God's Promises

Israel was God’s chosen people.  He told them when he made a covenant with Moses that he would deliver them and be their God:

"But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, `Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.'  (Jer. 31)

We all know that this covenant was also conditional upon the law and the people’s ability to keep it - 10 commandments (which of course, we all know we were unable to, lead us into captivity, etc.)  It was a conditional covenant, one that required our cooperation or adherence in order to be fulfilled.  Later on God makes an unconditional covenant with Abraham, which does NOT rely upon man’s adherence.  (Genesis 25).  In His covenant God:

(1) Gave Abraham the promise of a great nation---primarily meaning Israel, but also includes great peoples in the line of Ishmael and Abraham's others sons. In all Abraham, had eight sons, six through his second wife Keturah after Sarah died, (Gen. 25:3). Two peoples descended from Abraham are named specially. They are an earthly group (Israel) "as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore," and a heavenly group (the true church) "as numerous as the stars in the heavens." These two "family trees" form the subject of the mainstream of redemptive history in the Bible.

(2) Abraham was chosen to be the father of numerous descendants, to be blessed personally, to be personally honored, to be a channel of blessing to others.

(3) Those who bless Abraham are to be blessed and those who curse him will be cursed. Blessings on the nations are to come through Abraham.  

(4) Reaffirmation of the promise of a Messiah was made by God to Abraham.

"Now the LORD said to Abram, 'Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves.' So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions which they had gathered, and the persons that they had gotten in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, 'To your descendants I will give this land.' So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him." (Gen. 12:1-7)

"And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, 'By myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies, and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice." (Gen. 22:15-18)

God then restated the covenant to Issac (Abraham’s son)

"And Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines. And the LORD appeared to him, and said, 'Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you; for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will fulfill the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give to your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves: because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." (Gen. 26:1-5)

God again restated it to Jacob (descendant of Abraham):

"Jacob left Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he came to a certain place, and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, 'I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your descendants; and your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and by you and your descendants shall all the families of the earth bless themselves. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done that of which I have spoken to you.'" (Gen. 28:10-15)

Can you see God’s plan of redemption in these promises extended to you as His spiritual family?

God is His word (John 1:1 - in the beginning was the Word and the Word was God and was with God…..) means once He says it, it cannot be retracted!.  So, because man failed to adhere to the covenant God made with Israel, in order to fulfill His covenant He made an unconditional covenant to Abraham and all his descendants (of which, by Christ you are one of them!)

How?  JESUS MADE THE WAY POSSIBLE.

"But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry which is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second. For he finds fault with them when he says: 'The days will come, says the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they did not continue in my covenant, and so I paid no heed to them, says the Lord. This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach every one his fellow or every one his brother, saying, `Know the Lord,' for all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.' In speaking of a new covenant he treats the first as obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away." (Heb. 8:8-13)

Simply put, it means that in Christ, we are entitled to the same inheritance and promises The Lord promised in the beginning!

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.

I have heard this differenty most of my walk...that all the promises in God are Yes and Amen.....it is us that speaks the Amen to the glory of God though our faith!

Amen:

Strong’s 281:  281 amḗn (the counterpart of the Hebrew OT term, 543 /apeítheia, "steadfast") – properly, sure (certain). 281 (amḗn) is usually translated "amen," and sometimes "verily," "of a truth," "most assuredly," "so let it be."

Some other verses that focus on the fact that the promises made to Israel, through Christ, if we are a believer in Him, are ours:

Rom. 15:8:  For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God's truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs.

Heb. 6:13-20: For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU.” And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. 

If we do not grasp the totality of what we are entitled to, and have already received by the finished work of the cross, it is no different that joining the gym and then never taking the tour, learning the amenities, but simply going there each day for only a smoothie.  The benefits are there for us, but we bypass them, sometimes out of ignorance or by simple choice.

All the promises are YES in Christ!

I

Recently, in the women’s ministry group I am currently leading, we were talking about passing through the valley of indecision and fear.  I looked at the faces of the women assembled in my living room and I saw so many things….hope….fear…pain….indecision….confidence…..  mostly, I saw faith.  It twinkled in their eyes like a flame.  It inspires me; to serve them, and to serve the one and only true God, Jesus Christ, Himself.


