Negative Strongholds

 

 

God gave us a wide gamut of emotions, which signal to us the mood in which our spirit, soul and body exist. Joyful emotions arise from positive experiences, but also from a spiritual outlook on negative circumstances.

Negative emotions signal areas in our life, which need our attention along with prayer for God's wisdom, direction and solutions. These emotions are not meant for expression, but as red flags to gain our attention and point out negative strongholds.

                                                                                            

They will destroy us if we ruminate on them or over react because of them. However, they can also apprise us of how life is affecting us and give us an opportunity to change our circumstances or to give the issues to God's faithful care (1 Peter 5:7).

The most basic source of these negative emotion signal us of an unmet need for our body or soul - our thoughts and emotions. Once we discern their cause, we realize that we can meet our own need or trust God to care for that need.

Also, Satan's lies will create negative emotions in the battleground of our mind. He whispers his lies and we believe them. 

These lies affect our feelings about our self, destroy our relationships with God and other people, and also fuel other negative emotions, which may even effect our physical, mental and emotional health.

We often have unrealistic expectations for God, people, places and situations in our life, which disappoint us when they fail to happen. This causes a myriad of negative emotions to bombard our soul, which often overwhelm us.

These inordinate expectations, pet peeves and stresses in our life are idols, because we exalt them above our trust in God (Colossians 3:5). We desire fulfillment in areas that are unhealthy for us or out of God's timing or will for our life.

Our adverse reactions to life can be both destructive and informative. The ultimate outcome depends on our attitude, spiritual maturity and the action, which we take because of them.

Prayer:

Father God, teach us to heed the warning of these negative emotions, so that we can meet our physical, mental and emotional needs in ways, which are pleasing to You; we can hear Your truth about Satan's lies and either dispel them or change our focus about them; or we can surrender the idols in our life to You and wait on your timing and will or Your wisdom on dealing with the root cause of our negative emotions.

Remind us to schedule quiet times throughout our day, regardless of the amount of time we can make for them, so that we can take an inventory of our physical, mental and emotional health. Strengthen our inner being by Your Holy Spirit to hear Your wisdom from Christ in us in order to bear with, to change our focus about, or to deal with these issues. We trust You to care for us.

Thought for the Day:

Although we live in this earthly world, we exist in the spiritual realm; God gives us spiritual weapons to pull down strongholds, cast down Satan's lies and anything else, which attempts to exalt itself against the Truth of God as God's Spirit enables us to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. - 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Unified Prayer

 

Praying together for a common cause evokes spiritual power, which puts thousands to flight (Deuteronomy 32:30). We do not have to band together in one room at any certain time, but if we will all commit to pray without ceasing as the Spirit leads us, we will see God move in a mighty way (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). It pleases God to allow His Spirit to move within and through His Saints.

God teaches our soul to pray for the persecution, nominal faith and lack of spiritual power of the church worldwide. He burdens our soul for the situation in world governments. He grieves our soul with sorrow over the condition of the poor and needy (Mark 14:7). When we pray a unified prayer, directed by God's Holy Spirit, Jesus prays right along with us and God grants our requests (Matthew 18:20).

Knowing the mind of the Spirit and searching our heart, Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God interceding for us (Romans 8:27, 34). The steadfast love of our Almighty God never ceases (Lamentations 3:22). He waits upon us to make our requests known to Him in prayer (Philippians 4:6-7). He grants us anything we need by His glorious heavenly riches, as long as it is according to His will (Romans 8:28; Philippians 4:19).

Prayer:

Father God, Your mercies are new every single morning. Great is Your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:23). We know that You listen to the cries of the destitute and You will not ignore our needs (Psalm 102:17). Remind us to pray with a discerning mind and a grateful heart (Colossians 4:2). We know that there are certain spiritual strongholds of darkness that we will not be delivered from except through prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29). Teach us how to pray, unified by Your Spirit (Matthew 6:9-13).

Thought for the Day:

The early church constantly joined together in unified prayer.

- Acts 1:14

Every Thought Captive

We live in this world in our body with all of its carnal appetites; however, our true battle is not in our body. The battle is not earthly or human, but spiritual. The divine power of Christ in us is capable of destroying every fortress, which Satan builds in our soul with his lies. God’s Spirit in us is capable of destroying every assumption and haughty thought, which tries to replace our knowledge of God’s Truth (2 Corinthians 10:3-4).

This only happens when we take every thought captive and force it into obedience to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). We cannot overcome Satan’s stranglehold in our mind with our carnal resources. His strongholds are catalogued in our subconscious mind through our lifetime of experiences (www.theophostic.com). Our thoughts control what we say and how we act. We need the divine power of Christ in us to set us free.

