To live day-to-day or to be present-minded, thus to not worry about tomorrow, brings abundant peace and rest as it prohibits worry and fear from talking hold for there are no anxious thoughts of the future for these to grab a hold of.
Isaiah 26:3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.
Hebrews 4:12 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.
This state of mind comes from trusting God. To let go of an unknown future requires either no care (which is to cease to love and refusing to know love) or trust in an all-powerful loving God.
How do you trust God? Know Him in truth and spirit.
We have to seek to know God as we would do with anyone. We have to come to know Him as He is and not by the false images portrayed by organized religion. The constructs of His character have to be established within our minds. Romans 12:2 This is what it means to know someone and trust them because you know their character and it’s a nature you can have great confidence in, even in the unknown. Proverbs 3:26 We trust in not knowing the future, but in God and His character which is faithful, loving and all-powerful.
One of the key aspects to know about God in order to fully trust Him is His love. This sounds obvious and easy, but in a world where love has been tainted in every which way; coming to know His love to a point of a deep trust is something that is built over time. Yet, it can only be built if we consistently and diligently engage God in truth and spirit.
This world has not known the love of God. They have known false images of God that proclaim love but are infused with fear, guilt, and control because those images came out of the corrupted nature of man. It’s mankind creating his own image of God; the essence of religions. We can only know God by seeking for ourselves. It’s an individual endeavor. We can’t know Him from another person. The only way to know God and His love is to go to Him one-on-one and learn about Him personally through our circumstances as He teaches from within, because that is where God meets us and comes to us, within. Because God is an infinite spirit, there is no end to knowing Him.
The deep hunger in our soul; the part that desires to be filled, known, eternally accepted and loved, is the longing to be connected to the source of love in the deepest truest way. This is the place in us created by God for Him to fill and only He can for He created it in us for Himself. He did this because He loves us and desires a bond of love with us. True contentment comes by being filled and united with His presence, the Great Spirit who gives life to our souls.
When we come to this unity; peace rules our minds and hearts.
Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
Do you believe this truth; holiness leads to happiness?
My life testifies to this truth; though when I look around it’s dismissed by a multitude of lies, as it once was in my life. The main one being you can’t be truly holy AND happy because the path of holiness leads to continual sacrifice, thus suffering and lack. This is the world’s lie, when in reality the opposite is true; holiness leads to happiness. This lie keeps us from seeking it, thus truly seeking to walk in oneness with God and His perfect wisdom that makes our lives a continual feast. Psalm 138:8, Proverbs 15:15 To understand this dynamic of holiness and happiness is a part of knowing the true God.
Purging False Images
To understand this truth and for it to become real in our life, we first have to set aside all images of holiness; cathedrals, nuns, convents, contrived humility/meekness, anything eternal. Mark 7:7-8, 15 Holiness doesn’t come from the external, but internal. It’s of the heart, thus to know it ALL images related to it have to be purged. When we willing offer this clean slate to God; then the deep instruction of God begins. He destroys the lies and replaces them with truth.
What is Holiness?
Holiness = feeling, thinking and doing what is the most loving and honoring (2 sides of same coin) for ourselves, others and God.
Holiness is the result of an inner transformation of the soul affecting our heart, spirit, and mind. It’s the interworking and result of purity, truth and love that come from being a part of God and obeying God’s truth. We become holy as we obey God’s instruction within our soul; for that is where God communes with us. When we obey we love. We obey when we love God. We obey because God’s ways are love. As we obey we become united to God. Then, holiness shines in us and lights the space around us.
If you continuously abide in pure love for yourself, others and God, what do you suppose the state of your soul will be?
Yes. Happiness.
Brings Abundant Life
Walking in God’s truth, which is obeying His counsel within our soul, is walking in true wisdom. When we act in wisdom, our life is recreated inside and out. Wisdom transforms not only us, but the space around us. It creates a life of inner and outer growing peace, purpose, rest, purity, healing … truly all things that bring abundant happiness and everlasting joy. Christ spirit in us is our wisdom. 1 Corin 1:30, 2 Peter 1:4 His Spirit within us counsels and instructs us in all wisdom, which is the most loving and honoring decision that results in holiness.
