Spirit, Soul and Body

There is more to life than what we can see, hear, taste and feel. Two worlds exist, a physical and a spiritual world. We are born into the physical world where we perceive and assess everything according to our senses and mental logic. In John 3:3-6 Jesus explains to Nicodemus that in order to enter God's kingdom which exists in the spiritual world that one needed to be born again by receiving a brand new spirit.

John 3:3-6 (Amplified Bible)

"Jesus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter his mother's womb again and be born? Jesus answered, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a man is born of water and [even] the Spirit, he cannot [ever] enter the kingdom of God. 

What is born of [from] the flesh is flesh [of the physical is physical]; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit."

Jesus makes the distinction between your spirit and your flesh. Another scripture further distinguishes between three entities.

1 Thessalonians 5:23
“and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved sound and complete [and found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).”

As a believer, your spirit is born of the Holy Spirit. As such it is perfect! You have been born again of incorruptible seed, the Word of God.

1 Peter 1:23
“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”

Actions prompted by your born again spirit are pure and without sin! You are perfect in spirit.

This is who you really are, you are perfect!

1 John 3:9
“No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.”

Be inspired!

Your spirit feeds on inspiration, i.e. information that comes from God and not from your logical mind!

The Bible is written to your spirit man and feeds you with spiritual thoughts. 

2 Timothy 3:16 (Amplified Bible)

“Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose, and action)”

This happens by revelation to your spirit directly from the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 30:21

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Think of the word, “inspiration.” It means something that comes into your spirit. Perhaps it is wisdom from God as to how to deal with a certain situation. Perhaps it is a poem, a beautiful melody or a thought that could transform the lives of millions. Listen out for the inspirations in your life. They may be coming from God. Act on them. I believe it is your duty to do so. It could be God leading you out of a cursed situation into blessing! I love the saying, “Yesterdays blessing could be tomorrow’s curse.”

Perhaps it is your time to move on to a brand new life by inspiration!

What is God saying to you?

Obviously God will not lead you into doing something immoral or sinful.

Romans 8:6
“Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever].”

The Bible sees your mind as part of your flesh. That is why I spoke of Mind-Body disorders in a previous blog. The mind really has its own organ, and that is called the brain. It’s thought normally come from the environment, based on information received through the five senses. That is why ugly words said to you or bad actions done to you can have such a devastating and long term effect.

God thoughts are not logical like those of your fleshly mind. Your mind may tell you are a nobody, but God is telling you that you have been crowned with glory and honor. (Psalm 8:5) The negative message was birthed through words and experiences through the five senses from the natural world. The positive message came by revelation through the word of God.

As a Christian, you should never make important decisions based solely on logical deduction. You must wait on God and for His peace and joy to settle in your heart regarding what you should do.

The scripture says that actions based on the thoughts of the natural mind alone lead to death! 

Believing negative thoughts eventually become core beliefs that settle in your unconscious. As we have seen that in that way they can destroy your hopes and dreams.

Malachi 2:16
“Therefore, keep a watch upon your spirit [that it may be controlled by My Spirit],”

The thoughts of God are good thoughts. They may not seem right to your mind of flesh but they lead to life.

A home for your thoughts

Your soul is made up of your thoughts, feelings and will power. God created a special place for your thoughts there. He also tells you what to think.

Philippians 4:8 

 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

God knows that good thoughts lead to good feelings and good feelings to good decisions and good decisions lead to good actions and more good thoughts.

Thoughts inspired by God are good but thoughts based on information from the five senses can be totally misleading if they conflict with spiritual truth!

Either you are sick according to your symptoms or you have been healed according to the Word. Either you are poor according to your pocket book or you are rich according to 2 Cor. 8:9.

Your spiritual reality may greatly differ from your physical reality. You may be suffering lack in life and yet God has blessed you, healed you and prospered you in the spirit world. Faith is a bridge that transfers a spiritual into a physical reality 

Think what you will to think. Think that you are sick and poor according to what you see, hear, touch and feel, or that you are healthy and wealthy according to Divine revelation. 

I believe the latter. The choice is yours!

