1 Peter 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Emotional integrity is ruling our emotions through truth. Colossians 3:15 Amplified says, “And let the peace (soul harmony) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts (deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state), to which as (members of Christ’s) one body you were also called (to live). And be thankful (appreciative), (giving praise to God always).”

An umpire officiates over the game. They make judgment calls between out and safe. They make sure the rules of the game are adhered to. Peace is an irrevocable gift. It’s the umpire in our hearts that rules if a thought is safe or a foul.

We maintain peace in our heart through our thoughts and trust. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trust in You.” Anything that disturbs that peace is a fiery dart thought targeting our faith.

Doubt, fear, unbelief are fiery darts. We must oppose them by standing in faith and truth. Have you ever doubted your salvation? Truth: you are sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). You will never be taken from the Father’s hand (John 10:28). You have eternal life and will never perish (John 3:16).

Are you feeling fear in your circumstances and not peace? Fear is a spirit that is attacking your faith through first person thoughts. Anytime you think independent of God there will be fear. Leaning on your own understanding, and being wise in your own eyes indicates your focus is on yourself (Proverbs 3:5, 7).

We are absolutely dependent on the Lord. We are united and one with our Prince of Peace. He dwells within us to direct our steps and to empower us to endure. His thoughts toward you are peace (Jeremiah 29:11). Are your thoughts towards yourself ones of peace or self-condemnation? Does peace or unforgiveness towards yourself or others rule in your thoughts and actions?

Our heart is our belief center. What we believe about ourselves during our trials must be based on the truth of His word. That hidden truth is our unshakable foundation, and the structural strength of our faith and trust.

This morning I visited one of my favorite verses in the Amplified. Zechariah 4:7 says, “For who are you, O great mountain of (human obstacles)? …you shall become a plain (a mere molehill)! And he shall bring forth the finishing gable stone (of the new temple) with loud shoutings of the people, crying, Grace, grace to it!”

The verse above it is a word from the Lord to Zerubbabel. “…Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.” We cannot force down spiritual obstacles through our own might or power. We have none. However, the Holy Spirit enables us to do mighty works through His power.

How did the children of Israel cross the Red Sea? How did they get through the Jordan when it was overflowing its banks? How did the walls of Jericho fall flat? It was all His might! It was all His work. Remember, nothing is impossible for God.

A mental obstacle is something we believe that is contrary to God’s word. Therefore the question comes up: what are your mental obstacles? What is the lie of the enemy that you are believing that is blocking your way forward?

Isaiah 45:2 is a great verse. It says, “I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron.” Isaiah 40:4 says, “Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth.”

We need to make sure that our thoughts are in alignment with His. That is what it means to walk in righteousness. Our thoughts, purpose, and actions are conformed to His will. Isaiah 54:17 says, “No weapon formed against you will prosper, and every tongue which rises again you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me, says the Lord.”

Our inner strongholds are present obstacles. They were erected by satan through the lies we believed. They can only be taken down through renouncing the lie, renewing our mind through truth, and walking in it daily.

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal your mental obstacles. Then turn them into an opportunities for Him to free you through His might and power. Using His word as a two edged sword, split between the lie of your mental obstacle, and the eternal truth of who you are in Him. The old will fall away allowing the new to spring forth. That is active resurrection power!

 

 

 

When we walk in God’s truth, we are a testimony of Him to others. Someone watching is encouraged when we steadfastly stand in truth as our faith is tested. When our message and messenger are not the same, we are not practicing the truth we say we believe. Our witness is tarnished and not desirable. 1 John 1:6 says, “If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”

Is your testimony a demonstration of His truth experientially working in your life? That is what makes us a light that illumines the character of Christ through our lives. 1 John 2:4 says, “He who says, I know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in Him.”

Here is our governor. Verse 6 says, “He who says he abides in Him, ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” Jesus is the Truth that sets us free. Experiential truth is truth that we consistently think, speak, and walk in. Psalm 15:2 says, “He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.”

Do you hear what you are saying? Does it ring with the truth of who you are in Christ? Our thoughts become our words. Proverbs 7:23 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”

We are a living testimony. 2 Corinthians 4:2 says, “…by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to everyman’s conscience in the sight of God.” Chapter 2 verse 15 says, “For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.”

Do others recognize that you have been with Jesus? Acts 4:13 says, “Now then they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”

Romans 8:5 says, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” What we ‘set’ our mind on becomes our controller.

Galatians 5:16 says, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” The Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance defines lusts as: gratifying sensual craving, desiring the forbidden, coveting what belongs to another, and striving for things, persons, or experiences contrary to the will of God.

The mixed multitude yielded to their intense cravings (Numbers 11:4). Sin is first a temptation. If we yield, we will be drawn into the action of sin. James 1:14 says, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.”

The enticement is a suggestion. When we think about the suggestion verse 15 tells us what happens. It says, “Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”

The temptation or the suggestion to sin is a fiery dart. We stop its progression with our shield of faith. Ephesians 6:16 says, “Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”

Is something or someone drawing you away from your daily reading of His word? That is satan’s set up to overthrow your faith! Ephesians 5:26 says that we are to daily wash in His word. Mark 4:19 says that the desire for other things will choke God’s word and we will be unfruitful.

Song of Solomon 2:15 says, “Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes.” The picture is of the little foxes who got into the vineyard. Their running around knocked off the tiny forming grapes. The harvest was destroyed. Is anything destroying your newly formed fruit?

We glorify the Lord with the fruit we bear through abiding in His word. It is a daily discipline that the enemy of our soul hates. He will do anything to distract us. How does faith come? It comes by hearing His word (Romans 10:17). Not daily reading His word for understanding weakens our faith. Is your Bible cover dusty? There is a saying: a Bible that is wearing out, is the reflection of its owner that is not. Their faith is steadfast.

