Predestination & Prayer

2 Kings 20:14-19 – The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?”

God had just told King Hezekiah that he would die from an illness, earlier in this chapter, but when Hezekiah prayed, God used his prayer to change the outcome of his life. He added 15 more years to his life. (2 Kings 20:1-7)

After just going through that–watching God change what He had decreed, based on a single prayer–why didn’t Hezekiah pray for God to save them from Babylon too? His one prayer could’ve saved all of Israel.

Our prayers, or lack of prayers, can change the outcomes of nations. We should be praying for the coming generations, even in times of peace; and especially when the coming generations are reaping what we’ve sown.

#Pray #PrayForParis

God doesn’t change, nor does He think like us. He doesn’t change His mind, as if He can learn of some better way to do things. He has a plan that has been in place since the beginning of time. His plan includes your prayers. Your prayer is a tool in the hand of God. When you pray, His will comes on earth as was planned in heaven before the dawn of creation. Don’t water down the power of prayer. Every prayer is important, and every prayer changes the course of history.

Faith & Anger

Would God rather us be angry with Him or have a lack of faith in Him? 

– 2 Kings 6 – Some time later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege to Samaria. 25There was a great famine in the city… 26As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, “Help me, my lord the king!” 27The king replied, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you?… 28Then he asked her, “What’s the matter?” She answered, … we cooked my son and ate him… 30When the king heard the woman’s words… 31He said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today!”.. 33The king said, “This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”…

… 2 Kings 7:1-2,20 – Elisha replied, “Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.” 2The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?”“You will see it with your own eyes,” answered Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it!”… 20And that is exactly what happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.

Cannibalism is a weighty subject, and probably got your attention more so than what I wanted to talk about. I hope to say more about it, and leadership, in the coming days. Today, however let’s touch on the topics of faith and anger in this passage.

The king was waiting for God’s to deliver them from the siege and famine, but when he heard that the people were starting to eat each other, he became angry. He started to lose his faith in God and he lashed out at God by threatening to kill Elisha, whom God often spoke through. Elisha responded 1) with force by barricading the door to protect himself, and 2) by telling the king to wait on the Lord one more day. Perhaps God didn’t respond as fast as the king would like, because the king was not acting the way he should.

1. He should have been in sackcloth, asking for God’s help, while searching himself for any wrongdoing. Instead, he tried to hide his sackcloth under his royal clothes.
2. He also could’ve sought God out beforehand, instead of waiting until the last second to see what God had to say about the siege. Seeking God should come first.

Nonetheless, there is an interesting principle in this story:

The king expressed anger by asking Elisha, ‘Why should I wait on the Lord any longer?’  Though he went with the intention to kill Elisha, he still listened to Elisha’s response and waited on the Lord one more day. The officer, however, expressed disbelief in God’s ability, and died because of it.

So anger is better than unbelief? Yes.
It is better to have faith in God, and get mad at Him when it doesn’t look like He is coming through for you, than it is to express disbelief in what God says He is going to do.

The king tried to wait on God, and tried to repent by wearing sackcloth. He didn’t do either of them perfectly, but he tried and God honored that. He intended to sin in his anger, but he ended up changing his mind and doing what was right. The officer, who did not believe God could help them, was not honored.

There is a situation in my life in which I have faith, and am waiting, though I may have times of anger or questioning. It’s nice to know that God is okay with that, and can put people in my life to renew my faith. It’s nice to know that there is grace, and that he honors a slip in faith as long as there is an effort of faith. I hope that encourages you as well. Faith is hard, and faith is necessary, but God gives us grace when we try.

Matt. 21: 28-32 – There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ “ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”“The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

There is a way to be angry and not sin, but that wasn’t what the king had in mind. Nonetheless, the king turned away from the sin in his heart and chose not to kill Elisha. He came to God in anger, and God helped him because he was willing to listen. It’s better to go to the person you have a problem with, before it turns into wrath, but God has nothing to fear. The correct response for us is to set a boundary, and get help, like Elisha did by gathering elders to barricade the door. God however, just wants you to come to Him for help. If getting to a breaking point, or a rage, is the only way you’ll come to Him for help, then He accepts that. Job expressed his anger to God, and God helped him see how things really were.

---

Heb. 11:6 – And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

---

God asks us to have faith in Him, and to even put His words, ways, principles to the test. If we test Him, in our faith, He will reward us:

Mal. 3:10 – … “Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

When the Bible says that testing God is wrong, it is referring to testing God in lack of faith. Testing God is nether right, nor wrong in itself; it simply depends on your heart.