Prior to any gathering, I pray and thank Him for the anointing He bestows upon me to bring forth His words to these women.  It amazes me how, if I cultivate the atmosphere of connection with the Holy Spirit, how He will fill me to the full.  It is sometimes like stepping into the heat of a bath and the feeling of the warmth of the water as it covers you.  I depend on Him for His indwelling to speak, to minister, to bring wisdom and to, most importantly, speak what He would have for those in front of me.  I depend on it for daily life as well.  And, He never ever fails.  I laugh as most would say “boy that lady is full of energy” and it is 100% the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that lights me up the way they see me.
So, we shared in the group about walking though the valley of indecision and fear and some practical ways to make it to the mountain top.  Was powerful for me that night with the honesty and truth these women were sharing.  I am so grateful for them and their hearts and their love.  It is such a reflection and symbol of Him and so real and tangible.  I thank you, Lord!


It always ministers to me, the message the Lord brings in the group and it will often continue to minister to me long after the night is over.  The Holy Spirit will shine His light of truth into my life, like a bright bulb, and illuminate the clarity of the Word in my own life.  I pray always that no matter the vehicle or the messenger, that I receive what He continues to speak to me and not turn a deaf ear from His rebuke and His love for He chastens all those whom He loves.  So it doesn’t surprise me this week to find myself contemplating the recent valleys of indecision and fear in my own existence following the gathering.


Recently, in my own life, I suffered an earthquake.  Something that has come and challenged the sheer foundation of my belief and my life’s direction in many ways.  As this recent tremor of a quake hit my life I find it a relief to feel His peace and comfort and to truly rely and believe Him and not my circumstances.  It isn’t how something appears that matters.  It is only the Truth that matters, despite the surroundings.  It matters what God says only, not how it looks or how I feel about it.


True, the shaking of the earthquake took away my balance for a time.  My heart was and is heavy with many emotions and the unanswered questions and unknown outcome  But, because of the PRIOR investment into my relationship with Jesus, I found that I was not flailing around with arms to and fro, freaking out and anxious.  Instead, I found truth to something someone wise spoke to me once upon a time….”sometimes God will calm the storm and sometimes God will calm the child and let the storm rage on and on.”


Ladies, it is never too late to invest!  The Word tells us that you can call upon the name of the Lord and be saved!  It isn’t about the storm for the earthquakes will come and shake our lives.  Things won’t work out as we planned or in our timing, but it doesn’t mean they don’t work out in His time.  We cannot wait to live until the storms pass for if you look around they never do.  It is all those clichés about dancing in the rain that matter.


In the valleys and in the storms if we are connected with the Lord in a real way, there IS joy in our salvation.  There is a lack of fear and a spirit of peace that dwells in our midst.  I have come to welcome the storm!
Storms bring the rain!  Just remember when you pray for the rain, you will have to deal with some mud!  Rain brings renewal in our lives!  The rain is a cleansing and a washing of the Word of God that presents us ever spotless and blameless before Him.


Remember, that you overcome the enemy by the word of your testimony and by the blood of the Lamb according to the book of Revelation.  So testify in the rain.  Sing out the joy and let the rain pour over you.  Make it a public declaration to focus on those things above and not on the quake that hits your life! 

You see, we have the hope and the truth that sets people free in their valleys and in their fear.  But, if our own lives do not show the evidence of that being true, how will they want what we have?????  It isn’t about having it all together and “looking the part” or getting over our “stuff” or waiting on the Lord to do something amazing to get “us” ready for service.  It is about taking our eyes off of the storm, not fighting against the tide anymore, and just going with the flow of His leading and His love.

The storm will take care of itself - it always does.


Psalm 23:4 says:
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 


Amen, Lord, amen.


Let it rain!

Double-Minded

In the last year and a half - after a long period of turmoil in my life -  I began to feel a refreshing and restoring of my walk with the Lord.  A rising up, back to my old "self" (in a way) and (in many ways beyond anything I have ever experienced), spiritually-speaking, where my confidence was and is being restored.  I suppose, for me, when the storms of life come and my sails get tattered and torn, it can take God a lot longer than necessary (out of my own choice) to restore my situation.  I know I can get tossed around from faith to unbelief in a matter of seconds sometimes by the enemy’s manipulative tactics and that frustrates me more often than not because one moment I can be on the mountain of faith and the next, in the valley of despair and unbelief.  Sigh….




So, during this time where I have become close to the Lord and in His Word daily and “studying the Word to show myself approved” He has begun to speak some pretty amazing things to me about faith and being a “double-minded” man from Scripture and how that has played out in my own life.  It has been a long journey (much to my chagrin at times) but the end result is I am very angry (honestly at myself) because in my IGNORANCE (which as a Believer is absolutely NO excuse) I have allowed a defeated foe (the enemy and his minions) to take me into double-mindedness, which I can now see directly resulted in circumstances in my life that were less than what I had faith and hope they would be.  That was not because of God, nor because I lacked faith, but because of what I have allowed….Glory to God that today I am getting a NEW revelation and a fresh understanding of what the Word says!


