Healing from Negative Emotions

Every person alive is affected by our childhood experiences. The memory of these events are stored in our subconscious mind. They shaped our opinion of our self and how we react to the world around us.

They cause many of our current negative emotions, which affect us in body, soul and spirit. These negative emotions are driven by lies, which Satan planted in each of our life's experiences.

The deep hurt, abuse, rejection, condescension, ridicule, belittlement and deprivation we experienced are etched into our subconscious mind. We have feelings of being "not enough", failures, unworthy and unacceptable.

We continue to blame our self for our negative emotions rather than the woundedness caused by our significant others, which we carried into our adulthood.

This self-condemnation causes other deep seated negative emotions to dominate our soul, such as: depression, stress, anxiety, hopelessness, and feelings of being unlovable.

The negative self-talk accompanying these feelings actually comes directly from Satan's lies planted in our soul. God wants to set us free from these lies. As we surrender them to Him, He reveals to us His Truth about them.

This requires that we reject the negative attitudes, expressions and clichés, which we collected throughout our lifetime. God exposes unconscious memories by bringing them into our conscious mind.

He sets us free from their hidden power over us and provides us with His love, security, value, sense of belonging and life's necessities that we were deprived of in our past.

All that is required of us is that we courageously and willingly accept as our own, His free gifts of salvation, sanctification, deliverance and redemption (John 3:16-18; Psalm 34:19; 2 Corinthians 4:17).

Prayer:

Father God, continue to set us free from the negative energy of Satan's lies and help us to respond to Your love and provision in our life with gratitude and acceptance. When our emotions are triggered negatively by some current event, help us to trace it back to the lie, which Satan planted during our past; and then reveal to us Your truth about the situation in order to liberate us from the negative effects of these lies ( www.theophostic.com ).

Remind us to give attention to these nagging, unresolved conflicts, so that You can heal us and free us from their ability to rob us of the energy and focus we need to accomplish Your will with our life. Thank You that those, whom the Son sets free, are free indeed (John 8:36). We are no longer bound to negative emotions, but free to have a positive outlook on each moment of every day (Philippians 4:8).

Thought for the Day:

The significant others in our past did the best they could for us from their wounded soul; as we forgive them for their faults, we set our self free to love and be loved by God and other people.

Practical Faith

How can faith be practical as well as spiritual? When we get into our car and turn on the ignition, we have faith that the motor will start and take us to our desired location.

If we previously had trouble with our car starting, we still attempt to start the car, hoping beyond hope that the engine will turn over and the car will transport us to our destination.

This is how faith works in the spiritual realm as well. We hear the gospel story, and we realize the potential we could have in life, if our spirit was actually Born Again rather than dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1; Romans 8:10).

We put our faith in God to fill us by His Spirit, to regenerate our spirit and to save us from the penalty of our sins. This is more than blind faith, because we see the results of our belief in changes in our desires, thoughts, words and deeds.

This change is not affected by sheer will power or human determination. It is a spiritual change that has nothing to do with our body or soul (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

It is something, which God does for us. It is a walk of faith, which does not depend on our human understanding or self-effort (Proverbs 3:5-6; 2 Corinthians 5:7; Ephesians 2:8-9).

We cannot be good enough, wise enough, rich enough or powerful enough to earn our way to heaven. It is a gift from God just for us (Romans 6:23).

God's Spirit empowers us in the same way that the engine empowers the car. The power in the car energizes a dead hunk of steel into immediate life; and the Holy Spirit revives our dead spirit to live, move and have our being in Christ both now and for eternity (Acts 17:28).

Our life bears fruit for the Kingdom of God and our attitude and thoughts change from carnal to spiritual ones. The peace and joy of God flood our life.

We leave the world of dark destruction, influenced by sin and Satan's lies; and we enter the brilliant light of Christ, our ultimate Truth.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for planting our feet firmly on the Rock of Christ, so that neither temptation from the devil nor the storms of life can shake the bedrock of our foundation on Your Word and Your Spirit.

You removed the weight of sin from our shoulders by the righteousness of Christ, which You freely provide for us. Thank You for revealing to us by Your Spirit what Christ actually did for us on the cross, and how this revolutionizes how we view life and the activities we enjoy both now and in eternity.