Jer. 17:10 – I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.

Deut. 6:16 – Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.

Ex. 17:7 – And he called the place Massah (testing) and Meribah (quarreling) because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

James 1:6-8 – But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

Ps. 94:18 – When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.

Mark 9:21-24 – Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”

Help my unbelief. That is a prayer that God honors. He loves truth; even when the truth is that you are angry, He honors it. Seek Him first, ask Him to help your unbelief, and just choose to be real with Him today.

Koran’s Jesus

---

What does the Koran have to say about Jesus? This muslim did his homework. Watch to find out what he found, or read the story below:

Who is Jesus?

While I was working in a muslim mosque as an imam, as a parish priest, I preach in my parish that Jesus Christ is not God, for me, God was only Allah, and I believed Allah never got married, so no sons for Allah. So I preached there that Jesus is not God. Then somebody ask me, ‘Who is Jesus?’ from the crowd. Maybe a muslim, but he asked me, ‘Who is Jesus?’ I was preaching he is not God, but the question is who is he? To know who is Jesus? I read the entire Koran once again: 114 chapters, 6666 words in the Koran when I read it. The name of prophet Muhammad, I found it in Koran 4 places, but the name of Jesus I found in 25 places. There itself, I was a little confused. Why does the Koran give more preference to Jesus? And second thing, I could not see any woman’s name in Koran: the Prophet Muhammad’s mother’s name, or wife’s name, no, in the Koran, there is only one woman’s name that i found is Mariam, the mother of Jesus no other woman’s name. And in the holy Koran chapter 3, the name of the chapter is family of ‘Mariam,’ and holy Koran chapter 19, the name of the chapter itself is ‘MARIAM’ one chapter is ‘MARIAM’ so I was very curious to know why does Koran says all these things about MARIAM, holy Koran chapter 3 verse 34 onwards says that Mary was born without original sin, she never committed any sin in her life, she was ever virgin.

Koran chapter 50 verses 23 say that she went to heaven with her physical body. Even the assumption is writing in the holy Koran and then about Jesus, when I read chapter 3 verses 45 to 55 verses, there is 10 point which the Koran makes about Jesus. The first thing Koran says kallimatulli, the arabic word which means the word of God, and second thing is ahimokuli which mean spirit of God and the third isa masi which means Jesus Christ, so Koran give the name for Jesus Word of God, Spirit of God, Jesus Christ. And then Koran says that Jesus spoke when he was very small, like 2 days old; after his birth he began to speak. Koran says that Jesus created a live bird with mud. He took some mud, he formed a bird; when breathed into it, it became a live bird. So I think Jesus can give life because he gave life to mud, clay. Then Koran says that Jesus cured a man born blind and a man with leprosy, etc.

Curiously, the Koran says that Jesus gave life to dead people; Jesus went to heaven; he is still alive and he will come again. When I saw all these things in the Koran, I taught of what Koran says about Muhammad, according to the Koran, prophet Muhammad is not the word of God, not spirit of God he never spoke when he was 2 days old, he never created any bird with mud, he never cure any sick people, he never raised any dead people, he himself died, and according to Islam he is not alive and he will not come back. So there is a lot of different between these two prophets. I didn’t call Jesus, God, you know my idea was ‘He is a prophet but he is a prophet greater than Muhammad’; so one day I went to my teacher, the one who taught me 10 years in Arabic college, and I ask him, teacher, how did God created the universe? Then he said God created the universe through the ‘word,’ THROUGH THE WORD. Then my question is: ‘WORD’ is creator or creation? He must clear this, my question is whether the WORD of God is creator or creation. Koran says Jesus is WORD of God. If my teacher says word of God is creator, which means Jesus is the creator, then muslim must become Christian suppose if he says the word is creation he will be trapped. You know why? He said everything was created through the word. Suppose if he said the word is creation, then how did God created the word? So he cannot say that the word is creator, or creation, so he was quite angry he push me out of his room and said, ‘Word is not God, not creator, or the creation; you get out of here,’ he said.