Becoming a Vessel of Honor
Once we truly start seeking God, our sin is used for refinement. The consequences of the sin (as an illness, hardship, angst, unrest, stress, etc) present a sign that we are going against God’s will, which we don’t desire for it leads to all those things we don’t want. If we are of God, we desire to abide in love and not have any sin abiding in us. We want purged all that is contrary to God, so we can dwell in perfect unity with Him. 2 Peter 3:11, 13-14 We need wisdom’s rebukes in our spirit so we can walk in the way of righteousness. Proverbs 1:23 As we grow in obedience, which is growing in love; the result is holiness. If we take away honor or love, then we take away holiness and joy.
Happy is he who trusts in God. When we trust we obey. If we trust external things to bring us honor/value/love, we’ll block holiness thus happiness.
Psalm 146:5 Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the LORD his God,
Ask God to build this truth in your life. This transformation within your soul is now possible as Christ is making His home in the souls prepared for Him. Rev 3:8, John 10:9 His spirit in us compels, enables, and empowers us to walk in the purest of love. Without His spirit, we can do nothing. With it nothing is impossible. His spirit is the morning star that is now rising in our souls. As we go through this transition, we are becoming a part of God’s house built without hands for Him to dwell in forever. Ephesians 2:20-21
Psalm 144:15 Happy are the people who are in such a state; Happy are the people whose God is the LORD!
Romans 6:16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
Free will – freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention
What is it to be free? What kind of freedom do you really want?
Every belief, thought, decision and action we take is influenced by many sources; our experiences, past, lies, truth, friends, culture, traditions, manipulation, media, family, teachers, knowledge or lack of. Making a free will decision isn’t realistic, many things influence us. When you boil it down, what influences us are either based on lies or the truth. Lies and truth make up our beliefs. And, we are governed by our beliefs, meaning we serve them. In other words, we are a slave to them. Thus we are either a slave to lies or to truth. Though the word “slave” has negative connotations, being a slave to what is truly good is a good thing.
In this life we have two options; we can serve the truth, God, or we can serve lies, anything that opposes God’s ways. We can be a slave to righteousness or a slave to unrighteousness/sin. This is the only real choice we have.
1 John 5:9 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
John 8:34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.
Which will you serve?
The answer seems straight forward … truth. But it’s not that easy because the very nature of a lie is that you think it’s truth. If you believe it’s truth, you don’t question it, but continue to act according to it until it’s revealed for what it is. When we live according to lies, our lives produce what we don’t desire; sickness, poverty, lack, suffering, pain, anger, bitterness, envy, oppression, hardship, and afflictions. Aren’t these elements of death what we really want to be free from?
Slave to Righteousness
Romans 6:18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
If you chose truth, then you will seek truth from the one who is truth, God. Only in seeking truth are the lies revealed for what they are. By seeking God, we see the lies for what they are and chose to believe His ways, which we learn are of peace, joy, fulfillment and love. In chosing His ways and will, we chose to believe in His words over another’s in every situation and our actions follow. James 2:20 In choosing God, we give up our ways and the ways of the world, and embrace His full governance over our lives as He deems good, because we’ve learned only He is truly good.
Because of God’s love for us, though we are heeding all His ways and thus a slave to righteousness for He is righteous, abiding in His truth is more of being a child than a slave.
God is perfect in righteous love. Therefore everything He does is for our very best and will truly satisfy us. God is the perfect Father; as it’s His will to provide, protect, care, help, nurture, comfort, lead, guide and love us. Luke 12:32 Imagine being under the care of the perfect father who had every resource at His finger tips? Being a recipient of this love is what it is to be God’s child.
As His child, you are not only governed by His perfect righteous love, but you are a part of Him. Therefore, your desires become His desires. Thus, He gives you the desires of your heart because they are His for you as well. Psalm 37:4 Like a child, 1. you abide in complete rest as God cares for all that concerns you and 2. you follow your desires. To abide in rest and live by your desires is what it means to be a slave to righteousness. Incredible truths.
The core lie that keeps people from seeking truth from God is that He’ll make our lives less somehow. That we’ll miss out. That He’ll leave us and we’ll be worse off than before. But these are all lies that keep us from obtaining the abundant peaceful and restful lives we desire.
