Linear Thinking Versus Systemic Thinking.

 

Most of us brought up in the Greek style of thinking tend to think in terms of cause and effect. This is the basis of logical thinking which is predominant in western cultures. On the other hand, systemic or wholistic thinking is more of a feature of eastern cultures like in biblical times. This is the case for the Hebrew mind-set, where it is also called thinking in patterns. How we think determines how we perceive. If we think linearly then we think in one dimension only. This will exclude a lot of other factors. Scientific approaches use this method to determine cause and effect. This is good for scientific research although many variables have to be excluded. This is good for mathematical and engineering problem solving. This may not be the same in other fields like the arts and human affairs.

 

Systemic thinking allows for flow and looks for patterns rather than cause and effect. Patterns tend to repeat themselves just like seasons. This would mean that one has to look at the larger picture and be more aware of the interactions between parts that make up the whole. Studying individual parts alone will not be enough. A motor car engine has many parts but it is the synchronicity of the individual parts that makes the engine work. How the individual parts interact to make the engine work is more than a study of its individual parts. In a family, it is the interaction of the individuals that is more important than a study of the individuals. Each person has a role and all have to interact in a certain way to make the family functional.

 

Studying patterns is one way to understand why some families have got into problems. Using linear thinking will not work. One needs to look at the larger picture to understand the problem and come to the solution. Jesus talked in parables and the listener had to understand the meaning of the parables to understand the truth behind it. Many got stuck and made literal interpretations of His words. He said the temple would be destroyed and in three days it would be raised up. The Pharisees and scribes were confused by His statements and began to insult Him. Yet those who had ears to hear and eyes to see understood what He was saying. The others continued in blindness. 

 

I trust this blog helps you understand that there are different ways of thinking for different issues. Using one way of thinking for all issues can get you stuck unless you shift in your thinking, A shift in thinking will change your perception. Change of perception is what the ah ha experience is all about. Enlarge your tent, strengthen your stakes and be empowered.

Temptation Is Real. Sin Is Real. Redemption Is Real.

 

Every man faces temptation to sin. This is the reality. The Bible says we were born in sin (Ps 51:5). Psychology says we are basically good. The two do not agree on the basic nature of man. Spiritually we were dead due to sin. Our whole being was tainted by sin. We want to be good but there is in our members the inclination to sin. This was the dilemma Paul wrote about in Romans 7. However in Romans 8, he writes about the salvation we enjoy in Jesus who cancelled the power of sin and set us free. This is the solution the world needs because Jesus died for the sin of the whole world. There is no other solution. Psychology ministers at the level of the soul and not of the spirit. Our goodness and good works cannot set us free completely. Only the blood of Jesus can.

 

His redemption is complete and free. Jesus says in Him we have eternal life. It is the power of the eternal life that enables us to overcome sin. We now have the capacity and ability to overcome sin. Sin is so powerful that none of us have the power to overcome it in our own strength. The devil works through our sinful flesh. He tempts us and our members give in to temptation. This is what we see enacted before us in society daily and the media thrives on sinful behaviour. Our prisons keep us imprisoned to protect others from our sinful behaviour. The police keep us under control but it only works when they are around. All these are temporary solutions to a spiritual problem.

 

God provided an eternal solution by sending His only begotten Son to die for us. Yet people refuse to accept Him. They want to work for their salvation. Pride keeps them from seeing the answer. Pray that blind eyes will be opened to see the Saviour of the world and accept Him as Lord. I have accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I look forward to eternal life in Him. There is no other solution to the sin problem. He is the only Way, the Truth and the Life.

Casual Christianity Will Not Get You Into Heaven

 

God addressed the seven churches in Revelation 2 & 3. The same message can be applied to churches today. The message commended the churches but also had reprimands. Lukewarmness attracts a reprimand from the Lord. Does this apply to our churches today? He said I wish you were cold or hot rather than lukewarm for which I will vomit you out of My mouth (Rev 3:15, 16). It makes Him sick to see a lukewarm church. This could apply to each one of us. Have we accommodated the world? Have we been more concerned about the crowds and fitting in with the world rather than being hot? How would God address the church of today? 

 

Jesus did not go to the Cross for nothing. He did not have to come to earth as a man to suffer and die. However, He gave up everything in heaven, denied Himself, took up His Cross and died. How does this compare with our walk? His call is to deny ourself, take up our cross and follow Him. Do we measure up to His call? Can we say we are hot for Him?