Your Victory Shout!

"Declaring victory before you can see the results of the battle is a manifestation of faith." These great words from Bill Burns are inspirational. Declaring victory in the heat of the battle when coming from the heart has resulted in magnificent victories for anything and everyone from great armies to sports teams, business ventures and individuals facing overwhelming odds. For the Christian believer it is especially important to infuse his or her times of praise with a bold sense of victory in every situation and over every obstacle.

The size of the obstacle is of no importance and should by no means be an intimidating factor. Big scarey names do not scare our mighty God and Savior. Big name opponents such as cancer, bankruptcy, disaster, failure, worthlessness, depression etc will all succumb to a healthy dose of sustained praise of our Lord as the Master over every obstacle or opponent. Sustained praise has the amazing effect of infusing one’s spirit man with that sense of certain success that brings about the desired result, victory!

The Scriptures inspire us with great examples of victory over seemingly overwhelming opposition. The young David stepping up to defeat the enormously large and powerful giant Goliath with just a few pebbles in his hand is not just a tale for kids in Sunday school but a powerful message to each one of us that victory against impossible odds is well within our grasp.

Psalm 149:4
For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.

2 Corinthians 2:14
Thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph.

Wow, what a promise! God will always lead us in triumph. If we are aware of this as a promise and hold God to it by faith that is, believing it and proclaiming it, He goes ahead of us in and turns every situation into a victory for us.

Climb to the top of your situation and proclaim your victory!

Another great and often quoted inspiring tale from the Bible can be found in 2 Chronicles 20. King Jehosaphat awoke to find Jerusalem surrounded by invading armies totaling over a million men. Seeking God’s help, an instruction came through a prophet to place the praise and worship singers and musicians ahead of the army and march toward the enemy. As they sang praises to God, the enemy turned on and killed each other!

Take this lesson from the Good Book and apply it to your situation. Start praising your Lord and Savior for who He is, awesome in power and mighty in battle. Allow God to go ahead of you into the fray and let Him fight the battle for you. Keep praising, keep going until that wonderful sense of victory starts gripping your soul. Then shout out, proclaiming your victory! \

Your focus during the process should be of God and not on the obstacle. As you make God bigger in your thoughts and emotions, the enemy will become smaller. God is the answer and the solution to all problems. Focus on Him and not on the issues of life. Ah, if you could only train yourself to do that, your effectiveness and success in this life will soar as an eagle, far above everyday trials and tribulations.

John 16:33 (Amplified Bible)
I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]

Amazing Love!

Amazing Love!

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" 

1 John3:1 

God has lavished His love on you, even though it may not seem like it, looking at your circumstances! The more you grasp this Bible truth the more your life will change until you experience the fullness of God!  Become established in the fact of His love for you and your life will change for the better. 

More blessings than you can imagine! 

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20

Jesus died to save you!

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.” Ephesians 2:4

Where will you spend eternity? 

God has made it so easy for you to know for certain that you will go to heaven! “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”  Romans 10:9 Read the script, "How To Be Saved" to the right.

Let Christ live in your heart by faith.

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”  Ephesians 3:16

God love will not fail! “How priceless is your unfailing love O Lord. People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.” Psalm 36:7

“Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies (Psalm 36:5).

I pray that you ... may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” Ephesians 3:17

Love is sweeter than honey!

Lavished with love!

“But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love.” Psalm 103:8

“The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness" Jeremiah 31:3

"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing" Zephaniah 3:17

Dwelling on God's love for you constantly will remove all fear from your life!   “There is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment and the one who fears is not perfected in love”. John 10:10

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:16-21

Meditate!

“O God, we meditate on Your unfailing love” Psalm 48:9  If we meditate on God's Word day and night, then we will have great success. Instead of thinking about problems, memorize these love scriptures. (Joshua 1:8)

Stop the performance!

Most people have been told that God will love them in proportion to their performance. That is not what the Bible teaches. God loves us in spite of who we are.