In this choice, we are far more than a slave, because we become a part of God. (Led By Spirit of God)
Galatians 4:7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
Slave to Unrighteousness
Romans 6:20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
In not choosing God, so we don’t seek Truth from God, we default to being a slave to unrighteousness and the elements of death, for God is life and anything counter is death. We become slaves to lies by believing them to be truth. By believing and thus acting on those lies, we manifest a life of things we don’t want; pain, suffering, fear, hardships and so on. We may “conquer” one issue, but the underlining belief hasn’t changed so it’s redirected and manifests in another way. We are left feeling trapped, overwhelmed, discouraged, oppressed, discontented, and wanting more.
When we serve unrighteousness, our decisions are based on the world’s messaging. We’re directed by the conglomeration of external influences, whichever messages are impressed upon us the strongest. Lies are lies. Though they take on many faces the results are the same; a spirit lacking in truth, righteous love and peace. We trust what we know, and we make choices on what we know. There is no free will, just decisions manifesting pain.
Two paths, two very different results … which will you serve?
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
The same power that raised Christ from the dead is at work on those who believe in God. Ephesians 1:19-20 This power enables us to be sanctified; which is to live in righteousness. It frees us from the sin/death in our lives and brings us into abundant life here on this earth. John 10:10 Sin creates hardships, afflictions, pain, addictions, and suffering in our lives. Many feel bound by sin; even many professing believers. They know they are forgiven, yet still suffer bondages to sin and its consequences. There is a way out, the full gospel.
Hebrews 4:2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.
1 Thessalonians 4:7-8 For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.
We are no longer have to be slaves to sin/death; Christ made a way out of this bondage. He is the way, the door, the Word of God. The path out of sin/death in our lives is the narrow path, the path of truth. Its one few find because few truly seek truth from God Himself.Matthew 7:13-14 But for those who do travel the narrow way, they seek God in truth and learn spirit to spirit, He writes His truth on their hearts and it changes them, sanctifies them, He fills them and makes them into new creations. As a new creation, they have a new mind, new desires, new thoughts, and above all desire to be totally governed by God’s Spirit inside-out. 2 Corinthians 5:17 They walk the path of life, thus experience abundant life.
The purpose of going the narrow way of truth is receiving God’s spirit, which is the gift of life, eternal life, and abundant life. When He is directing us, He leads us to the fulfillment of the desires of our hearts as He intended to fill them. We experience joy, peace, rest, blessing, comfort, and righteous love because God’s spirit resides within us manifesting Himself in our lives.
Our part is to seek. Matthew 6:33 The lies and deception of the world has filled our minds, so we must seek for the truth and as we do it sanctifies us. John 17:17
Our part also is to cultivate trust in God above all things. Luke 14:33 We do this by trusting Him to be our Teacher and Counselor. We seek and listen to His instruction, act on it, and witness His faithfulness. In time, as we learn to trust His wisdom and will, we forfeit our self-will in every way and embrace His will. On this journey of the narrow path, we let go of our self-will and desire God’s will as He shows us His righteous love and goodness. Luke 17:33
This narrow path journey has been ignored by many.Ephesians 1:4 The doctrine of grace has been misunderstood. It’s by grace that we are able to live as new creations; a life we must seek and learn from God as how to walk. As we seek, He empowers us to walk it for it’s Him making His home in us. John 14:23 When it is Him working through us, His commands aren’t burdensome, but easy, a delight, and our desire. 1 John 5:3 They are how to live and are life, so we live an abundant life. In grace, we have tremendous power working for us and freeing us from the bondage of every sin. Ephesians 3:20.
1 John 3:24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
Many have been taught that the resurrection of Christ is the end. It’s just the beginning. His resurrection and life and the power it demonstrated are what God pours out on us. It’s the power that moves us from the pit of sin/death and into an abundant life here and now. Yes, it’s a journey, but every seeking step brings us more into life and out of death. People aren’t living an abundant life because they are living in sin. They believe it is what it is until they die and go to heaven. Conversely, God is offering us His righteousness and His Kingship in our souls if we will seek.
Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Ephesians 1:19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
As we buy and sell with God, which moves us to living by faith in Him in ALL things, we experience the manifestation of God in our lives …
For years, I’ve been buying and selling with God and as a result gaining deep rest and power in my life. One specific area I want to share with you (because it’s often overlooked for the death trap it is), is in the area of s l o w i n g down in life.
In my life a part of the old things was functioning as a Grand Master Taskmaster. I lived by lists, schedules and managing my time efficiently because I got a lot done (in my estimation) and felt internally & externally rewarded for it. Sure my body was tense and my life stripped of the rest, peace and enjoyment that could have been, but I was blind to all that.I didn’t realize there was truly a better way.
I would rush here and there … rush to relax. Letting the world govern what “needed” to be done, I was a slave to its demands that became my demands upon myself and my life. So who was I really serving? To accomplish all I “needed” to, I had to be efficient, highly productive and that meant being the ultimate taskmaster. But as I continued to buy and sell with God and gain faith in Him in all areas, this aspect of my life had to be purged for it was the world’s way of living, not His, thus a sin that manifested death in my life.
As a previous Master Taskmaster, this transformation was no small habitual rut to change because this mentality was deeply imbedded in me affecting most areas of my life in some form. When God first opened my eyes to this area, it seemed like a small issue, but as He showed me the ripple affect, the impact was vast and deadly. Obedience in the small things matters a great deal, because in reality what we may judge small isn’t when it plays out. If a plane is off course a few degrees from its desired endpoint, after miles of travel it ends up hundreds of miles from its destination. This was happening to me. The more I strived the further I got away from the abundant life God wanted to give me. Being in that state was the opposite of trusting Him.
In my alone time with God, He showed me how my spirit needs to remain in that same state that I am with Him in the morning; peaceful, trusting, connected and at rest so He could move through me as He willed. If I wasn’t at rest, I wasn’t in His will. The rushing around, as I use to do to fit in all my plans and lists, put me in a mindset of being focused on my effort instead of His. It’s a state where it’s difficult to hear Him, thus follow His lead. Did Jesus ever rush around?No, when you are walking in the power of God, you don’t need to.
As God showed me how my spirit needed to be in a calm state, I started to slow down, literally. On the flip side that meant I needed to trust Him with all that “needed” to be done. When I started to rush, in faith I stopped and functioned according to His power. As I did it His way, He rewarded my faith. Not only did I get done what was truly needed, but I was in a peaceful and enjoyable state the entire time, I more deeply engage others instead of rushing off to the next task, and I was more productive and had more downtime because I trusted in His power moving through me and not my efforts. …. But as you abound in everything–in faith2 Corin 8:7
As I was faithful in one area God moved me to the next; to forfeit my extensive planning and lists and trust His guidance. Being encouraged by the result of His previous counsel, I had the faith for this next step, again buying and selling with God. I stopped with all the lists. Again, He blessed my activities and time, and I accomplished more of what was important. Again, it seemed like a small thing, but I learned I was being driven by my will instead of His, which is HUGE.
A hurried and frazzled lifestyle, accepted as normal and even necessary in today’s world, is contrary to abiding in God’s rest, which is a central aspect of a believers life. God is Lord of our lives, not us. For this to be the case, we have to be in a state of trust which leads to a literal mindset of rest. It’s a state where we forsake our effort and let Him move through us as He wills in His power. In this state, God governs our thoughts desires, words and actions, which are paramount to living a life of faith in Him and having Him manifest Himself in our lives.
Hebrews 4:11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience
Instead of being hurried and frazzled, I’m now dazzled by the perfection of His counsel and how His power moves through us when we trust Him and do it His way. When we do everything in faith (trusting in Him to performs all things for us and in His ways of working) then we find a life we’ve yearned for, we enter into His rest as He calls us to, and our lives glorify Him and His power.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
There are two kingdoms your soul can abide in; one of this earth, one of heaven; one of man’s wisdom, one of God’s wisdom; one of darkness, one of light; one of death, one of life; one of lies, one of truth. John 8:44, James 3:15-18 One kingdom is governed by evil and the other by righteousness. 1 John 5:19 The kingdoms are each governed by their respective kings; Satan, Father of lies represented by following our will separate from God, and Christ, the Truth represented by following God’s will.