 

Many like the message of the Cross but from a distance. We wear a cross to show we are a Christian. However do we carry our cross when it comes to death to self? Christ’s call is clear. He said leave all and follow  me.  All in Greek means all. There is no room for less than 100%. Why does God demand such a commitment? I believe this is for our sake. The devil is out to get us. Only a total commitment can keep him out. Like a soldier we must be ready to die for Him. His promises are abundant yet we are satisfied with a little. We have to choose whom we will serve today. I choose to follow the Lord.

Break Free From Limitations And Overflow In Abundance

 

We are all limited in our potential due to the restrictions that we place on ourselves and others. We are programmed into believing less of ourselves than what God intended for us. These limitations are ingrained within us from early childhood. Our environment reinforces some of these beliefs. If we have been exposed to trauma and lack then this too works against us. We judge ourselves through the negative lens of our experiences. God sees our true potential and is calling us out of our limitations into His abundance. People have broken records because they were unaware of limitations or did not care. We too can break records when we operate in God who is limitless. How do we do this?

 

God planned before the foundation of the world that you and I were created for a purpose. The devil works to destroy His plan. We have therefore to cooperate with God and destroy the devil's plans. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). We need to be aware of both God and the devil. In all situations, we need to make a choice to follow God or give in to the devil. The world, the flesh and the devil all conspire to defeat us. However God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit are on our side. They work to help us in our time of need. Angels were sent to make sure we fulfil our purpose on earth. They are ministering spirits who work for us. So now we have a course of action: to live by His Word of salvation and operate in His abundance.

 

Operating in overflow requires us to be filled by His Spirit to overflowing. Jesus promised to send His Spirit to help us in our walk. He has not left us alone but His Helper helps us in our weakness. We have all the weapons we need to combat the devil and defeat him. Jesus denied Himself took up His Cross and was crucified. His followers have to take up their cross and follow Him. There is no other way to live in the overflow. During these days, we have to choose whom we will follow. I choose to follow Jesus. Will you choose to follow Him? There is no greater life than living for Him who sacrificed everything for us. This is our privilege and honour to do so. Come and operate in the overflow and be a overcomer.

The Empty Suitcase: Death

We live in days where death is evident around the world more then ever. Already COVID-19 has taken over half a million people. Many nations continue to struggle to contain its spread and thousands die daily. When death and destruction are in the news daily, people begin to wonder what life is all about. The security of wealth, power and fame is threatened and death becomes a reality. Most of us deny the fact of death and its finality. We live in the illusion that we will live forever. We tend to think more of the present than the future; but suddenly we can be faced with the reality of death, when someone we know dies. Many choose to exit early and commit suicide. In the community, a general sense of depression sets in. What do we do?

 

Jesus overcame the fear of death, and death itself, by rising from the dead. This is the most profound event in history that divided time into before and after Christ. Yet many doubt this historical event and the Jews cover it all up, by spinning a tale that His disciples made up a story of His resurrection. How long can we keep lying to ourselves and not face the truth? Lies cannot cover up truth. The truth will never die. Truth is fact and absolute truth is absolute fact. Nowadays, in the world, there is no such thing as absolute truth. Everything is relative truth depending on where you stand. A cup is half empty or half full. It depends on how you view it; this is how you perceive it. 

 

I believe the Truth and I have chosen to follow Jesus. He has promised me eternal life now and I have no fear of death. I live for Him who gave Himself for me. He died for me that I may one day live with Him in Heaven. In fact I already live with Him in Heaven in my spirit. Come and join me and overcome all fear of death and live with Him for eternity as your inheritance and Heaven as your destiny. Don't delay, come today, as Jesus is calling you now, to accept Him as your Lord and Saviour. Pray this prayer: Lord Jesus I am a sinner. Forgive me for my sins. I accept your offer of salvation. I confess you are Lord and believe you rose from the dead. Amen.

The Cross Is The Antidote For Offence

 

Offence is a common experience for most of us. Our response to offence is what makes the difference to how we will manage our lives. If we give in to offence then it will haunt us for the rest of our lives. Offence is the devil's strategy to upset people from achieving their destiny. Like failure, it will keep you from moving forward. We all are quilty  of offending others by word or deed. Offence works both ways. It affects the offender and the one offended. The offender feels guilty for causing the offence to another. The offended feels ashamed and put down. In both cases, offence has caused an insult to our soul. Our thoughts and feelings have been assaulted. We see the other person as one to avoid and demean and insult. What is the way out of this cycle of offence?