James 1:5-8 says:


“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”


As I have been meditating on these verses and seeking the Lord and even listening to a powerful preaching series on just these verses), I am now understanding, through the Spirit, more and more about this passage in that if I do NOT stand on the Word of God, but allow another thought to impede my mind (sown by the enemy) I can expect to receive nothing from the Lord and expect that my journey (my way) will be unstable (restless).


Romans 10:17 tells me that:  “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”


As I look back at some of the trials I have endured, I get it!  (hindsight is always 20/20).  I WAS unstable in my thinking and some times in my feelings and emotions.  I find, if I seek out the experience in reflection, that it was because the enemy came and sowed a seed of a LIE into that experience, that formed emotions in me (I allowed that seed to grow) and thus, shaped my belief and altered my faith!  It all worked to produce a crop in my life that was less than righteous, less than what God would have for me as his daughter, and contrary to the truth of His Word.


What an oxymoron.  If I had NOT gone through the trials the way I did, I would not have had the revelation I have had, yet if I had the REVELATION before the trial, I would NOT have had to suffer the trial the way I did…..


So, if given the obvious choice, I sure intend to gauge my faith on the WORD OF CHRIST and not on my OWN understanding or what anyone else says or what the enemy says!!!!


The opposite of “unstable” is “stable”.  The opposite of “expect nothing” is “expect everything”…


We really must build our trust (our faith) on the Word and on nothing else.

Living Confidently!

Last night at the Gathering, we talked and about living confidently! I enjoyed the discussion and Word as it always comes at exactly the right time for me and while I may be leading, I am doubly blessed each time by the interaction of the women and their honesty and how candid they are in our environment together. I count it a great joy and blessing to be “doing life” with such amazing, Godly women!

Our text last night started in Mark 4:38-41 where Jesus had just preached to a multitude and had taken His disciples and retreated to a boat to go to the other side. Jesus tells them they are going to the other side and thereafter takes a nap. During the time He is sleeping a big storm comes up and starts filling the boat with water….

Beginning in verse 38:

Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” (Mark 4: 38-4.)

We questioned that when God wants us to do something or is telling us where He wants us to go, we know for sure the enemy comes to create distractions and storms to attack our faith. We so identified with the men in the boat, afraid, without faith (Jesus says still you have NO faith?). In a moment, the men walking face-to-face with God, allowed fear to grip them, choking out the promise of God.

How does Jesus handle the storm? He rebuked it and told it what to do.

Rebuke in the Greek language looks like this: From epi and timao; to tax upon, i.e. Censure or admonish; by implication, forbid -- (straitly) charge, rebuke.

(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.)

It wasn’t something He did after prayer, or waited to see what could/would happen. It was immediate and it was with authority.

When the enemy comes calling with lies (we aren’t good enough, we can’t do THAT, we will NEVER be THIS….) do we allow those thoughts to “rent space in our heads” or do we stand up and immediately rebuke the enemy’s attempts to pull down our faith and confidence? Not always our first response but a habit that, when well-learned, really goes far in living confidently and abundantly!

If you read on in Chapter 5 of Mark and you see mighty miracles of God working and healings. An amazing work is done with a man who is demon-possessed by a LEGION of demons (that are cast into 2,000 pigs who fling themselves ultimately off a cliff). This man was living in the graveyard and no one could tame him he was so out of it and in one fell-swoop Jesus casts out the demons and many come and find him clean, orderly and 100% healed and sane! This is only one of the miracles that is performed after they arrive.

So, what would have happened if they had let the enemy keep them in the storm and boat and lost their faith? God had a mighty plan for these men on the distant shore and the enemy knew it. And, while he may have done his best to distract and destroy and even kill, it could not stop God or harm his people.

How did the disciples handle the situation? How does that relate to how we handle things in our own lives when the enemy comes to with lies?

We remember and thank God that we know that the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy but Christ came so that we may have life, and have it ABUNDANTLY!!! (John 10:10).

Believing in you,
Cori

Time for a Heart Check!

HEART CHECK - WHAT IS THE TREASURE OF YOUR HEART?

What we say is a reflection of our hearts.

Matthew 12:35:
“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil things”

Luke 6:43-45:
“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

What is the treasure in your heart? What is in your heart that is flowing out of your mouth?

February is a month of love and I think it is time for a HEART CHECK!