Do we speak unholy words and do carnal deeds, or is our behavior Christ-like and holy? Do we feel negative emotions fueled by the disappointments and discouragement in our life, or do we feel positive emotions emerging from the mind of Christ within us? Do we pursue God’s will for our life, or are we immersed in our own goals and aspirations?

Do we insist on our own way, treat God like a magic genie and retain the control over our life? God encourages us to ask for what we need (John 15:7), but only as His Words abide in us and we walk in His will. We are the servants, and Jesus is our Lord. We have no rights and privileges other than what He grants to us. He is the potter, and we are the clay (Isaiah 45:9).

As we center our thoughts on Him and His will, we start to think only about what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8). God is the beginning and the end of our existence (Hebrews 12:2). We rejoice in Him, as He makes us complete in Him. We are comforted by His presence and we live in peace in His everlasting arms (2 Corinthians 13:11). 

Prayer:

Father God, You keep us in perfect peace as we focus our mind on You (Isaiah 26:3). Through Your power, You produce in us every good thought, word and deed, which pleases You. We trust in You implicitly, and we look to You for all of our needs. We give you all the glory both now and forever (Hebrews 13:21).

Thought for the Day:

God equips us with everything we need to do His will.

- Hebrews 13:21

Spiritually Alive

 

What is revival? Why are people always praying for revival? How does revival occur? Revival is a movement of holiness in the church brought on by the Spirit of God. The Spirit will inspire an individual to call out to God in prayer, or to attend a church service or to respond to the gospel message shared by one individual to another. The Spirit moves in the hearts of the people to desire more of God. It is up to us to respond to His gentle nudging.

Only those devoid of their own agenda and living in submission to the Spirit will experience revival. Only people who are spiritually alive can comprehend the truth of Spiritual concepts. Spirit-filled preachers and teachers explain God’s Word in such a way that everyone can understand it and receive it with open and repentant hearts. Then, when these new Believers read the Word, the Spirit quickens it to them as well.

Preaching opens up the Word of God by using Biblical references to explain each point. Those under conviction by the Holy Spirit may feel remorse for their ungodly behavior; however, they also feel the joy of God’s healing deep within their soul. Resentment and anger fall away. An abiding peace envelops them. We come to appreciate the conviction of our sin, because it proves that God loves us and is working to perfect us.

Jesus’ work on the cross is bigger than any sin we could ever commit. He is waiting with open arms to absolve us of the penalty of our sin, and to fill us with His Spirit; so we will have our own personal, daily revival. We obey God’s Word rather than the traditions and dictates of men. He becomes our stronghold in times of trouble. Even in our affliction, we take refuge in Him, because He delivers us out of them all (Psalm 34:18-19; 37:39-40).

Prayer:

Father God, we wait patiently for You, because we know You will always turn and hear our cries. You lifted us out the pit of despair, from the mud and the mire of life in this world. You set our feet on the Rock of Christ. Many in today’s environment will see the conditions of this world and put their trust in You for their salvation (Psalm 40:1-3). You will never disappoint them.

Thought for the Day:

Jesus Christ puts a new song in our heart. – Psalm 40:3

 

The Search for Fulfillment

 

Every human is born with basic needs, drives and desires. We seek for esteem, identity, friendship and love, to be heard and to achieve, to give and to receive, to be creative and resposible, and to find meaning and security, as well as having physical needs and desires met. These are all justifiable needs and require fulfillment in order for us to live as healthy, neurosis-free beings. When these needs are not met, our soul – our thoughts, choices and emotions - ends up underdeveloped, immature, and unhealthy.

As adults, we usually seek fulfillment from relationships, material possessions and success in life. However, these aspects actually provide little more than self-satisfaction and self-righteousness in a humanistic sense. Then when these facets disappoint us, we turn to addictions and self-defeating behaviors, which further weaken our psyche. We resort to casual sexual encounters, accumulating possessions, plastic surgery, multiple college degrees, and bigger and better cars and houses; but these only result in an eventual broken heart, fading beauty, loss of wealth and power, and failure to reach our desired goals and aspirations.

Even if we happen to attain our goals, we end up with empty glory, fleeting happiness and disappointment and bitterness. When we strive to fill our desires through carnal idolatry and corruption, our soul is troubled and finds no rest. Conversely, God promises to supply all of our needs according to His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19). We can look to Him to bring our life to the point of receiving fulfillment in all of these legitimate areas of need. Our selfish patterns of behavior soon bow to the anointing of God’s Spirit within us.