As believers we accept that getting saved and being born again is not based on performance but simply on receiving Jesus' atonement for sins. We know that it is just as easy for a thief or drunk or adulterer to get saved as it is for a good man. When it comes to healing, prosperity, joy etc., people think that unless you are doing what you should and conforming to certain standards that God won't bless you.

You have to put faith not in what you do but in what Jesus has already done for you. That is the Gospel, the good news. Jesus already died for your salvation, your healing, your deliverance and your prosperity independent of your performance.

The quality of our performance does not gain us anything with God. Only the faith that He has already given us all these things does. Looking to Jesus as Savior and Lord, means accepting His unconditional love and the freedom from being rejected based on your level of performance or how good you are. How well you are performing is not the issue with God but how much you believe or put your faith in His performance on your behalf!  Yours is a full and complete salvation that includes freedom from want in every area. Do not set performance standards for yourself as to what you have to do to be more worthy of receiving Gods love, healing, wealth, peace etc. As a believer, you are already saved (Romans 10:9), you are already healed (Isaiah 53:5), you are already delivered (Colossians 1:13) and you are already rich! (1 Corinthians 8:9). You simply have to receive these facts as true for you as a spiritual truth just as God is true in spirit, and all those blessings will start manifesting in your life!

Keep Your Back Door Shut!

Living a holy life will never earn God's goodness, but it will stop the devil from stealing the blessings God has for you.

"The thief comes only to  steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

Holiness does not change Gods heart towards you. He loves a sinner and a holy person equally. We can do nothing to earn His love.

Sinning is acting in line with the fallen nature of man and that gives the devil a legal right to attack you.

When you commit sin you yield yourself to the author of that temptation which is the devil and he will see to it that you have sickness, poverty and broken fellowship with God.

If you sin, it does not stop God from loving you and blessing you. It is like keeping your front door open to receive the love and blessing of God and at the same time leaving your back door open for the devil to sneak in and steal them all!

You have been receiving from God only what you think you deserve. Because of his unconditional love, God is trying to give you what you don’t deserve. He loves and blesses not because of who you are but because of who He is!  He is love!

Satan will do his best for you not to realize this so he can keep you in a crushed and defeated state.

Sin stops your blessings from manifesting! Rise up, submit yourself to God, and he, the devil will flee from you! (James 4:70)

Feeling 

Unloved, Condemned & Depressed?

"To condemn", is a word used when a building is declared unfit for use. Condemnation is the worst tool that Satan uses against you. The devil will get you to feel unloved, inadequate, condemned and unfit for use. He whispers in your ear, “How could God use you or love you? Why would He bless you, save you, heal you or provide for you? If you really understood how much God loves you and how unconditional His love is, condemnation which comes to you from the devil who uses people for the job will no longer be a factor holding you back. 

Jesus was condemned so that you can walk free of it. Every negative feeling that you may feel, you can be free of because He took all those bad thoughts and feelings of inadequacy upon himself at the cross so that you can walk away a free person. Decide to do that each time it comes up. 

The Bible says that, "there is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.'

Romans 8:1

God holds nothing against you. The very reason Jesus died was so that he could remove every accusation that anyone could ever make against you! That is the good news!
Judgment will one day come to people not because they are sinners but because they did not escape the penalty of their wrong deeds by accepting that Jesus' paid the price for those sins. Jesus paid the price for all of mankind's past and future sins 2000 years ago, long before you committed your wrong deeds.

“He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.”  2 Corinthians 5:15

God is not ready to strike you down the moment you put your foot wrong. If He did He would have to let Jesus die all over again so you could walk free again. That is just nonsense!

He looks at you with total love as though He is looking at Jesus. God looks at you with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness in His eyes. He is totally in love with you like a newlywed husband with you, His bride!

“All you need is love!”

“All you need is love”, sang the Beatles years ago and the world sang it with them, recognizing a truth in there somewhere. The love we all need is not the falling in love kind but the God kind of love that the old Greek text of the Bible calls “agape.”

When you get the love of God in your heart you will find it easy to believe God for His promises and for your requests to Him because the Bible teaches us that faith or the ability to believe works by love! The power of believing or having faith has seen the dead raised and countless miracles right here in our times. 
If we continually live and operate in the love of God we will easily see our faith for the miraculous rise to new levels because faith operates by love.