The reason why Muslim doesn’t accept to be Christian is because they are blinded with the wrong teaching of their priest, Imam. They said that the word is creation they try to prove it wrongly… they say the word is not creator, not the creation, but not God. They don’t equal with God; that all their problem. So when he said that, I told my teacher, word is not the creator or the creation, so that is why Christian says the word is son of God. Then he told me if there is son for God, I must show him the wife of God. That without wife, no chance of having a son. Then I showed him a portion from the Koran. Koran says that God can see without eyes, God can talk without tongue, God can hear without ears; it is written in the Koran. I said if that is the case, God can have a child without a wife. I took my Koran, I put it on my chest, and I said ‘Allah, tell me what I should do because your Koran says Jesus is still alive, and Mohammad is no more. Tell me whom should I accept.’ after my prayer I opened the Koran, I didn’t asked anyone, I asked only my Allah. When I opened Koran, I saw chapter 10 verses 94. You know what Koran says? It says if you have any doubt in this Koran which I give to you, go and read the Bible, or ask the people, those who read the Bible. The truth is already revealing that.

Paul’s Profanity

Why write about profanity when I can reblog this brilliantly written jewel? I have more to add, but this is plenty for the moment

Lord of the Poop

Beelzebul, a name for Satan, gets its roots from ba’al, meaning lord, and zebel, meaning dung. Satan is the lord of crap (to be polite).

According to 1 Kings 14:10, one burns crap until it is all gone. And according to Rev. 20:10, Satan’s end is to be thrown into fire.

If we then, are the body of Christ (1Cor.12:27), then we should be taking in the good nutriment and disposing of the waste; that way we are all doing our part in pushing Satan, the crap, out of the body. He’s just a big pile of crap to be burned.

Science tells us that poop that stays in the body too long releases toxins. A healthy body knows what is good and what is waste, and doesn’t get clogged up. History also shows us that poop that isn’t disposed of properly can have huge reprecussions. The Black Death, or Bubonic Plague, killed an estimated 200 million people in a 7 year span, due to rodents running around in open sewage. More recently sewage caused the Ebola outbreak in Africa.

Let’s not be the dog that returns to its waste to eat it (Prov.26:11). Let’s keep on taking in the wholesome nutriment of Gods word, being made new and stronger, and cutting off that which does not produce. 1 Thess. 5:21-22, hold on to what is good and reject every kind of evil. I don’t want to be a fly, dog, or dung beetle feasting on crap. I want to be a king feasting on fine foods. I want to eat the fruit from the tree of life, which produces no waste. No more rotten fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. It’s time for that to pass from our body.

So yes, Jesus poops (at least while on earth). And today, Satan gets the royal flush. But Satan is hardly a holy shit, because poop is unholy and unclean, and Satan definitely is. And no, I don’t have a problem with using words in their proper context; but that should probably be a topic for another post.

ACTS Prayer Model

ACTS is a popular prayer model. It’s an easy way to remember the various parts of prayer. ACTS stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.

I personally would add in Listening.. LACTS… err, maybe CLAST would be the better acronym. Clast means a fragment of rock. God is called our Rock, so this makes us ‘a chip off the old block’. 

---

• Adoration means worship. Praise Him for who He is. God delights in your praises! Our God always hears us, but consider an earthly parent. If their child enters the room talking about how awesome their dad is, isn’t the dad going to feel honored and be moved to do anything for his child? Love on Him today.

• Confession means agreeing with God about the things that you have done wrong. In this stage we take the time to quiet ourselves to reflect on the day, and express sorrow about whatever we said, thought, or acted on that was not pleasing to Him. As we recall instances, we ask God to forgive us and bless those we harmed. Likewise, we choose to forgive those who hurt us and release them to God’s judgement.

– 1 John 1:9-10 – If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

• Thanksgiving means thanking God. Thank Him for His love, protection, and provision just to name a few things. Realize that others may be in worse situations, and thank Him for all the things He has done for you.

– 1 Thes. 5:17-18 – Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you

• Supplication means asking Him to meet your needs, and the needs of others. We ask Him to help situations, friends, family, leaders, nations, etc. God hears our heart’s requests, but say your prayers out loud anyway. Sometimes we are the ones that need to hear them. Prayer helps us notice when the hand of God is moving in our lives. We more easily recognize when He comes through for us, when we are focused on what we have asked Him for. Also, God gives us 7,000+ promises in the Bible. When you remind God of His promises, it causes things to happen. Pray God’s Words back to Him.

+

• Listening means being quiet and giving God a chance to speak and respond. God can respond in many ways if we believe God is real, then we should expect prayer to be a two-way conversation. Read the Word, search out His wisdom, listen for an unction, close your eyes and look for a vision, see if your emotions are reflecting His own. I promise to do a blog on how to hear His voice soon.