Whichever kingdom we seek life from is the one we dwell in; life meaning purpose, value, peace, joy, rest, happiness, and love. We seek life from them by listening to their messages (what we consider wisdom) and acting on them. Both kingdoms promise these aspects of abundantlife, but one’s ways returns void, and the other’s fulfilled.
We dwell in whichever kingdom based on which one we have cultivated faith in. Faith is knowing a concept, believing it and acting on it with the hopes of fulfillment of what we desire.
These two kingdoms are represented throughout the Bible. From the beginning God made a clear distinction between them and the results of our choice …
Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
Which kingdom’s path we choose to learn of and travel determines the results of our lives, one leads to curses and the other to blessings.
The kingdom of darkness engulfs this world. Satan governs this earth and all the man-made established systems of this earth; economics, politics, financial, education, health, religions, media, and so on. His messaging and instruction of his kingdom are EVERYWHERE full of promises of life, yet never delivering but always creating the hope. He promotes partial truth making it a twisted lie. As a result, people sacrifice, strive and become a slave to many empty philosophies in hope that one day they will find the life they seek.
Conversely, the kingdom of light isn’t dominant in this world, yet. But we can abide in it, if we seek. We are born into the mind of the kingdom of darkness, but if we seek, we can move into the kingdom of light by the knowledge of truth. We have to seek because the kingdom of darkness is consuming. Matthew 6:33 As we seek the truth of the kingdom of light, we know it, believe it and thus act on it. Bit by bit, our faith is transferred to the kingdom of light as our lives bear the fruit of it and we realize it’s where true life abides. As the kingdom of darkness fades from our lives so does all it created; death, pain, suffering, hardship, unrest, worry, fear and afflictions.
Colossians 1:13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
To abundantly aid us in our seeking, God gave us the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, to teach us all things about walking in the kingdom of light down to the very details of our lives so in every way we can abide in His Kingdom of life. We simply have to make time to engage Him, which leads me to my next point.
How do we leave the kingdom of darkness and enter into the kingdom of light?
From the Holy Spirit, we learn to transition into the kingdom of light in two main ways, two ways that work hand-in-hand.
Each day we seek the Holy Spirit’s instruction through the Bible with a desire to know the truth, thus to know God as He is. We let Him be our perfect teacher as God gave us Him to be.
We listen and follow the Holy Spirit’s counsel in our lives. The Holy Spirit will tell/prompt us to do a certain act. A voice in our head will say, do it this way. At first, we will ignore or justify away the counsel and do what we’ve always done or follow someone else’s counsel. We’ll see the results and realized we should have followed that still small voice. But another day we’ll heed that voice, and witness the perfection of its guidance. We are like an octopus with a vast number of tentacles attached to the kingdom of darkness, but as we listen and follow the Holy Spirit each one is detached and our faith moves to God’s truth.
As we start engaging the Holy Spirit’s wisdom, we will see the perfection of His counsel and it will increase our faith to listen more carefully and follow. His voice is of truth, love, forgiveness, mercy, grace, and contrary to the world’s wisdom.
The door out of the prison of darkness has been opened, so that we can be free. It’s the truth that sets us free; freedom begins with our beliefs. Seek the truth from the One you’ve been given to teach you truth, the Holy Spirit, and begin to enter the kingdom of light, the only place where you will find true life.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.
Above is one of the most popular childhood rhymes that needs a little dissecting, because most of us have been corrupted, damaged, and lived a life of pain because of the words of others, words spoken by those we gave and still give “authority” to.
People speak and act according to how they are not according to the object of their words and actions. Yet, far too often we’ve internalized the damaging words and actions of others. And God wants to free us.
There are many forms of this truth, but let’s take someone lashing out at another. When someone delivers a verbal barrage of negativity, it’s about them not the recipient. The problem is most people own other people’s words when it aligns with concepts spoken to them in the past by “authorities”. When someone lashes out then the recipient thinks something is wrong with them or it’s about them, when the painful delivery has nothing to do with them. How a person acts is all about them; not the recipient. But if their actions and words line up with what an authority figure in their lives spoke, especially a parent or an influential figure of their childhood, they will believe it and internalize the other’s baggage making it a part of who they are.
