Integration with God's Spirit

 

When we detach from the belief that we are only the sum of what we think and feel, we are able to integrate our true inner self with God's Spirit within us.

We see and forgive the causes of our faulty thinking and behavior and are healed. As we accept our feelings and idiosyncrasies without judgment, we can submit them to God's Spirit for sanctification.

We stop fighting our self and start growing in Christ. God's Spirit sets us free from the bondage of Satan's lies which controlled us for most of our life ( www.theophostic.com ).

We align our thinking with God's Word. Our days take on a hue of joy and peace unfamiliar to us in the past. The presence of God's Spirit within us helps us to see our faulty thinking and behavior without negative repercussions or condemnation (Romans 8:1).

We relax and trust in God's goodness and compassion. We pull the plug on the power which our negative feelings once held over our life. We learn to reject Satan's lies and to embrace God's Truth.

We no longer entertain them as real and important; and instead we view them as red flags which signal a deeper problem within.

Our realization, that our strong over-reaction to a person or experience comes from old wounds and unresolved conflicts, gives us more balance in our life and priorities.

We face our fears head-on and allow God's Spirit to diffuse them for us. We see the idols we erected in our life for what they are, and we cooperate as the Holy Spirit tears them down.

Patience does her perfecting work in us and things of this world no longer grip us with the former, inordinate, over-powering importance which the earthly and material issues used to hold in our life. We look forward to the miracles God plants in all of our trials.

Prayer:

Father God, we find joy in our tribulation (Romans 5:3), because of Your presence in them with us. You hold us in the safety of Your hand and shelter us under the shadow of Your wings (Psalm 139:10). We realize that the disappointments and wounds of our childhood hold no more power over our current moment, because You set us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).

We forgive those who hurt and used us; and we look forward to a new chapter in our life, full of Your blessings and new possibilities. Teach us to walk in Your Spirit every moment of the day and to do the works which You created us to do before we were even born (Ephesians 2:10).

Thought for the Day:

As we face the grief of our past with a spiritual viewpoint, the intensity of it diminishes and we are freed from the power of negative emotions, which used to infect our life.

Living In God's Presence

Many people are too busy to hear the call of God's Spirit within them to abide alone in His presence and to come and rest a little while. We fill our days and nights with chores and activities, and then sit in front of the TV or radio if we have a moment to spare! 

We also have texting, instant messages, and social media to keep us occupied; sometimes, even after we turn off the light and go to bed! God's Spirit is calling us to cease from our labors and to enter into God's rest (Hebrews 4:1-10). 

God captivates us and draws us closer to Him with each passing day. He calls us to wait on Him and to luxuriate in His holiness, love, peace and joy. In our spirit, we experience the delights of fellowshipping with the Spirit of the King of Kings. We focus only on God and tune out the world around us.

Our desire for intimacy with God increases daily. In our quiet times, He reveals to us the truths of His Word and the answers to our questions. We choose to make our self available to service in any area, which God highlights for us to do. 

We live in more and more victory over sin and more peace in our soul (Isaiah 26:3). The angel of the Lord camps all around us to protect and care for us (Psalm 34:7). The divine nature of Christ replaces the carnal nature of our humanity (2 Peter 1:4). 

We are more spiritually minded and we care less about the aspects of this world. We sit at Jesus' feet and soak up His presence, even if we sit in companionable silence. We eventually physically leave this place of solitude, but we remain there spiritually through each moment of the day.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that we can come to the place where we live in Your presence and never leave. We can carpool the children, give our boss 100% of our effort, provide for our family and nurture our mate as we dwell under the shadow of Your wings. 

We can view life's disappointments, heartbreaks and successes from Your eyes and react to life's stresses with Your character rather than our human nature.You fill our entire being with Your presence and You make us Yours forevermore.

