God Knows Our Thoughts

Our Thoughts

This can come as alarming to some that God actually knows our thoughts. He is the one who created us and He knows all about us and loves us. He does not look at our fallen state but our redeemed state in His Son. This is so profound that He could still love us despite our fallen state. Our thoughts are mainly from our soul realm. We are influenced by so many voices around us. Many of these voices are negative and we entertain these negative thoughts. God has provided us with a way of escape through His Holy Spirit who lives in us.

Holy Spirit

In the Spirit we can overcome all negative thoughts and feelings. When we become aware of our negative thoughts we can distance ourselves from them and bring them to submission to Christ. The more we walk in the Spirit the more we will become able to overcome. Our negative thoughts are our battle ground. We have allowed these thoughts to remain and so they have become part of us. The whole process of transformation is to be transformed in our minds. This happens as we yield to the Spirit in us.

Solution

God has provided for us an escape through His promises in His word. We need to replace our thoughts with His positive word. We should not allow the devil to rob us of our inheritance in Christ. We have a bright future and hope. God wants the best for us and our destiny is already recorded in our books in heaven. All we have to do is to trust Him to bring it to pass as we trust in Him. This is the only way to live a holy life acceptable to Him. He has provided for us, for He knows our weaknesses and will strengthen us in our time of need. Let us look to Him to complete what He has begun in us.

Whose Report Will You Believe?

God's Report

God has written His report in His word. We read other reports which are man made. Whose reports will we believe? God's word was written to reveal His mind to us. His word was sent that we may know the mind of God. He created us and gave us laws to abide by for our good. However man had other ideas and decided to rebel. God has written His report in His word. We read other reports which are man made. Whose reports will we believe? God's word was written to reveal His mind to us. His word was sent that we may know the mind of God. He created us and gave us laws to abide by for our good. What we see around us of death and destruction is the result of following our own ideas. God had planned that we would live forever but through our own wilfulness rejected His ways. We decided we would run our own lives. The seed of Satan planted in us through rebellion continues to work destruction in us. What is the way out?

Man's Report

We need to get back to following our Creator and His ways. His ways are clearly laid out in the Bible. We can choose to read His written word and obey it or not. We have all been given a choice. When we do what He says, we will reap the fruits of obedience. When we choose to love we will reap love. When we choose to lie, we will become a lie. What we sow we will reap. We are not alone as He sent His own Spirit to help us do what is right. Why then do many choose to do it their way? This is the root of all our problems. Pride entered our heart and pride keeps us from doing what is right. In Romans 7 Paul describes this dilemma very clearly. He says we know what is right to do but do what is wrong. 

Our Choice

In these last days God is asking us to choose His ways as recorded in His Word. He promises us an abundant life free from the cares and toils of this world. How is this possible when we live in a world torn apart by differences and lies? We can only do this when we realise we are spirit beings who can live life in the Spirit. God has chosen to make His residence in us. His Kingdom is in us. We can live life like heaven on earth when we live in the Spirit. He has given us eternal life in the spirit. What a solution for man's fallen state. Now we have to choose daily whom we will follow. Let us choose to follow Jesus who is the Author and Finisher of our faith.

The Same Power That Raised Jesus From The Dead Lives In You.

Resurrection Power

Wow, what power resides in us yet how little we experience this power! Why is this so? I believe this is so only because we have only a mental assent of this power. Most of us know a lot about the Bible but few of us have entered into the experience of it. We can only access this power if we are baptised in the Spirit. Jesus was with the disciples and yet they only had limited power. It is only after His ascension that the Holy Spirit came to indwell them at Pentecost. What a transformation took place then. Signs and miracles followed the preaching of the word. Dunamis power was released amongst them. The sick got healed and the captives got delivered. 

Power Available Today

This same power is available to us today. We must believe and receive this power from on high. We have testimonies of people like Smith Wigglesworth that walked in this power and raised people from the dead. How many of us desire to walk in this power? This will turn our world upside down. God is still the same God. He has not changed. We have compromised and made the gospel safe and trendy. We are like clouds without rain. There is no manifestation of the Spirit in us. We have been slowly induced into a state of apathy. This is the sorry state of the church today. How can we change but by believing and receiving  His Spirit in fullness.

Avail Of The Power

This is possible today and I want to enter into all that God has prepared for me. All of us have books written about us in heaven but few of us fulfil all that is written. We have to press in and obtain the promises God has promised. He said seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you. This means physical and mental health too. Is this not the answer to all the sickness and turmoil we face in the world today? The church has the answer and the world is waiting for the revelation of the sons of God. Now is the time to stand up and believe that there is no greater power than the resurrection power that resides in us.

