we know it with no hidden agendas. We say what we mean and nothing else. We speak from our heart with no filters. When we filter what we say we begin to have to tell some white lies. We get into the position of being politically correct. In this process we lose the ability to be honest about our true feelings. We see this played out in the media and in our daily conversations. We do this not to hurt the feelings of others, but in reality we hurt them more than ever. Relationships suffer because no one knows where the truth lies. 

 

To recover the art of heart to heart communication is possible. All we need to do is to stop the bad habit of filtering everything we say with our mind. We therefore say what we mean and take the risk of being rejected. Consequently, after a while people will begin to trust us for our honesty rather then reject us. We become open and vulnerable. Jesus spoke from His heart and opened up the communication to the woman at the well and she asked, “Are you a prophet?". Truth is painful at times but it changes and transforms relationships. Relationships built on trust and openness are able to sustain every attack and challenge. It is like building a house on the rock. Today is a good day to start communicating from your heart and thus transform your relationships.

Judgement Belongs To The Lord. So Why Do We Judge Others ?

 

The Bible says that judgement belongs to the Lord. Yet we are so quick to judge the behaviour of others! Why is this so? I think this is the result of our own soul that struggles to deal with sinful behaviours in our own lives. It is easy to judge others and feel better in ourselves for it. The Bible has a lot to say about hypocrisy. We blind ourselves to our own sin when we judge others. This is one way we defend ourselves. The Pharisees were masters at keeping the law but their hearts were far from God. Jesus pointed this hypocrisy out to them and was threatened with death. Their hatred was displayed for all to see. Our hearts are deceptive and we easily fall into this hypocritical state of mind. What is the way of escape?

 

Total transparency is the only way to keep ourselves from judging and condemning others. We all operate in roles. We have a work role, church role, home role etc. We behave differently in these roles. It is as if we operate as different persons in these roles. The work role may so overtake our life that we feel we are nothing outside that role. We forget that we are more than our work role. Work is only part of our daily life but ca Judgement Belongs To The Lord. So Why Do We Judge Others ?n be all-consuming. A role is necessary to carry out a function. However when the role takes over our personality we are in danger of sacrificing our life for the role. When a husband behaves like a manager at home, he becomes a control freak rather than a loving husband. 

 

Transparency results in us becoming aware of our fallen state. We are slow to judge others and quick to confess our own weaknesses. We walk a repented life knowing that we would go the same way as a fallen brother but for God’s grace. This may not be the cool thing to do  amongst most people who live fake lives. However this is the only way to live a Godly life. There will be less defensiveness and more openness and others will trust us more. This is the only way to keep us from error. Apostle Paul said he would rather boast of his weaknesses than his victories. Why? To keep him always humbled before the Lord who knows our hearts. Therefore stop judging others and leave judgement to the Lord. This is the best place to be with God and with others.

God's Word Is His Lifeline For Humanity.

 

God's word has survived from the beginning of time. His word has gone through many generations of conflict and destruction. His word is the light to the world. Yet the world rejects His word. Why do we reject His word when it is life and health to us? This is Satan's strategy. He knows God’s word will bring life and he is the author of death. He will therefore try every means to rob humanity of His word. Neglect His word and reap the consequences: sickness and death. Trust His word and live. There is no other way to live. Man's wisdom cannot replace God's word. Jesus said man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Mat 4:4).

 

His word is the only hope for the world. Jesus came as His living word and lived amongst man, died and rose again. The word of God and Jesus are the same. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God. Now we can see how Satan wants to deprive the world of God’s word. His word will never be replaced. Communism tried to replace His word but failed. His word is power. His power is released as His word is preached. His word is the bread of life. A life deprived of His word is a shell with no life. His Spirit is in His word. Therefore when we eat His word we become one in spirit with Him.

 

Why then do men reject His word? The spirit of the world has blinded men so that they may see but not see. It is this spiritual blindness that is sending many to hell. Living without His word is like living in hell. His word nourishes and waters the soul like no other. It is so vital in these days of confusion and chaos. Now is the time that His word is preached with power to save souls from eternal damnation. Pray that the spiritual blindness will be removed and that men may see and be saved. There is no other way to be saved. Jesus is the way the truth and the life. His way is through His word. His word is truth and those who find it have life. Come to the river of life and be revived.