We so often try to control what comes OUT of our hearts (treasure stored) but what about what we allow INTO our hearts! (Treasure deposited). What we allow in is what creates the state of our heart, and determines what treasure we have, and thus what is coming out of our mouth.

We must guard what is the treasure in our hearts! If we control what goes in, we control the state of our hearts and what flows out!

Our confession is then, a by product of what is in our hearts!

Last Sunday, Pastor Michael talked about guarding our hearts and being careful what we love. He touched on loving God First!

Well, we know that God is His Word!

John 1:1-5 says:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend[a] it.

How that translates for me is God IN=God OUT in my own life. The more God and His word I put in, the more it comes out. That is my goal, that this becomes the treasure of my heart!


I got to thinking/meditating on that and I thought of a beautiful garden (my heart)…
As you know, this past year has been a lot about me reinventing ME, pruing ME and starting over. Now, I love to garden. I love to plant and tend and watch the flowers grow and bloom. I wait expectantly for the blossom and then for it to open! I love all kinds of flowers and gardening and am super excited that I moved back to Northern California because in Vegas NOT ONE THING WILL GROW…lol. So, the environment was really important to the plants I want to harvest like sweet peas and daffodils, and bulbs like that as well as impatients. I can’t wait for SPRING!!!!!!!!

Well, I know, just like everyone who gardens, that with the plants will come some weeds and so, part of gardening is pulling up the weeds so they don’t come along and have the chance to choke out the flower seeds before they can grow strong, right?

Well, my life and heart is just like that garden…in fact we are like soil, right? And I spent some time letting my garden go and letting weeds grow up and get bigger and bigger. They (the cares of the world) overtook my dreams and desires of my heart that I KNOW were from the Lord. I started to give up or to really believe all those lies (the weeds) and I even started to say it “I am not ever having a relationship again” “I am not a good choice….I can’t pick any good ones.” That is what was in my heart. I put it there.

Is that happening to you? It did to me and I then made up stories to justify it…I don’t DESERVE a Godly husband….I am NOT good enough….get the idea?

Mark 4 outlines the parable of the seed and the sower. We know this parable, right…sower sows seed, different ground types, we are the soil or the ground, the seed is the word, right?

Look in Mark 4 beginning at 14:

14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. 18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

What chokes the seed in this explanation? The cares of the world, deceitfulness of riches, desires for other things!!!! Is that a foundation for “evil treasure”? I wonder (just my opinion but something to think about, no?) But more importantly, WHO comes to TAKE AWAY THE SEED IN THEIR HEARTS????

Satan………he comes and tells us about the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, etc.

So what causes the sidebar of focus being distracted? What shows us the things of society and the world? Magazines….music….radio…television? What is it for you and what do we do with it all?

OK, so let’s change the FOCUS!!!!!

Let’s focus on what the TRUTH says!!!!

Philippians 4:8-9: "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you"

Philippians 4:6:7: “Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, tell your requests to God in your every prayer and petition-with thanksgiving. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

What guards our hearts: PEACE OF GOD
How do we get it: Thinking on….Phil 4:89

OK, so one part it is what we think. How do we deal then with what we put into our brains that causes us to think?

Well how about when we realize the lies we are saying, we stop ourselves and edit what we are allowing by feeding it back to ourselves correctly?

Here is one I came up with:

Lie: God has forgotten me.
Truth: God will never forget me

Isaiah 49:15-16
15 “ Can a woman forget her nursing child,
And not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may forget,
Yet I will not forget you.
16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me.

F...E...A...R...

F…E…A…R…

False…Evidence….Appearing….Real….

This past Saturday I had a situation crop up in my life during a conversation with a friend in my car as I was driving. During the conversation I became overwhelmed with fear. At first, thoughts of my past did grip me - a circumstance where I was exited out of a moving vehicle and had to walk home - did come back to my mind. However, I was completely safe and the physical reaction that rose up in me didn’t match the conversation, other than I was driving on the freeway at the time with my friend as a passenger.

Slowly, an old habit of anxiety came over me. In an attempt to thwart its existence and calm myself I became defensive - deflecting the conversation - in an attempt to make it stop. It didn’t work. I was unable to communicate what was happening and it just kept getting worse and worse.

The anxiety rose and it took a lot to pull into my destination. My breathing was all out-of-whack - I didn’t know what to do. Finally, I had to exit the car for a minute or two and take some deep breaths and separate myself and pray it off of me.