Faith Without Works Is Dead

Faith

Without faith we cannot please God. He who comes to God must believe that He is. This means we must trust that He is who He says He is. We cannot come to God through reason because our reasoning is finite. God is Spirit and our finite thinking will fail to comprehend Him. We must believe before we can receive this revelation. Once we have received then we can act on what we believe. If our believe is only a mental activity then all we have is a god made in our own image. This is a waste of time and energy as idols created by man to replace God only serve our own desires. This is where most religions are stuck in worshipping god created in their own image. Satan wanted to be like God and so he fell from his glorious position in heaven.

Action

Faith is action. Faith will produce fruits. Faith the Bible says is the substance( title deed) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. When we operate in faith we can expect to receive what we hope for and this applies to all areas of life. God is Spirit and we are spirit beings and so when we operate in the Spirit we are able to access His riches in heaven. This applies to our physical and mental needs not just our spiritual needs.When we receive we are able to share this with others. Others will benefit from what we receive. The same glory that Jesus has He shares with us.  We now can share of this glory with others.

Personal Experience

Faith without works therefore is like clouds without rain. Our faith in a living God must translate into action. I have experienced God's blessing and favour in all areas of my life. I want to share His goodness with others. God called us for a purpose and this is to bless others. We are called to bless others who are not as fortunate as us. Feed the poor and look after the widow and lonely. These are all works of faith. We see this in how hospitals and schools were established because faith resulted in works of charity. Let us today expect to see God move in our lives to bless others through our works. Even a smile can change a life.

Love God, Love Others, Love Yourself.

Loving God

Jesus said all the commandments are fulfilled in this commandment, "Love God with all your heart and love your neighbour as yourself". The Ten Commandments were given for our good to guide us in what is good and acceptable. Man added to these commandments to shackle us with rules and regulations which were burdensome. Jesus came to set us free from these laws by giving us the law of love and life. His law is love and love fulfils all the commandments and rules to govern life. Laws are like boundaries. They protect us and keep us safe from danger. Break the law and it will break you. 

Loving Others

Loving God appears to be easy. However the love for God is seen in our love for others. The way we show we love God is through our love for our fellow human beings. This is the litmus test for our love for God. Some may say this is unfair as God is all loving but humans are not. Yet Jesus command is to love our enemies. Who can fulfil this command? With God all things are possible. If God said it than it must be possible. Yet in real life we struggle with this commandment to love our enemies. This is because we are trying to do it in our own strength. In His Spirit it is possible to love our enemies. Jesus loved Judas even though He knew he would betray Him.

Loving Self

We must first love ourselves to be able to love others. In the Spirit we can love ourselves despite all our failings and traumas. God's love can do the impossible. We cannot love others if we do not first love ourselves. We were made in the image of God. When we see ourselves as God sees us then we will love ourselves as He loves us. Today let us turn our eyes from self to God and see the transformation take place. His love will so change us that we will be able to love anyone as Jesus loves all and died for all. Our relationships will change and peace will fill our homes as we love as He loves.

Will You Welcome Jesus Into Your Home Today? If Not Why Not?

Question

This is a confronting question but worth asking. How will things have to change if Jesus came home to stay? Will my daily routines have to change? Will my friendships have to change? Will my talk have to change? What about what I watch on television and online? Maybe we have to do an audit to see how much change we will have to make  if Jesus moves in. However He lives in us. He is resident in our life through the Holy Spirit. Yet most of the time we are not aware of His presence or are we? Jesus said He had no place to lay His head down. Why was this so? People were happy to follow Him from a distance but when persecution came they all left  Him.

Lordship

Has anything changed today? Are we happy to have Jesus to meet our needs but keep Him at a distance? Many call Him Lord but do we really understand what it means to say He is Lord? Our conscience has been so seared by the culture we live in that we don't even know what sin is! We have accommodated to the culture we live in and nothing appears to upset us. We do things all in the name of tolerance and love. Is it loving to tolerate evil? Yet this is what we are doing in our churches. We have a good time and hear nice messages that keep us comfortable and warm. Jesus came to upset the status quo. He did not bring peace but division. So what was the peace He was talking about?

Audit

In this world we will face challenges that will confront us and we have to make a choice for good or evil. There is no compromise as compromise means we have given in to evil. We cannot compromise with sin. We cannot cover it with nice clothes and perfume. It is still sin. It is time for us to do an audit and ask ourselves the question. Will Jesus be comfortable to live with us or will He be left outside? I am challenged by this question and have to do a daily audit to stop doing things which I know I will not do or say if Jesus is in my home. Judge yourself is a good way to start the process of cleaning up my own house. His peace is real when we make Him Lord.