 

Jesus is a good example of one who suffered offence all His life. He came as the Saviour of mankind but suffered because of our sin. On the Cross, He took upon Himself the blame and the shame that we feel. While on earth, He did not retaliate because He knew who really was the offender. The devil uses people to offend because that is his job description. The devil was thrown out of Heaven and in response he was hell bent on causing offence through man as a way to pay God back. God took it upon Himself to save us from the offence. Jesus paid the price by going to the Cross and carrying our offences upon Himself. Now we are free from the hurt of offences as we embrace His salvation full and free.

 

Offence is causing so much damage in the body of Christ. The devil is targeting leaders since they are on the front line. How a leader copes with offences will determine how he will lead his flock. Many drop out of ministry because they have given in to the offences from people close to them. The devil's strategy is to divide and rule. He has done this well over the centuries. Now is the time to reverse this trend and give the devil a hard time. We must send the offences we experience to the Cross and leave them there. We must rise up and use the experience to turn our offence into the joy of suffering for Jesus’ sake. He said we would face suffering but also joy. Most of all, we will experience the power of His resurrection. So let go of any offences and let God take over and we will see revival come to our land.

Predestination Or Destination. You Still Have To Make A Choice.

 

The Apostle Paul says that we were predestined to belong to Father God before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4, 5). This can mean that some of us were destined through God's choice to be in heaven with Him. Yet Jesus said He is the only Way to the Father {John14:6}. Do these statements conflict with each other? The first statement appears to imply that we have no choice while the other implies we do have a choice. However if some are predestined to go to heaven but the choice is ours, then it makes sense that both are right. God wants none to perish and all to be saved but the choice is ours. Do we choose to acknowledge His Son as Saviour and Lord or not?. 

 

There are Christian leaders including the Pope that have said that there are more ways to God than only through Jesus. They say that since we were predestined that there is no need to evangelise. These sound like anti-Christ statements. How confusing is it for a leader to make such statements and deceive the elect? We need to discern what spirit is behind these statements, otherwise the devil will divide us by using deception. Jesus is clear when He states that He is the only Way to the Father (John 14:6). Any other way is no way to the Father. Other ways maybe to a god but not Father God.

 

During these days we need to discern the truth from the lies. There is so much fake news that people are lost or confused as to who to believe. This is the plan of the devil for he wants to keep people blind to the Truth. This is an opportune time for the good news of the Gospel to be proclaimed clearly and directly to the populace. People are looking for direction in a hopeless world. The direction is clear. Choose today whom you will serve. I and my household have decided to serve the Lord.

We Operate From Above. We Implement From Below.

 

We are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus as born-again believers (Eph 2:6). This is our privilege.  Whether we recognise this or believe this is a different matter. There are many truths but truth does not become fact till we believe and receive that truth. Jesus came as the Truth but few believed in Him. In fact they crucified the Truth. Why did they do this? They did this because their own version of truth did not accord with His Truth. We are guilty of doing the same thing today when we reject the Truth. The truth is that we are seated in heavenly places in Christ but we behave as if we don't. Why this discrepancy?

 

The truth has been compromised by our earthly masters. Many have sort to understand spiritual truths through their own fallen intellects. This is more understandable for earthlings. In this process, we have lost the truth and exchanged it for lies. This is why we see so many divisions in the body of Christ. We need to come back to the original purpose and mission of the church. The church is on earth to rule and reign. We have instead given our authority over to the evil one who has infiltrated the church. The church now is asleep, but sleeping with the devil. How did we get here?

 

This has been the story from the beginning. Truth has always been challenged and the weak have given into the challenge and compromised the truth. It is easier to compromise than stand firm. We see this being acted out in society. The world is degenerating into the way it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah but the church sits and watches. How long will this go on for? It will go on for as long as the church does not wake up and take action. We need to stand on what God has said and die for it. Until we are prepared to do this, we risk going down to hell with the devil. His destiny is assured and he is determined to take as many as possible with him. It is time to arise and defeat the enemy in our territory through fasting and prayer and action. Pray that many will heed the call to action in these troubled times.