“For [if we are] in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor un-circumcision counts for anything, but only faith activated and energized and expressed and working through love.“ Galatians 5:6 (Amplified Bible)

Your faith for Gods promises won’t work if you think that God’s love for you is conditional and  disappears every time you mess up. 

God tells us to forgive others 70 x 7 times a day for the same offense, and that means every single time! Through Jesus, He has forgiven all of yours. His love never waxes or wanes but is consistent. He loves you regardless of how many times you have sinned. Get rid of self condemnation and accept His forgiveness. If you don't, He is not your Lord and Savior in that area of your life and Jesus died in vain for that aspect of your life.

Because God’s love for you is so great, your faith for miracles can be equally great. Start believing Him now for things you never dared to before. He loves you so much and has all the power to bring it about. He just needs you to cooperate with Him and believe that He is doing it!

 
"Without faith it is impossible to please God."  Hebrews 11:6

If you have a problem having faith, then you don’t believe that God loves you. God so loves us that he submitted His kingdom to us. ”It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32 

There is plenty of everything you need in the kingdom of God! 

God’s kind of love loves you at all times. God submitted Himself to the Word that He gave us. 
If you do not accept the Word or promise that He gives you, He cannot move on your behalf. You have to choose to believe it and speak it out. He respects the freedom to choose that He gave you. If He moves on your behalf without your consent He would have to violate His Word. He has committed certain powers and authorities such as free will to us and He will not violate that. 

When a person gets saved today his sins did not just get forgiven but they are receiving today what Jesus did for them long ago. In the same way you can receive the wealth, health, joy and peace and prosperity that He paid for on your behalf all those years ago. God did everything He is going to do as a love gift to you. Now, you need to do your part by receiving it, and saying that you have it. It is your choice to believe it and to receive it or not to!

God is love. He wants you to love others with the God kind of love. That’s the way He loves you!

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always per-severes. Love never fails.”  1 Corinthians 13;4-8

Coping With Chaos

After watching a disturbing video on YouTube how Christian brothers (and sisters) in India were clubbed to death for their faith, I felt prompted to write this posting. After receiving encouraging words on this blog from a sister in India who ministers her faith from village to village, I determined to do so in my concern for her safety and for that of all believers everywhere.

Why trouble comes

 Our safety is highly important to God. Listen again to these well known words from our Master, “The thief (Satan) comes only in order to kill, steal and destroy (you)….” John 10:10

Jesus is saying that Satan is out to kill you. Beware! He will use people and circumstances to do it. Let's understand just why he wants to do it. We find the simple answer in Mark 4:15-17. When you receive God’s word, Satan immediately brings about trouble and persecution in your life so that you give up or no longer believe that God’s word is true. This is true whether you are trusting God for eternal life, healing, deliverance, provision or protection. I don’t believe for a minute as many preachers do that God brings trouble your way to test you. (James 1) Difficult cicumstances do test your faith, but God did not send them your way. He loves you, and in Mark 4 Jesus tells us who the real author of trouble is. 

Fill your thoughts with promises, not circumstances!

Regardless of what you are trusting God for, you need to hang on and trust in God’s word with you dear life, no matter how impossible it may seem to your senses and logical mind. Satan will turn both people and circumstances against you and turn up the heat to try and get you to deny that what God has promised you will come to pass. Refuse to believe his lies. Refuse to think of the problem. Stay your eyes on Jesus and His promises of protection.

It is hard to build a house in the midst of a storm. That means that you need to build your faith in God’s promises before a storm of persecution comes. Learn and memorize His word on a subject, lay the foundation of your faith in His promises deep in your soul, meditate on it day and night and then your ways will become successful. (Joshua 1:8)

God is bigger than the problem.

The story in Daniel Chapter 3, of Daniels three friends who refused to worship an idol even when confronted with dying in a blazing fire is the standard we need to aspire to. Their level of trust in God was greater than what confronted them. God was bigger and stronger than the heat of the furnace! The lesson here is to always see or think of God as bigger than the problem. Whatever it is confronting you, God is able to deliver you. Circumstances are natural events, but God is supernatural! The scripture in John 10:10 continues by Jesus saying, “but I have come that they (you) may have life and have it more abundantly.”