Galatians 5:24 says, “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Romans 6:12 says, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.”

 

 

James 1:3 Amplified says, “Be assured and understand that the the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience.” It takes faith to endure trials. Yet it is faith that is being tested.

Does your trial seems like your faith is being tested to the max? Then it is the Lord bringing up hidden dross so that He can bring out His gift of endurance. Dross is impurity that weakens our faith. Therefore in order for the Lord to bring out endurance, He has to bring up what would sabotage our faith.

Here is one example of an impurity. When you were young you believed a lie of the enemy. It was a fiery dart lie that penetrated and remained hidden. Yet, it seeped into every aspect of your thought life. That lie opposed God’s true nature. Naturally that would affect your faith in Him.

As the impurities are being purged, it may feel like our faith is being shaken. Yet it becomes the entrance into a new phase in our walk with the Lord. He takes out the old to give us the new.

The trapeze artist must let go of the first bar to reach for the oncoming bar. It is the letting go that is the empowerment to reach. Our flesh wants to hold onto the things that are being shaken. The art of endurance is to cling to the Lord.

If we cling to other things rather than the Lord, it will be like a free fall and we will crash at the bottom. Nothing will be gained but loss. The enemy wants you to fail. The Lord has allowed your trial to prove that your faith is genuine and enduring.

 

This morning I was thinking about what it takes to make a lifestyle change. I’m using the words from Hebrews 5:14 ~ who by reason of use (practice) and have their senses exercised. Amplified says trained by practice.

In exercise we train ourselves to do something on a consistent basis to bring change. Last night I started a new exercise to help my stiff feet be more flexible. I realized that in order to really benefit from this, I needed to incorporate it as a lifestyle change.

This means that I must renew my mind and my attitude. I have to consciously bring in new thoughts about persistence, pursuing, being steadfast and immoveable. These will help me build new thought patterns.

My soul (mind, will, emotions) will undergo the change which will then affect my body. Our mind leads off, and our will and emotions follow. I’ll use a braid for example. As I used to braid my hair, I separated it into three strands. One strand was interwoven with the other two strands, consistent interweaving until I formed a solid braid.

I know from experience that I must start small. If I try to do the full exercise I will get discouraged and either drop my goal or approach it in a haphazard way. As I increase slowly, I am training my mind and my body to accomplish my new goal. Consistency and conscientious thoughts are essential.

We renew our mind in order to bring lasting change ~ spiritually and physically. I love Ephesians 4:23 in the Amplified. It says, “And be consistently renewed in the spirit of your mind (having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude).”

The Lord reminded me of a passage this morning that I hadn’t visited for a long time. It is the journey of Abraham’s servant to find a bride for Isaac. I love the story, and I love this verse. Genesis 24:27 says, “And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.”

Being on the way, the Lord led me. Abraham’s servant was obeying his master’s request. He had traveled a long way. If you remember the story he was at the well praying. Rebekah walked up to fill her water pot. He asked the Lord to do something specific.

In verses 42-44 he recounted to Laban his prayer. It says, “And this day I came to the well and said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go, behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say to her, Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink, and she says to me Drink, and I will draw for your camels also–let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.”

Verse 45 says, “But before I finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah…” Does that remind you of Isaiah 65:24? It says, “It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer…”

Our paths are intentionally orchestrated by the Lord. Let me remind you of another story. One I equally love because it shows distinctly how the Lord wants to direct us. 1 Samuel 9 is young Saul and his servant looking for his father’s donkeys. They went into a town to speak to the seer. Verse 13 says, “As soon as you come into the city, you will surely find him before he goes up to the high place to eat…”

Verse 14 says, “So they went up to the city. as they were coming into the city, there was Samuel, coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.” Two intentional pathways intersected.

Verses 15-17 say, “Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying, tomorrow about this time I will send you a man…So when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you…”

Prayer: O Lord. I ask You to direct our steps as specifically as you did for Abraham’s servant, and for Saul and Samuel. Give us a discerning walk. Help us to hear You speaking into our ear. Lead us into paths of Your intentional divine appointments. Help us to be sensitive to Your promptings. Don’t let us miss anything that You want to accomplish, because we are distracted by our flesh. In Jesus precious name. Amen.

This is the last day for my FREE ebook: Victorious Heart: intimate communion with God

Exciting news: I have just finished the rough for a new book. It is called He Drew Me Out Of Deep Waters: encouragement for hard trials. It will be a full color paperback with some of my art work in it. It will be a thin book that can easy be given to those in hospitals, rest homes, shut-ins, and those facing impossible circumstances. It is written from my view in the crucible of my own trials.

It has been in my heart since I read a book by Charles Swindoll, called For Those Who Hurt. It was published in 1977. Another book I highly recommend is written by Amy Carmichael ~ (1867-1951).  She was a missionary in India, and had an orphanage of rescued child temple prostitutes.

She wrote Rose From Brier while bedridden. One night, while walking through a field to rescue a little girl, she stepped into an abandoned well. She never recovered from the unrelenting intense pain of a shattered ankle. It is the only book I’ve read that ministered to my heart after I fell head first into a six foot ravine. It is written from her bed of pain to encourage those in pain. It is not a book from the well to the ill, but from the ill to the ill (in Amy’s words).

I’ve written for permission to quote from her book. I have not received an answer yet. In the meantime my book is still in the publication processes. May the Lord draw you into a deeper place of intimacy with Him ~ Marilyn

FREE EBOOK this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (April 5, 6, 7) Available on Amazon.com

Victorious Heart: intimate communion with God

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