I was mad! None of it was real…I was perfectly safe. My friend had no idea what was happening…I was embarrassed…

I stood on the street outside the car and the Holy Spirit reminded me:

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." Romans 8:15

It went away.

I do believe that fear is the enemy’s #1 weapon in his arsenal against believers. If he can get us to fear, then he can help us fall victim to worry and other parts of sin… the “what ifs” then can plague our lives, almost becoming a paralyzing force (at least for me).

Yet fear is not tangible. We THINK something may happen and so we are fearful or a past situation or circumstance makes us think we are there again (as in the car situation with me on Saturday.)

Some would say I suffered a trauma and, thus, suffer from a sort of PTSD from past. Maybe so yet I only know that I can be transformed by the renewing of my mind according to the Word.
How on earth to we drive fear from us? 1 John 4 says that perfect love is what casts it out.

What is love?

He that loves not knows not God; for God is love. 1 John 4:8

Our Confession

Confession by definition means: –noun
1. acknowledgment; avowal; admission: a confession of incompetence.
2. acknowledgment or disclosure of sin or sinfulness, esp. to a priest to obtain absolution.
3. something that is confessed.
4. a formal, usually written, acknowledgment of guilt by a person accused of a crime.
5. Also called confession of faith. a formal profession of belief and acceptance of doctrines, as before being admitted to church membership.
6. the tomb of a martyr or confessor or the altar or shrine connected with it.
(taken from www.dictionary.com)

Sometimes, our confession changes, based upon how we are feeling at any given moment in time. Often times, we feel something (negative) but confess another (positive) when people ask us “how are you?” (I feel afraid…I confess “I am fine”)

Here are a few feelings…Do you recognize any of them? SELF-CONSCIOUS ANGRY UNHAPPY JOYFUL RESISTANT ANXIOUS OVERWHELMED DISCONNECTED LONELY AFRAID SAD WORRIED INADEQUATE STUCK UNWORTHY WILLING GRATEFUL HAPPY CAPABLE TIMID STUPID FAT EXPOSED IGNORANT TIRED PEACEFUL LOVED SCARED EMPOWERED.

Our feelings are a reflection of the state of our heart. When we say one thing and yet do not reveal the truth of how we feel, often an inner conflict is created within us. It creates a wound, if you will, a weakness, an inner debate or even a deception in the sense that we are not really being truthful. We become susceptible to doubt and fear and attack by the enemy to plant the seed of a lie in us. Our emotions then have an opportunity to be the filter of what we say. Soon enough we begin to rely upon the filter and unspoken emotions and feelings and it can become our truth….or our identity…we will totally believe it is truth!

Example, someone says: “how are you?” You say: “I am fine”. You are really struggling and want to ask for help but don’t. You leave feeling unheard and feel uncomfortable. You drive home and feel a little angry and alone. Over time your confession becomes “no one cares about me!” (If I say I am fat long enough, it doesn’t matter what the scale says, I FEEL FAT).

Seeds of lies become a filter, like glasses, in how we see and conduct ourselves. We receive these from many sources in life…society, family, employers, co-workers, well-meaning friends, even our church and communities plant seeds in us. The question is, how do we weed out things that are NOT truth? Furthermore, understanding what is reliable truth is the ONLY way to get rid of the lie.

Who is the author (father of lies?) (John 8:44)
How do we find truth? (John 16:13)

The Power of Your Confession:

“What a woman thinks about, she talks about; what she talks about she brings about” -Pat Fortenberry

It starts with what we think. It starts in the mind. The mind is a battlefield of conflicting thoughts.

So, what’s on YOUR mind?

The Battlefield:

Ephesians 6:12: “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”

The Mind:

Romans 12: 2: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Ephesians 4:23: “To be made new in the attitude (or spirit) of your minds”

James 1:8: “a doubleminded man, unstable in all his ways.”
James 4:8: “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded.”

The Mouth:

Matthew 15:11 - What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' "

Matthew 15:18: But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.'

Luke 6:45: The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.:

What Have We Learned?

We are in a war and the battlefield is our mind. Satan is our enemy and he uses diligent tactics, strategies and lies to create a deliberate deception.

We often do not express how we feel, but instead stuff our emotions which creates inner conflict. We cease to be authentic - who God made us to be.

Seeds planted by the enemy become filters through which deception takes hold - our thoughts become unclean - tainted - muddy
We can renew our mind by choice through the One who is Truth - Jesus!

Hooray! It is within OUR control to renew our mind!

This week, I will focus on all that I AM (through Christ) and not on what I am not. I will take time to be still before the Lord to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to me my patterns of thought/speak/confession.