God does not desire your death but came to give you life more abundantly. Have that promise so strongly in your heart that nothing will shake you.

“No weapon formed against you shall prosper” Isa 54:17. Saying these words of God continually in the midst of persecution will bring angels to your defense. Remember that the kingdom of God operated by love and faith. We do not fight against people but against demonic powers that Satan inspires steal from you and to destroy you. Even on the cross Jesus asked the Father to forgive his persecutors. Stay in love for people no matter what. They are only tools in the hand of our true enemy, the devil.

Psalm 91

Years ago when I was newly married and lived in a South African town where people were being murdered around us on a regular basis, I asked my wife to learn Psalm 91 off by heart to cope with the fear that Satan uses to try and destroy us. Friends, believe me, it is worth the effort! Teach it to you children too. You never know when you may need to recall the many promises of your safety in that beautiful Psalm. You may well disagree with me but I believe that many that have been martyred for the sake of the gospel may not have been aware of God's promises of protection just as many have died of disease that could have survived had they build the promises of healing strongly into their hearts by regular meditation. 

God's Special World

The Secret Place

The Bible speaks of a special place, a world that we should seek out where God’s ways are in operation all the time. It is called the kingdom of God. In God’s world, whatever you desire and ask for you immediately receive because you believe. (Mark 11:24) There, it is so easy to believe because you experience His constant presence so powerfully that it is impossible to experience any fear, any pain, any disappointment, any defeat or any loss.

 In God’s world your desires are all met.(Ps.37:4) There, you live in perfect health and have no financial needs or lack of any kind. There, you are filled with all the fullness of God. Thoughts of lack and thoughts of God's fullness cannot occupy your mind at the same time. There, you can come boldly into His presence night or day. There, He keeps you in perfect peace because you have trained yourself to keep your mind fixed on Him, (Isa.26:3) Once there, all the fruit of the Spirit, love, peace patience, kindness, gentleness and self control are experienced without any effort at all. In that place, your delight is in Him and you find yourself often just bursting out with spontaneous praise! The joy of the Lord becomes so strong inside that you have the sense that nothing can in any way hurt you. There, He always leads you in victory in every possible situation! There, you are truly more than a conqueror through Christ who loves you.

In God’s world, His amazing love for you and care for every detail of your life becomes your overwhelming experience.  Any hurt that you may have suffered; every setback and every rejection instantly melts away in his loving gaze and warm embrace. What a place!

Is it possible for you to have access to God’s world right here in this world of trouble and turmoil? Is there a way to find this place where you can finally be at peace and live without care? Just how can you get to this wonderful experience of knowing all your bills are paid, your family without sickness and disease, well housed and fed and destined for success?

Finding your way there

There is a way, praise God! We read in Matt. 6:33 “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, (His way of doing and being right) and all these things will be added unto you.”  You and I can get there. We can build a bridge in our mind to that special world where only good things happen. 

The way to do it is move there permanently, (Isa. 58:14). It is time to switch off the television and with it the cares of this world. Switch off all the cares of your world, your pains, your trails, all your concerns. It is time to become still and know that He is God. It is time for the revelation that in His presence, nothing can by any means hurt you. It is time to meditate so long and so much on the scriptures of healing that no disease can bear to be in your body. It is time to fill your mind with all the scriptures of His provision that no bill can bear being unpaid, and that no weapon formed against you can possibly prosper!

Living in a world of miracles

How wonderful is this special supernatural world and secret place of God where miracles are the norm and where you can therefore live without care. Decide by an act of your God given free will to move there permanently and begin to see all your needs met in this natural and physical world by supernatural means, (Phil.4:19). Your passport is to be still and know that Jesus is Lord.Your visa is to refuse to let your heart be troubled (John 14:1). Your itinerary is a continuous joyful journey to all those beautiful mental places, the promises of God.  He is not a man that He should lie and they will come to pass if you only believe!