For example, if someone lost the car keys … I could call them an idiot for being so careless, or not even say a word but in my mind think what an idiot for being so careless. Either way, they would feel the condemnation because people respond to what we give off, not just our words. Matt 5:28 OR I would know we all do forgetful things, help them find the keys, and develop a strategy so they won’t lose them in the future. Consider the impact of the two responses on the recipient. The first would probably make them feel bad about themselves because most people incorrectly own others negative reactions toward them, especially if it was in line with what an authority figure said. The second would be uplifting and helpful.
The greatest impact of this dynamic is with children, which we all were at one point so consider what “baggage” you’ve owned from others. With children, the parents usually have the greatest authority in their lives, what they say the children believe without question and own it as their truth. Whatever they say, the children believe and manifest in their lives. If the parents said they were a loser, then that is how they will grow up unless or until they have a higher authority tell them differently at some point. This is just what children do, they believe their parents. Children don’t have the experience to realize that how their parents speak to them is about them and not the child. They don’t have a more powerful authority in their lives to tell them otherwise. Calling a child a loser has nothing to do with himself, and everything about the parent, which at one time it had nothing to do with that parent until he heard it from his parents and so on. This is an example of how sin spreads like cancer, because most people own other people’s baggage. 2 Timothy 2:17
You see how lies are passed along. How faulty frameworks about who we are formed. We all grow up with lies by owning others’ baggage. Lies make a train wreck of our lives, but Christ came to rewrite our lives and who we are. He came to show us who we truly are; beautiful, bountiful, blissful, boundless, bold, beloved, and blessed. What we believe we manifest. Many are manifesting the pain of others because they took ownership of their pain by believing their words. Christ came to set us free. John 8:32
As we mature spiritually, we realize that God is our authority, therefore we listen to what He says. When we do listen to Him, our framework changes and we learn that all the negativity spoken to us was about the speaker’s pain and baggage, and had nothing to do with us. If they were different and didn’t have their own bondage they would have never spoken that way to others. This understanding of their bondage is key to forgiveness and love that covers a multitude of sins.
Words are incredibly powerful when they come from someone we’ve given authority to. Who we give authority to dictates our life, because authority manifests belief. What we believe in we create as our reality. If we give someone authority, then we trust what they say and make their words are truth. Consider the authorities in your life, parents, doctors, PHDs, field experts, spouses, friends, political talking heads, and religious leaders. What kind of path have they led you on? This isn’t blaming, but taking responsibility for what we hold as truth and who we’ve placed as authorities in our lives who shouldn’t be.
If you still have misplaced authorities, it’s time to dethrone them. Psalm 1:1 THE authority in our lives should be God. Others can confirm what He tells you, but He should be THE authority – because He will speak ONLY truth to you. When He is your authority, you are on the path to tremendous freedom. Freedom from all others’ judgment, opinions, comments, and actions. Thus, freedom from others’ pain and bondage. Freedom from the lies. Freedom to be who you were created to be, someone magnificent because that is the kind of creator God is. Freedom to live a new life and a new reality. We are simply covered in the mud of lies so that is all we can see of ourselves. As mud washes off, God’s truth washes us clean. Putting people as authorities in our lives is putting our lives in the wrong hands. If you truly want to live free, then your authority must be God.
Consider Jesus did anyone alter what He thought and knew about who He was? No. He knew the Truth and His authority was God.
So as long as people are putting others in authority who shouldn’t be the lies spread generation to generation. Misplaced authority manifests false beliefs, and false beliefs manifest a life of suffering and bondage. Our beliefs determine our lives.
Instead of owning the baggage and lies of others, find your identity in Christ and respond with love. In love, tell them it’s not acceptable and look beyond the surface to that bound soul from which came such anger, bitterness, resentment, pain, self-pity, blame, criticalness, and judgment. They need deliverance too. They need love. We all do.
1 John 5:19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
A thick morning fog masks the creation that lies beneath. It hovers over the earth and prohibits our ability to perceive what is real. But as the sun streams through, we begin to see.
If you once were overweight, depressed, a work alcoholic, alcoholic, people pleaser, without hope, bound by illness, entrapped by fear, enslaved by religion, a fulfillment of your parents’ caustic words, agoraphobic or any type of phobic, then you know the power of a lie. The lies we believe travel deep scripting our lives.