Thought for the Day:

​​Faith in Christ impacts our daily life now, as well as determines our eternal destination; it is practical and influences the peace and joy in which we live our life.

God's Eternal Plan - Part 2

God loves humanity so much that He gave us His Word in the form of Jesus Christ, who left His place in the glories of Heaven and sacrificed His own life to pay the penalty for our sins (John 1:14). God also gave us His Word in written form to give us prophetic encouragement and His truth, as well as advice and instruction, which gives us skill for living in this world (2 Timothy 3:16).

Yet, the carnal mind cannot understand the things of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14). Some people, who were hurt by a Christian or who do not understand why God did not answer their prayer the way they expected Him to, will turn their back on God. They cannot see that the fairytales, which Satan feeds them, are actually lies;, and they call the Bible a book of fairytales instead (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12).

They end up condemning their self to eternal destruction by their unbelief (John 3:18). They forfeit the blessings of God in their life in order to maintain the illusion of control and independence. They want it said of them, "I did it my way." They are rebels at heart and will not submit their life to the will of God for them (Ephesians 2:10).

The more we share God's truth with God Haters, the further it pushes them away from our beloved King. They attribute their success to their own hard work, and little realize that God is sending love on thousands of generations of those who love Him (Exodus 20:6; Deuteronomy 5:10). The only hope for them is that they will respond as God's Spirit draws them to our Father God (John 6:44).

We simply repent of our sinful thoughts, words and deeds and then surrender control of our life to God. We lose nothing but heartache, disappointment and stress. We gain all the fruit of God's Spirit, as well as a mind conformed to the mind of Christ (Galatians 5:22-23; Romans 8:29). We live in a blessed environment now and forever, because our Daddy God cares for us so much better than we can ever care for our self.

Prayer:

Father God, You continually prod the children of Your beloved Saints to call out to You for salvation, but they often disregard Your call and warning. Their pride and rebellion resist believing the truths taught to them from the cradle. They prefer to buy into worldly propaganda, which teaches hate for You and Your followers. Of course, many people who are Christians in name only, and not by profession of faith in Christ, are poor examples of an authentic Believer. Please teach us to walk purely before You and please draw these angry unbelievers to Your loving heart.

Thought for the Day:

God haters often attribute hypocritical behavior to Believers, simply because we do not hold to or support their humanistic interpretation of Christ's teachings.

New Strides in Life

 

American youth grow up under the assumption that we can achieve the American dream. We go to college and we obtain job experience to guarantee our future success. However, life often careens out of our control. We pull our self up by our bootstraps and try all over again, shaking off the depression and hopelessness nipping at our heels.

Time after time, life sends us debilitating storms. We end up treading water, feeling like we will drown. There comes a time in everyone's life that we eventually admit that we are ultimately powerless to overcome the negative aspects of our life. Some people give up, and end up with physical and mental illnesses; some turn to addictions; and some realize that we need a savior outside of our self (Romans 7:18).

First, we attempt to trust in a person to bail us out. We get into codependent relationships that seem to stifle us in the end. In order to reinstate our sanity, we eventually realize that we must come to believe in a higher power. Some people try Eastern religions, positive thinking or something that epitomizes wholeness to them. This lasts for a little while, but often fizzles out, because our spirit is still dead in sin.

Everyone ever born has an innate knowledge of God within their soul, and they are yearning for their spirit to be reborn (John 3:1-21). Once we come to Christ as our Higher Power, He helps us to clear our conscience of the dead works of unforgiveness, anger, resentment, bitterness, etc. He is greater than anything this world has to offer (Philippians 2:13).

He also reminds us of people to whom we need to ask forgiveness, and He helps us to make amends for the harm we perpetrated on their life (Lamentations 3:40; Luke 6:31; Matthew 5:23-24). We can obtain Christian counseling or find an accountability partner to continually hold us responsible to walk in God's Truth (James 5:16; 1 Corinthians 10:12).

As we humble our self before the Lord, He replaces our moral deficiencies with the fruit of His Spirit (James 4:10; Galatians 5:22-23). We come to know Him intimately, and He progressively exchanges our carnal nature for His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). God assures us of His love, which transcends our human understanding. Filling us with His Spirit He slowly and deliberately floods our entire being with Himself (Ephesians 3:19).