Believers Are In The World But Not Of The World

World

This world is not our home. Our home is in heaven and we are just visiting down here. This may sound weird to some who live as if this world is all there is. In Christ we have been saved out of this world and become part of the Kingdom of God. Our Kingdom is of another realm. Jesus said this when he responded to Pilate and said His Kingdom is not of this earth. We too must live life like this, so that we can win many over to the Kingdom of God. However we don't see this difference between the world and the church today. The church has allowed the world to lead the way rather than the our way round. We see this in all areas of life where compromise has caused the church to bend to the demands of worldly demands.

Present Culture

This is the challenge we face daily as believers. The present culture is anti Christ and we have to choose if we will conform or challenge. If we choose to challenge the system we will be faced with penalties. This may lead to loss of jobs and reputation. If we decide to take a stand on issues like abortion, same sex marriage or trans culture we will be faced with hostility. What do we do then? We are called to be light and salt in our culture. How can we be light and salt if we are no different from the culture we live in? We are called to be separate from the world in the way we lead our life. How can one work in a culture that has different values to one that we believe in?

Taking A Stand

These are challenges we will all face and we have to make a choice. I made a choice and got into trouble for it. However I took a stand and challenged the system. Many have followed and now we wait to see the progress in how the government will respond to the challenge. Believers have to stand up for what they believe in. Compromise appears to be friendly and tolerant but like the frog in a boiling pot will soon die. Light cannot mix with darkness. We can be friendly but if standing for truth offends than that will be a choice we have to make. The Kingdom of God will suffer violence but we must stand and be firm in what we believe. There is no other way to resist the slow tide of decay and demoralisation.

The Problem With The Human Condition Is Not Psychological But Spiritual.

Human Condition

Many have tried to make a case for the human condition which is struggling to understand the good and evil in a person. Most have looked for biological reasons and even come up with theories to understand this psychologically. However none of these theories hold water as the basic reason for this is spiritual. The Bible clearly describes the human condition in no uncertain terms. Sin is a problem and there is no solution to sin than the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. Many see this as a easy solution but God who created us also provided a solution. Why then do humans try to  come up with another explanation? Man has always desired to be in control and through this need is driven to make sense of the dilemma we find ourselves in.

God's Solution

This has been the problem from the beginning. Our fallen nature rejects the need for another. We were made in the image of God and therefore are able to fathom into the depths of creation. However we fail to understand that we are still His creation and not the Creator. In this fallacy lies the problem of man and so the development of different theories for our existence. God has provided a simple answer but we reject it at our cost. The cost is eternal death rather than eternal life. God knew the nature of man and so planned that His Son would be sent to die to reverse the curse of sin. 

Jesus

The solution is before us but we have to choose to accept His solution. Our pride blinds us to the simple but profound plan of redemption. We choose the complicated and complex theories rather than accept what is plain and free. Man has always limited himself because we are of this world. God is Spirit and those who come to Him must come by faith and not reason. Reason will not open our eyes to see. Only faith in a loving God can open our eyes to see the splendour and majesty of God. Come today and be blessed through Jesus and be saved from eternal death to eternal life.

Baptisms. How Many?

Water

The Bible mentions baptisms that sometimes are all boxed into one. I believe there are separate baptisms and each has a power and revelation. Traditional churches focus on infant baptism but this is only a ritual to receiving more as a person becomes mature in the faith. The first baptism mentioned is the water baptism. This is to follow repentance and receiving Jesus as Saviour and Lord. It is a public declaration of death and resurrection into new life in Christ. Our spirit is born again and we now are able to walk in the spirit. Most evangelical teaching would stop at this and rest satisfied with this baptism.

Spirit

However there is a baptism in the Spirit that is a further step in the walk in the spirit. Jesus baptises in the Spirit and Fire. The baptism in the Spirit is usually manifested in speaking in tongues. This is what happened at Pentecost when the Spirit filled the first disciples. This is the same today when we are filled in the Spirit. Taking control of our tongue is significant because it is the rudder to our life. What we speak influences us and others. The consecration of our tongue is a manifestation of how the Spirit works. We now have a gift that enables us to talk directly to God. It bypasses our mind but understanding comes as our tongue gets interpreted. God reveals His mind to us and it comes in the form of a revelation. This is my experience.

Fire

Finally there is the baptism in fire. Fire connotes burning. Fire burns all the dross in our life. It purifies us. All that is not holy is burnt out of us. God dwells in a fireplace. He is holy and we now also are set on fire. Fire also empowers. This means that there is a power released to move mountains. Fire power can drive demons out and purify the habitation. If we want to see God move amongst us in power we need the fire of God in us. There is warmth and love that burns like fire. Fire also brings light in darkness. Nothing of darkness can reside in darkness. Darkness will be exposed in the light. All that is corrupt will be exposed. We need the baptism in fire to move forward in God.