– Ps. 85:5 (ESV) – Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people

---

God’s promises are prophecies for your life:

Promise defined means: a declaration or ASSURANCE that one will do a particular thing or THAT A PARTICULAR THING WILL HAPPEN.

Prophecy defined means: the FORETELLING or prediction OF WHAT IS TO COME

Faith activates the Promise. Stand on His promises/prophecies for your life.

–  2 Cor.1:20 – For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

Amen defined means: it is so; so be it

If you need something today, stand in faith on the promises of God, and Jesus will agree with you. The Spirit, the Amen, the breathe of God, will blow life into the situation.

---

Worship: We Speak to Nations, Judy Jacobs

If you liked this post please +follow lovedisciple to see future posts.

Jesus is Alive!

If you believe Jesus is alive today, then you have to believe that He is still healing and raising the dead today. Otherwise, you believe that His character is inconsistent, and you’ve rejected the Word that says: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever (Heb.13:8).”

The Bible says we are the body of Christ, and the Spirit of Jesus lives in us. If you believe these scriptures, then you should understand that the gifts of the Spirit (1Cor.12) are still active today. Otherwise the Spirit, who is God, is inconsistent as well.

“God is Spirit (John4:24)” and He is our “Father, who does not change (James1:17).” “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you (1 Cor.3:16)?” “To each person has been given the ability to manifest the Spirit for the common good (1Cor.12:7).”

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things (John 14:12).” Not because we are greater than Jesus, but because He is alive inside of each of us, instead of being constrained to just one physical body.

Look closer. He lives in you. – Rafiki

– 1 Cor. 13:12 – Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

The gifts are our puzzling reflection of Christ. The gifts exist until His return when we see him with perfect clarity.

Go into all the Bars (World)

Give a drunk person 10 minutes and you’ll know more about his life than anyone else.

Jesus wasn’t scared to go anywhere. He said go into all the world to proclaim the gospel.

I met one of my best friends at a bar. Through our interactions he gave his life to Christ. Be intentional with your actions and words. You don’t have to go to the bar with the intention to drink. You can go with the intention to minister.

Those of you who prophesy, should be there prophesying. Call those people up. Encourage them, and call out their destiny. Its a great practice ground. If you are too scared to talk directly with them, then write the prophecy as a poem and hand it to them. Everyone loves entertainment and compliments. It doesn’t have to say ‘thus says the Lord’ and be spoken in king James.

Take another Christian with you for accountability, and find a different missionfield if alcohol is an addiction you struggle with. But to those who are not tempted, or out of control, go into all the bars (world) to proclaim the gospel. The Bible said Jesus drank and celebrated, but He never sinned. He would’ve been there winning souls too.

Matt. 11:18-19 – For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”

– Mark 16:15 – And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

– Eph. 5:15-18 – Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit

– 1 Cor. 12:7 – Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good

– 1 Cor. 14:1,3 – Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy… the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort 

There are enough people called to the mission field of the church body. We need people going out to the world and taking the Kingdom of God. He will rule the whole earth. Let’s make Him king.

Anxiety & Depression – Distorted Thinking Patterns

Many of us have distorting thinking patterns. We haven’t yet renewed our minds. We have stinkin’ thinkin’ that keeps us in anxiety, depression, negativity, and sickness.

Below are 10 types of distorted thinking patterns.

Negative feelings come from negative thinking, so by monitoring your feelings you will eventually be able to figure out which thoughts and beliefs trigger your anxiety. The first step is to identify the trigger. Most people have thought these ways their whole lives, but God says, ‘Take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ (2Cor.10:5).’ Put your thoughts on trial, convict them, and reprogram them with God’s Word. The mind set on the Spirit brings life and peace. ‘Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on the new nature created to be like God–truly righteous and holy (Eph.4:21-24).’ Your thinking is vital to your spiritual life as breathing is to your physical life.

---

Distorted thinking patterns:

1. ‘What if’ thinking

What if I lose my job? What if I lose my home? What if my children get hooked on drugs? What if my spouse is cheating on me?

‘What if’ thinking breeds anxiety and fear. Sometimes this even turns into a self fulfilling prophecy. If you treat someone like they are cheating on you, they might eventually just start doing so. If you focus on ‘what if’, your fear grows. If you focus on God’s Word, your fear goes. Learn to replace ‘what if’ with what God’s Word says: God always causes me to triumph. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. If God be for me, who can be against me?