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that no one is perfect, and we can forgive those who harmed us and ask forgiveness from those whom we have harmed. As we pray and read Your Word, draw us closer to You, tell us Your Will for each moment of our life, and give us the power to carry it out (Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 3:16). Thank You for totally forgiving us for our transgressions of Your law and for sanctifying us daily as we walk toward Your perfection (1 John 1:9; Matthew 5:48).

Thought for the Day:

Nothing but living in service to Jesus Christ can fill the void that continually haunts our life. - Romans 12:1

Free Indeed

As a child of God, we can dwell in His presence, through our connection with the sacrifice of His Son. We can also fellowship with Him and hear His voice (Revelation 3:20). We have access to the Most Holy Place any time day or night (Hebrews 4:16), and we can stand against Satan's wiles regardless of the circumstance in which we find our self (Psalm 139:8).

Circumstances from our past frequently disturb our daily life now. We have dreams, nightmares, fleeting memories or an ache in our soul, which we cannot explain. We fear facing these distant experiences and we do not realize that they will continue to haunt us until we uncover Satan's lie in the midst of them, and hear God's truth about them.

These memories continue to effect every moment of our life, even if we refuse to consciously think about them. They fuel our current emotions and cause us to over-react to a minor incident. We can unburden our soul of these negative emotions by allowing God to search our heart, to reveal to us our anxious thoughts, and to free us from Satan's bondage over our past (Psalm 139:23-24).

God's truth is our lamp and light and it searches our mind and emotions (Psalm 119:105; Proverbs 20:27). God's Spirit leads us into all truth (John 16:13). If we are open to facing the lies Satan planted in our past, and are willing to take the time to listen to God's truth about those experiences, He shall set us free indeed (John 8:36).( www.theophostic.com )

Prayer:

Father God, help us to sit quietly before You and to receive Your healing from the lies Satan planted in our past. Speak to us by Your Spirit to set us free from his bondage in our soul. We thank You for wanting us to walk in Your truth and for making this a possibility in our life. Heal us from the buried secrets of our past, which affect every moment of our life until we allow You to shed Your light on them, to share Your truth to us about them and to set us free.

Thought for the Day:

The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in every Believer and wants to set us free to serve and worship God in spirit and in truth. - Romans 8:11; John 4:24

The Beauty of Holiness

What most people do not realize is that there is beauty in holiness (Psalm 29:2, 96:9). There are church denominations, which add to Biblical law and fence members of their congregation into a narrow, legalistic lifestyle, which is more rigid than God ever intended. 

The standard by which we judge our behavior is not by human dogma, activities or acceptance, but the Truth of God's Word.However, there is also a tendency today to skirt Biblical directives and to partake in sinful activities, which we justify in our own heart as harmless. 

When we flirt with the flesh, the world and Satan, we walk a fine line between God's Truth and Satan's lies. We compromise our character. By our thoughts, words and deeds, we tarnish the name of our Father God.

We even shut up the Kingdom of Heaven for some, because of our hypocritical lifestyle (Matthew 23:13-14). God is holy, and He dwells within us; therefore, He desires His habitation to be a place of holiness (1 Peter 1: 15-16). 

Before He even created the world, God planned for His Saints to live a holy, blameless life before Him, out of our love for Him (Ephesians 1:4, 2:10).Human beings are so self-centered that we cannot comprehend the fullness of life beyond the grave. 

We think that we have to experience all that life on this earth has to offer, because we only have one life to live. This is a lie straight from the pit of hell. Our earthly life is merely temporary (James 4:14). It is our life in God's eternal Kingdom that is our true life.

Prayer:

Father God, our sinful habits and our sinful lifestyle spit in Your face (1 Thessalonians 4:7). We focus on issues in this life, when that is not what You are really concerned about at all. Many people wonder what Your will is for them. Your will is more about our sanctification than our place of employment, brand of car or style of clothing (1 Thessalonians 4:3). 

Giving thanks for our lot in life is also Your will for us (1 Thessalonians 5:18). You actually put us in the neighborhood and occupation in which we can further Your Kingdom, and that should be our daily focus.

Thought for the Day:

God calls us to be a living testimony of the change His presence makes in our life and as examples of righteous living to the praise of His glory. - Ephesians 1:12