How To Love Your Family, Friends And Enemies

Conflict

In this broken world we live in many are the reasons for conflict and discord. Our sense of justice and right have been so damaged that sometimes one wonders where we truly belong! We see the same conflicts being acted out in families and society at large. Every area of life has been infected with the virus of death. Broken relationships are so prevalent that many nations now are in conflict. Conflict only brings more fear and destruction and can never solve problems. We need to find ways to love rather than hate each other. Knowledge is good but failure to apply it leads to nothing. We know what is right but fail to do it. In this is the base for a lot of problems.

Demonic Strategy

The god of this world desires to steal, kill and destroy. Many are unaware of his designs. Most are blind to the spiritual dimension that affects our daily life. Once we see the demonic activity behind many problems, our perceptions change. Instead of playing the blame game we begin to discern the spirit behind a person that is feeding the conflict. This is a game changer. I no longer see others as out to destroy me but see them as being used by demonic powers. I now begin to bind those forces behind a person that is driving their behaviour. This is a change in strategy in dealing with conflicts. We attack the situation from a different dimension than the human dimension. This applies to all areas of life.

Jesus Strategy

Jesus came to destroy the works of the evil one. He exercised authority over them. They could not act out in His presence. They would scream at Him to leave them alone. We have been given the same authority to bind and to loose. Once we realise that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but spiritual, it changes everything. We begin to get down on our knees to tap into the resources of heaven to deal with the situations on earth. Wars have been won through this strategy. Enemies have been won over and sinners have come to repentance. What a different world we will live in when we begin to do this in our world.

Your Perception Can Mar Your Sense Of Reality

Perception

Perception is the reception of your mind to see things the way you perceive them. Your senses see or hear and your mind interprets what you see and hear and this is perception. The interpretation of your sense is what leads to your sense of reality. I can perceive an object as beautiful but another person may see it as ugly. How is this possible? This is possible because what we perceive depends on how we interpret reality. Reality is a state of mind. My reality maybe different from yours. This is why we have so many opinions about issues and persons. This maybe confusing but this is how we interpret reality. What then is real?

Reality

What is real many times turns out to be fake because our perceptions have deceived us. Reality is a perception and can be challenged. However there are general rules we need to follow. A red light is a red light unless you are colour blind. One who is colour blind will refute this reality. Once people thought the world was flat till the facts were challenged and now we believe the world is round. However there are still people who think that the world is flat! This is all to do with perception. Your reality is your perception. Some can be so fixed in their thinking that they are deluded. We label this as a psychosis. Our mind is so complex and needs constant attention to renew it.

Bible 

The Bible says we are transformed by the renewal of our mind. What we have been taught has to be renewed through the word of God. We are programmed in this fallen world to think and perceive in certain ways. The word of God comes to challenge this view. Some believe God causes sickness and disease. The Bible states that the devil causes sickness and disease. This change in thinking will cause us to believe for healing rather than accept the sickness. This is a change of perception. I once perceived my sickness as trouble now I see it as an opportunity for healing. Reality has changed the way I deal with sickness. I now believe for divine health rather than sickness.

Knowledge Without Understanding Is Useless

Knowledge

In this world we have a lot of knowledge about things and matters to do with our physical world. This is good but a lot of knowledge without understanding does no one any good. I may know a lot about the workings of a motor car engine but what use is it if I can't apply what I know practically? Knowledge in itself is not bad but has no power to change me if I fail to understand what I know. This lack of understanding blinds people to the truth. This can be applied in all areas of our life especially to our spiritual world. We know a lot about God but do not know Him as a person.

Understanding

We were born again in our spirit. This means that once our spirit was dead but in Jesus our spirit has come alive. We have a new spirit in us. Many are satisfied with this position and do not go any further. However God has more for us then just having a new spirit. He desires to give us His own Holy Spirit to indwell us. This is called the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the manifestation in tongues. Few either lack this knowledge or refuse to accept that this is required to live an abundant life. It is only by revelation that one becomes aware of the need to be baptised in the Spirit. 

Application

When we read the scriptures we can read it as an inspiring word. However His word becomes flesh when we understand and receive His word personally. There is a big difference between knowing about His word and knowing His word. I can know all the rules about driving a car but it is only when I drive a car do I really understand how to drive a car. Many fail to understand that God is a person and desires a relationship with us. We maybe saved and bound for heaven but fail to know Jesus as a person in a relationship with Him. What a wonder this is that we can have a relationship with God who is as real as our next door neighbour. Let us enter into the fullness that God has prepared for us and live.