Sunday, October 31, 2010

On Judgement

This morning when I went to take the dogs out at 6 a.m., I got quite a surprise! I opened the main door and before I was able to open the (glass) storm door, Rosetta and Josiah started barking violently! There was a huge black Labrador retriever standing there! I closed the main door as quickly as I could and quickly tried to quiet my doggies down, as I was sure by then they had woke the whole household! It's never fun to be startled awake, especially when it is still dark outside!


The black lab is one of our neighbor's dog, Stormy (aka Drake). The dog is adept at getting out of the yard and frequenting our yard. For the last month or so, our neighbor has kept Drake tied up to a tree, but apparently he escaped.


After I took Drake back, I started to get into judgement about the dog's owner and IMMEDIATELY a voice in my heart said, "Thank You, Father God, for all the times I was unconscious and lazy in my actions. Thank You for forgiving me." Boy, did that stop me dead in my tracks!


Now, we all have millions of thoughts everyday, some of God and some not. We are to cast those that are not of God down and cause them to come into submission to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). We are also to try every spirit whether they are of God (1 John 4:1-2). Well, I know this thought was of God because it is in alignment with the Word. In Matthew 7:1-2 Jesus says, "Do not judge, lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured unto you" (NAS).


What does judging others have to do with health? (I'll tell you, but first let me say this: it is so awesome to me how science continues to validate the things God tells us in His Word.)  All emotions cause the body to release chemicals in the blood. They come in the form of hormones and neurotransmitters. The science of it is very complex, but suffice to say that positive emotions, loving thoughts, joy, kindness, laughter, etc. release "happy hormones", and feel good chemicals like certain endorphins. ((Most people have heard of the "runners high".) Negative emotions like anger, grief, resentment, unforgiveness, etc. release pro-inflammatory chemicals that lead to health problems. When these negative emotions become habit and are a long-standing part of us, they can lead to many chronic, degenerative conditions like heart disease and cancer. Drs. Ted Morter, Dean Ornish, Richard Schultz, and many others have done research on the connections between emotions and physical health.


"The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I have come that they might have life, and might have it abundantly." (John 10:10)
"The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:2)
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23)


Science can now explain how long term anger, unforgiveness, impatience, faithlessness, hatred will steal and destroy your good health over time. Stay in alignment with the Word of God by developing the fruits of the Spirit and allow Jesus to give you abundant life and health!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Speak the WORD to overcome negative thinking

I love what Brother Kenneth E. Hagin once said, "If a bird lands on your head, don't let it build a nest there."

He was talking about how thoughts come into our minds and that we have a choice whether to let them stay there or not. Thought can be very powerful. They can produce emotions, which produce a mindset, which can produce actions or habits. They can lead down a positive, Godly path, or a negative, wicked one.

Worriesome or negative thoughts can be deblitating and even paralyzing. If they have been plaguing you for a while, they can seem almost impossible to overcome. Thank God He has given us a way to get over those attacks from the enemy.

First we must realize their source. In Acts 10:38 it says that, "...Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with strength and ability and power; how He went about doing good and, in particular, curing all who were harassed and oppressed by the power of the devil..." (amplified) Satan oppresses and harasses people in different ways, one of which is through negative thinking. Paul was harrassed by Satan (2 Corinthians 12:7) "to keep him from being excessively exalted". Satan knows you have a mighty job to do for God and has made it his mission to stop you. One great way is to attack you in the mind realm to get you to believe you are a pathetic loser, weak and unable to do what God has called you to do. If he can get you to focus on the lie of the enemy, then you are unfocused on God's opinion of you and the truth that you can "do all things through Christ and His anointing which strengthens you". So, negative, unproductive, destructive thoughts are from the devil.

Now, remember we have power and authority over that defeated worm, satan. Genesis 1:28, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, Mark 11:22-24 all tell us that we have the authority to cast Satan out! We have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) and satan and his lowly thoughts do not belong there! And yet, they come! That's why the Word tells us to renew our minds DAILY (Romans 12:2), and meditate on the Word DAY AND NIGHT (Joshua 1:8), and to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). If we are constantly and continually filling our minds with what the Word says about us, we give no place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27)

In conclusion, we can overcome those destructive negative thoughts. We first recognize that they are from satan and they have no place in us; we have the mind of Christ. Then we use our authority to cast them out in the Name of Jesus, ordering them to be obedient to the knowledge of Christ. Then we replace them with what God's Word says about you. You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21)!