The Seed Is To Sow. The Fruit Is To Know

 

We are all familiar with seed time and harvest. There is a time to sow and a time to reap. What seed are we sowing? We will bear the fruit according to the seed we are sowing. This is a principle of the Kingdom of God. When we sow seeds of discontent then we will reap discontent. If we sow seeds of love then we will reap the fruit of love. We can apply this principle in all areas of our life. When we work, we can expect to get paid. When we pray we can expect to receive answers to our prayers. When we share we can expect to see brotherly love and joy as fruit.

 

Jesus came to restore our relationship with the Father. His main mission was to destroy the works of the devil. He did this by overcoming death through His death and resurrection. God was satisfied with the sacrifice of His Son. Now we can enjoy fellowship with the Father through Jesus. The Holy Spirit is our helper who was sent to keep us on the right path. Without Him we would struggle in our own efforts to reach God. Now He talks with us and walks with us and tells us we are His own. This is relationship.

 

Now we can bear fruit that is from our relationship with the Father. The Father reveals His love to us and we cherish His fellowship. Just as Jesus was one with His Father so also we are one with Him. Through Jesus, we are restored to the original design. We are a new creation. The old has passed away and the new has come. What a glorious salvation we enjoy in Him. This salvation is eternal, for the Father has promised us eternal life in His Son. Our fruit now is an outcome of our relationship with the Father, which is a love relationship, where we come to truly know Him. Love will beget love. We will be judged by our fruit. Let us walk in the light as He is in the light and we will have fellowship with one another and make His heart glad.

We Are One In The Spirit, We Are One In The Lord.

There is a song we used to sing which was very popular during the Charismatic Movement: “We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord, and they will know we are Christians by our love.”  This is true and should be the way we are, but the fact is far from the truth. What we see is petty divisions that keep us divided rather than united. Why is this so? The devil majors in division and we are ignorant of his tactics. He divides and rules. It is high time the church sees this and unites under one Holy Spirit. There will be those who will continue to follow a different spirit. Just like the wheat and the tares, we should let them be. It is time for the true followers of Jesus Christ to unite and defeat the enemy of our souls.

 

The only way we can unite is to follow the Holy Spirit. He will unite us by giving us a language of the Spirit. In the Spirit we will be of one mind. When we are of one mind then all that matters is to please Him and glorify His Name, Jesus. Nothing else will matter. Like the first church we will lay down our lives for one another. We will be looking out for each other and serving one another. There won't be power struggles and all will acknowledge Jesus as Lord. Only the Holy Spirit can do this. I have experienced this in small groups. Jesus ministered to thousands but His small group of twelve turned the world upside down. The same can apply today. A united group can do wonders in spreading the good news and see the world turned right side up. At present, the world is on a downward trajectory to destruction.

 

Will we unite or let things take their course? I pray that we will unite, for there is no other way to see His Kingdom come. This is the opportune time to unite as we face chaos and destruction all over the world. The Corona virus was sent to destroy. We can now unite in Jesus as the antidote to the virus. Let us give the devil a headache. What he meant for destruction can be turned around for revival. Will you join me in uniting with Jesus as Lord and let His Holy Spirit unite us to overcome?

Reach Out To See The Manifestation Of Miracles

 

The gifts  and fruits of the Spirit are given to serve others. Food was multiplied by Jesus to feed the crowds. The supernatural manifests itself when we reach out to serve. This is the principle of the Kingdom of God. On earth, we have been programmed to hold on to what we have. Greed and lust for power keep us bound to the flesh and its desires. God's Kingdom turns everything upside down. The earthly person looks inward, but the Godly person looks outward. Therefore, the way to break through is to do the opposite of what you would naturally think and do. This is what leads to transformation.

 

Transformation is the work of the Spirit. God wants us to take a step of faith and trust Him when we obey Him. The flesh will rebel and force you to resist. The devil will sow thoughts of poverty and lack. We need to choose whom we will obey. This is the challenge we will face daily in our life. In the Spirit it is easy to do but in the flesh it will be a strain. Therefore, the way to transformation is to be filled by the Spirit and to walk in the Spirit. God has made it easy for us but our flesh desires to work and not rest. To rest is to trust. 

 

Trust is what faith is all about. It is a risk we have to take, but when we look back we realise that all we have is from Him. We may deceive ourselves but God is our Provider. The sooner we realise this, the easier it will be to give and bless others. Join me in shifting from a poverty mentality to an abundance mentality and be blessed. God says test me and see if I am faithful to do that which I have said. This is the way for the Kingdom of God to grow on earth as it is in Heaven. God blesses a cheerful giver.