On the other hand, many church people teach us to deny these legitimate needs as coming from the flesh and fueled by sin. However, this only occurs when we focus only on meeting our needs to the point of disregarding the spiritual aspects of our existence. If these human needs consume us or are high-jacked by Satan’s temptations, we sin (Ephesians 2:2). It is only when we resort to immoral means to indulge a selfish satisfaction of these needs, that we cross the line into idolatry. If we submit to God, He fulfills us and releases us from our habitual sins and the strongholds we allow to take over our life (Hebrews 12:1; Psalm 89:40; Jeremiah 48:18, 41).

Prayer:

Father God, we thank You for changing our orientation from self-consciousness to Christ-consciousness. We are no longer slaves to sin because You exchanged our sin nature for Christ’s righteousness (Romans 6:17; Acts 26:18). You won the battle for us and give us a victorious life as You manifest Your character in us through the fruit of Your Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). We give You all the praise and honor and glory due Your name.

Thought for the Day:

In the battle between good and evil, God is always the victor. - 1 Samuel 17:47

The Battleground of the Mind

Read: 2 Corinthians 10: 3-5

“A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” Proverbs 15:13

Have you ever felt like you were going crazy? Nothing makes sense in your life. You have a war going on in your mind...like there is a whole crowd of people up there arguing! I have a simple explanation, and an even simpler solution for you.

Paul said it….“WE TAKE CAPTIVE EVERY THOUGHT TO MAKE IT OBEDIENT TO CHRIST."

Our soul contains our mind, will and emotions. In the Bible the soul is often referred to as the “heart.” This does not refer to our blood pumping organ, but our inner self ~ the soul. Paul learned that even though we are in a spiritual war, we don't have to use carnal weapons. God gave us divinely powered weapons to demolish all of Satan’s strongholds. We do this by taking every thought captive and having the mind of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:5).

The imagination is where Satan likes to play. He perverts the truth and comes up with all sorts of lies to tell us, which unbelievably we accept as truth! Satan puts a thought there, and then we say, "Yeah!  That's right!" We dwell on it and believe his lies. Soon, we believe them as truth, and he sits back and laughs at us. He's got us right where he wants us.

The first negative thought in your mind is from Satan. It is his tempation to see if he can get your attention. Then, he tries to keep your attention by expounding on that first negative thought. If you agree with that thought, or if you entertain that thought and add other thoughts to it, then he’s got you right where he wants you.

But if you recognize that the first negative thought ~ the blasphemous, sexual, carnal, unholy, angry, bitter, resentful or belittling thought ~ is from Satan, then you can quote or read scripture to him, just like Jesus did on the mount after His 40 days of prayer and fasting.

On the other hand, the Holy Spirit lives in our Born Again spirit and He helps us to battle what the Bible calls...the old nature, the carnal nature, the flesh and the devil. It is a lifetime process. Our daily commission in found in Colossians 3:1: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.” As we seek God and His kingdom, we will not walk in the flesh (Galatians 5:16).

As you know, “What we believe, determines how we act.” When we believe Satan's lies, we exhibit negative attitudes. We get "stinkin' thinkin'." Satan knows that if he captivates your mind, then he can control your actions also.

Our safeguard, therefore, is to follow the advice we already read in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5: to bring our thoughts into obedience to Jesus and to put on the mind of Christ.

The Word of God tells us not to conform to the world, but to think about:

1. Whatever is true
2. Whatever is noble
3. Whatever is right
4. Whatever is pure
5. Whatever is lovely
6. Whatever is admirable
7. If anything is excellent or praiseworthy
8. Whatever you have learned or received...or heard from...or seen in Paul ( and other Godly men and women ) put it into practice (Philippians 4:8).

Throw out all those thoughts that do not measure up to this list! You will know you have finished the task when the peace of God again rules in your heart. Look at Philippians 4:7..."And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Being led by the Holy Spirit helps us to know the will of God and to have the peace of God. No more lunacy warring in your mind!  Doesn’t that sound wonderful?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, the carnal mind is enmity against God, because it is not subject to the law of God (Romans 8:7). If we are still carnal, then envy, strife, and divisions are common among us. Help us not to follow after the carnal thoughts, which fight against Your Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:3). Help us to walk by Your Spirit and to be led by Your Spirit moment by moment throughout the day.

Thought for the Day:

“Either you must learn to take your thoughts captive – or Satan will take you captive with your thoughts!” -  Kay Arthur