Most of us grossly underestimate the extent that this world is under the sway of the wicked one. All is backwards, reversed, up side down and twisted causing grief, suffering, pain and death. Where do you think all these thoughts and concepts came from that put us and others in such states as above? Perhaps it’s too difficult to admit our world is so twisted, because then what? Ignorance isn’t bliss, the truth is.
Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace
Over creation lays a dense fog of lies. Beginning in the womb, like a poisonous gas this destructive mist infiltrates every aspect of our belief systems, our minds, thus our lives. It touches everything, living little unscathed by its presence. Our perception has been crafted by it; thus all has been marred by its influence; education, history, money, economics, politics, media, medicine, marriage, sex, family dynamics, religion, and relationships. It defines who we are and how we are to live. It defines our value or lack of it. It defines how we work. It defines happiness. It defines how we think and what is important. It defines God. It defines everything.
The penetration of lies into our society, thinking, acting and ways of living is cavernous as an abyss … the more you see the deeper it goes. It’s expansive as the ocean … when you think you see the edge there is more. Like computers, our minds have been programmed by this fog teaching us how to think, act, and believe in ways that foster our destruction. Just take an honest look around and see what we have been creating.
Our minds are very powerful. What we believe, we act on, and manifest. If we believe in lies then we act on them and because they are lies they create pain, suffering, havoc and chaos. Our minds are easily manipulated and used against us on many levels. They can be a prison, and the greatest weapon against us. For one example, consider the type of messaging streaming over the airwaves and how those “airwaves” are demanding more of our constant attention. Look at how it’s altered your thinking. You will see the programming language of evil. It follows all the protocols to program us to think certain ways (repetition, playing on emotions, defining value etc) thus believe and live in a way that to our ignorance ultimately destroys us. Ephesians 2:2How wise we are to pursue wisdom from above.
The path out is truth, manifested by the Spirit of God. Truth comes from the source of truth, God. If we seek the truth from God, we are opening a door in our minds that allows the sun to start streaming in.
Yet many don’t seek truth from God, because the perception of God has also been marred by this fog. God is not far from us, as many of the lies dictate to keep us imprisoned. Acts 17:27 One of the greatest deceptions is God’s lack of love for us; a real love that affects the detailed interworking of day to day life. The reality is He is vey present in His love, but we can’t “see” Him because of the multitude of lies we believe about Him and us. The lies keep us from seeing and seeking Him. We’ve all had the experience where our own blindness about a situation kept us from seeing it for what it was. When later we become aware of what was really going on, we are amazed at “how blind we were”. In this fog of lies, the moment we glimpse God’s majesty, the experience is corrupted by the programming our minds have been shaped by, as pictured in the parable of the sower of the seed. Mark 4:1-20 Like everything else, our perception of God has been shaped by this corrupted fog keeping us far from Him, by keeping our minds from Him.
Defy the lies and seek. Seeking is key. Because of this consuming fog, seeking is required as the truth has been hidden. We have to seek to be able to see something new, which is the very nature of seeking. Initially, with such a deafening cloak shrouding our ability to see, it takes diligence to seek truth and continue to. This is where most fail, thus live the consequences of the lies they believe. We’ve been programmed to believe all sorts of declarations about what is truth and what it isn’t. But when we dare to seek to truly know, God rewards us with the truth. Truth doesn’t come all at once. It’s little by little, percept upon percept. In time, our minds, lives and souls are transformed.
Where is the door to this path of truth we seek? Christ, the Truth, is the door. John 10:9 God manifested Himself in a man, to show us the way, to show us the truth. He established a corresponding written word to assist us on this path. If we seek the truth, by the guidance of His Spirit, He teaches us the truth. Psalm 119:105, Matthew 7:7, Matthew 11:29 Without the lies, the barriers to experiencing God’s love and truth are removed. He laid a path for us to traverse to move us out of the fog and into the brilliant sunlight; a way of manifesting a new mind, thus a new being.
Pray for the gift of faith to believe that God, the source of truth, rewards those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6 Seeking to know Him as He is, is the path out of the prison of our minds and to true liberty and abundant life.