2. Catastrophizing

The mind magnifies unpleasant events and transforms them into something more awful, terrible, or horrible than they really are. Making a mountain out of a molehill. It’s like spending $10 dollars on a 2¢ problem.

Like pouring lighter fluid on a flame, they use extreme words like hopeless, terrible, unbearable, devastating. These words fuel the anxiety. The only way to put out the fire is to eliminate inflammatory words from your vocabulary and replace them with more practical, realistic, and less emotionally charged words, such as unfortunate, inconvenient, or difficult.  Stop the drama. I choose faith-building words because ‘we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God (Rom.8:28)’. Practice this pattern of thinking until it becomes automatic, making it a habit and mind-set.

3. Habitually expecting the worst outcome

They usually think if something can go wrong it will, and it will happen to me. ‘My boss didn’t acknowledge me today, so I’m sure she hates me and will probably fire me.’ ‘My husband is late for dinner, I’m sure he is having an affair.’

Realize that when you repeatedly think about something, you create the potential for these thoughts to become self-fulling. Especially if you treat someone as if they are already doing what you fear, it makes them more likely to go ahead and do it. Instead of expecting the worst possible outcome, begin to expect something good to happen to you. Confess God’s Word, ‘No evil will befall my family or me, nor will any plague come newer my dwelling (Ps.91:10).’ Expect God to do something good, and your faith will release a blessing.

4. Leaping to conclusions

They mistakingly believe that they know what another person is thinking without having any facts to support it. They repeatedly and habitually make negative assumptions that fuel depression and anxiety.

You walk in a restaurant and find two friends eating lunch; you see them whisper and immediately assume they have abandoned your friendship and are badmouthing you.

Begin to identify when you are jumping to conclusions. Challenge yourself to expect the best of the other person. Instead of becoming anxious about things you don’t even know are real, determine to wait until you have more information before drawing a conclusion. ‘I am ever ready to expect the best of every person (1Cor.13:7).’

5. Black and white thinking 

You can’t see grey. You are probably a perfectionist that thinks their work is flawless or worthless. You see average as complete failure. You think first place is the only winning spot and every thing else is a loser.

This distortional thought pattern sets you up for failure, disappointment, depression, and anxiety. You will work endless hours to make something perfect, or will procrastinate and never finish because if it’s not perfect, you feel worthless. Also, if you struggle with perfectionism, you will need to watch that you don’t fall into the trap of comparisons. ‘Learn to be content with whatever you have (Phil.4:11).’ Quit focusing on what you don’t have, and start thanking God for what you do have. Choose to love yourself, forgive yourself, and accept yourself unconditionally, even if you make a mistake.

6. Unenforceable rules

Trapping in anxiety, they make rigid rules about what should, must, or ought to be done, and tries to put people in a box. The more unrealistic and unenforceable the rules are, the greater the disappointment. ‘They should stop cutting me off in traffic.’ Situations, people, and society aren’t usually going to turn out in your favor. The only should statement you need is ‘I should practice mercy and forgiveness’. ‘Love keeps no records of wrongs’, so I throw out my record-keeping book. Eliminate should statements and use I would like to or I prefer.

7. Labeling

‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me’ is absolutely false. We need to eliminate labeling words from our vocabulary, such as idiot, loser, klutz, failure, stupid, pathetic, pitiful, jerk. Labels destroy self-esteem, self-worth, and as a result many never accept love. ‘Life and death are in the power of the tongue.’ Choose to see yourself and others the way God sees them. He calls me ‘the apple of His eye,’ ‘His beloved,’ ‘His child’.

8. Negative Filter

This person usually discounts all information that is positive. They discredit compliments. They remember mainly criticisms and negative information. They focus on the bad while the good slips away. These ‘pit thinkers’ usually overgeneralize, taking one bad circumstance and believing its it the trend of how your life will proceed. They use words like always and never. ‘I will always be like this.’ ‘I will never change.’ Stop using absolute words that set you up for failure. Try to enjoy the next compliment you receive. Practice eating the meat and spitting out the bones. Remember that God Himself forgives and forgets our failures. ‘Think about those things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy (Phil.4:8).’ Filter the news, tv shows, music you listen to. If anything falls short of every criterion, refuse to watch, think, or speak it.