Thought for the Day:

We continually remain in God's presence each moment of the day and walk in His Spirit to accomplish the works, which He calls us to perform. -  Ephesians 2:10

The Importance of Forgiving Yourself

"God remembers our sins no more.”
- Hebrews 8: 12

Sometimes it is easier to forgive others than it is to forgive our self. However, the same principles in God's Word concerning our responsibility to forgive others, also applies to forgiving our self. As humans, no one is perfect. We all make mistakes. You can eliminate self-rejection by reminding yourself that even in your failures God forgave you 2000 years ago. He took from you the burden of guilt for your actions and nailed it to the cross, because He already knew about and forgave you for what you have done. If God can forgive us, how can we do any less?

Sometimes, we even hold grudges against our self for our past disappointments, failures and mistakes. God holds no grudges. His steadfast love never ceases, His mercy never ends; in fact, it is new every single morning (Lamentations 3: 22-23). He casts the memory of our offenses as far away as the east is from the west (Psalms 103:12). Think about that...when you travel east around the globe, there is never a point that you start traveling west. The east never meets the west. God gives us endless forgiveness (Hebrews 8: 12). If we confess our sins, he is faithful to forgive us every time. He will do one better than that! He will also sanctify and purify us from all unholy behavior, if we will let Him (1 John 1:9). As we accept Christ's sacrifice for our sins, we can let go of our anger against our self and forgive our self.

There is no way that we can truly love others if we do not first love God and then our self. Luke 10: 27 admonishes us, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” God calls us to let go of our need to make an effort or to do penance to make up for our past offenses. Jesus already took care of the penalty for us on Calvary's cross (Acts 13:38). If you need to ask someone's forgiveness, or make amends for something you have done, now would be a good time to do that (Matthew 6:12). But even if they will not forgive you, God already forgave you, and Jesus shed His blood to guarantee your forgiveness. If God cares enough to forgive you, then you can forgive yourself too.

If you refuse to forgive yourself, then there are negative consequences ~ stress, inner turmoil, panic attacks, loss of sleep, irritability, chronic physical illnesses, anger, feeling overwhelmed and having strained relationships with others. If you do not forgive your self, you run the risk of more unresolved hurt, pain and suffering from self-destructive behaviors. You have guilt and remorse eating away at you from the inside out. Subconsciously, you may even be seeking revenge and paybacks toward yourself in a way that you are not even aware of. We have a putrefying wound that is never cured, until we accept God’s healing in this area of our life.

Unresolved, unproductive and unnecessary anger, hatred and blaming of your self are counterproductive. It is a trick of Satan to make us pessimistic and negative. It stops our growth in our spiritual walk until we come to the place of forgiving our self. These buried emotions may even make us defensive and distant with other people. We carry our feelings on our shoulders and think other people are talking about us or have an attitude toward us, when all along we are the one sinning against our self. We live in constant fear of failure, of making more mistakes or repeating old mistakes, of being rejected or of not gaining the approval of others, when all along we are the one rejecting and withholding approval from our self.

Sometimes, Satan discourages me into thinking that I am too incompetent to help anyone else. I get disheartened and I want to give up. Whenever this happens, God never fails to send me reassurance through His Word or an encouraging remark from a friend or even a stranger. His perfect plan will use all of my foibles to help someone else in their time of need. Despite all of our failings, God gives us overwhelming victory through Christ who loves us (Romans 8:37). Even if everyone else is fighting against us, including our self, they shall not prevail. God is with us to deliver us in our times of need (Jeremiah 1: 19). The Lord forgives us and we can forgive our self as well as one another (Colossians 3:13).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we are so blessed, because You forgave all of our transgressions and covered all of our sins. You never count our sin against us again. On the cross, You paid the penalty of the sins of the whole world once and for all (Romans 4:7-8). Now, we can forgive and comfort those who sin against us, including our self, so that we will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow (2 Corinthians 2:7). In You, we have redemption through Your blood. You forgive all of our sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace (Ephesans 1:7). We realize that since You forgave us unconditionally, we can follow Your example and forgive others and our self unconditionally as well.

Thought for the Day:

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone (even yourself), forgive him/her (and yourself), so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." - Mark 11:25