9. Emotional reasoning

This person feels like their feelings are facts. If they feel hopeless about an exam, they might not even show up to take it. They give up because their emotions make them feel defeated. The healthy thinker separates emotions from their overall self-worth. They realize that despite how they are feeling, they can change the outcome of the situation.

Realize that negative feelings are a sign that you are thinking negative, depressing thoughts. You need to immediately tune in to the thoughts or beliefs that are at the root of the emotion and simply change the channel of your mind to the one of gratitude. I will not be influenced by my emotions or feelings, because ‘the just shall live by faith (Heb.10:38).’ ‘Let us not weary in doing well: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not (Gal.6:9).’

10. The blame game

Many are stuck in a trap of blaming others or God. This creates a vicious circle of thinking and feelings that leads to anger, resentment, bitterness, depression, and anxiety. People with a victim mentality fit within this group of faulty thinkers. They feel like everything bad that happens to them is someone else’s fault. Blame locks you into the past; it prevents you from examining yourself, recognizing, and removing thought patterns and mind-sets that continue to sabotage your life. Learn to take responsibility for yourself, forgive yourself and others, and refuse to blame anyone. Forgiveness is a choice not a feeling. ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.’ Refuse to rehash any hurt or pain.

---

Testimony: I remember when I started trying to reprogram my mind. Every single thought I had was negative. I put a list of these 10 concepts on my dashboard, and memorized them. I started pinpointing them and trying to refuse the negative thoughts. In the beginning I could hardly keep out a negative thought for a whole second. Just like any goal, you have to do some work. Lifting weights will wear you out, but the next time you go, you are stronger. You can work your way up to 2 seconds without negativity. Maybe you can start to think one positive thought; try to convince yourself that it is true. At least believe that God’s Word is true and quote those over yourself. Keep going! It’s been a year, or two, and I am completely changed. I can’t stand hearing a single negative comment. After coming out from under nearly 25 years of negativity, I truly have a distaste for it. I am free, positive, and know God’s plan for me is good. I can see myself through His eyes, and I can see bad situations through His eyes. IT. IS. SO. WORTH. IT. Don’t give up.

---

Worship: Emma, by Jason Upton: Trusting The Angels

Prayer: God, thank you for creating us and saying ‘It is good’. Restore us back to our factory settings. Help us once again submit our will, ways, and thinking to your ways which bring health and wholeness. Thank you for being the great physician, our healer, and therapist. Thank you Spirit for being our counselor and teacher. Thank you Jesus for setting the example and giving us authority. Help us take dominion over our own minds and submit them to your kingdom instead of this world which bring such distorted thinking. Everything out from under your authority is in rebellion and chaos. We want to overcome the enemies of anxiety and depression. Go to this generation now and tear down the spirits exalted above it. Let the knowledge of you cover the earth as the sea. Stay the death angel and deliver your people from their slavery; free their minds. Bring them out of bondage. Let this generation x, that the world thought would be the dog, rise to be the head and not the tail. Bring transformation to their minds, and to the world. Wrap them up in a cocoon of your Words and see them through this transformation where they will no longer crawl, but sprout wings, in Jesus name, Amen.

---

For more on this topic get the book:

Shame & Beauty

If you could change something about your body would you? Which part(s)?

If you said yes, are you driven by shame? Think about each part you said yes to changing and recall the times someone shamed you for that part.

Do you want shame to win or you? Jesus loves us as we are. We need to work on seeing ourselves the same way He does. His love is never conditional to our ability to change. He died for us before we ever accepted His love. Love, however, is a powerful force that causes change. Its not by forcing/controlling us. Love changes us because love makes us want to be able to connect even more to the one we love. We want more connection not because they want/require change, and not to earn more love, but because we want to be as connected to them as possible.

So don’t give into shame, which says you have to change to be loved. Give into love. Accept yourself. Cut down the enemies lies and start to see yourself the way God sees you.

We might say:
Sos 1:6 – Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept!

But He says:
Sos 4:1 – Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold, you are beautiful!

So we lean on Him:
Sos 8:5,10 – Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved?… then I was in his eyes as one who finds peace

Go back to the situations that brought you shame and choose to believe Gods words instead of the enemies slanders. If your enemy called you ugly, find out what God says. Don’t we typically care more about what our friends say about us than the people who hardly know, or don’t know, us at all? Believe God’s word, then you will have peace and you will not feel like you need to change to get love, because God’s love will replace the pain.

Sos. 7:10 – I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me