Tag: Romans

Bible Study, faith, God, Healing, Hope, Psalms, Religion and Spirituality, Spirituality

Frame My World with Your Word

Here is a Bible Study I wrote for our weekly gathering. We are taking turns sharing what God is showing us in our lives and I was up. I did grab a few props – gotta have an application lesson in Ms. D’s class. That’s how we remember. I went to Hobby Lobby and went to the wood department. I found them, two 8 x 10 wood frames and a box of sharpies. That’s all I needed. More to be revealed… Teaching notes in ( ).

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23;7 NKJV

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.“ – Romans 12:2 NKJV

Think of your home and your pictures. Do you have a wall you keep them on? Or do you put them in scrapbooks? Are they in frames on tables here and there? Are they on your phone? Think of the events and how each one brings to mind a special day. A day to remember. Are they of your friends? Your family? Your children? Your parents?

In each picture you are the same person, right? Only the time and circumstances have changed. Now take a step back, and look at the frame that it is in. Not the actual frame, but the frame of reference it was taken in. Were you younger, older? Who was with you? Why was this day important?

Let’s face it, times change. People change, we change. The frames in our lives change. We see ourselves differently depending on what we are looking at. Think of a old movie, frame by frame. Each frame tells a part of the whole story. Individually it may not look like much, but put them all together and it is a beautiful story.

What happens when we frame our world by our circumstances?

What happens when we frame ourselves by who is with us at the time?

What happens when we frame our worth with what others think?

What happens when we frame ourselves by what we do or don’t do?

We often frame our world with other things:

(Take frame number 1 and write all these words down in black sharpie on the frame itself)

  • School – What happens when school is over and all of a sudden you are not the popular kid anymore? Some people get stuck there, forever living in what they call the “glory days”. They close their life off to new opportunities because they are not the popular kid anymore.

 

  • Sports – What happens if you fumble the ball or lose the big game? We can’t all be the sports Heroes our whole lives. Many people just quit. Quit the game and quit trying at life.

 

  • Hobbies – What happens if you never finish that project? Many people get lost in their love of this, that, and the other thing. Living a life doing stuff, not really touching others or opening themselves up to give or receive love. Just lost in hobby land.

 

  • Work/Job/Title– What happens if you get laid off, to the company closes, or the job ends? Many people live their whole life saying I’m an XYZ. They define themselves by what they do for a living or by what Title they have. Jobs and Titles are temporary. Positions come and go.

 

  • Money – What happens if you get wiped out, of have a financial emergency? Even the best money managers run into problems. If your frame your world with money, it will crash. The love of money a root of all kinds of evil.

 

  • Appearance – What happens if you worship your body and your body doesn’t cooperate? Let’s face it, we all age here on planet Earth. Stuff happens. If we frame our world with what we look like, it will be disappointing. Aging is a part of life.

 

  • Relationships – What happens if the relationship/marriage ends? If we frame our world with our relationships it will be a bumpy ride. Relationships change, people change. We change.

 

  • Children – What happens when they grow up and move out? That empty nest syndrome is real. Many parents don’t know what to do with themselves after their kids leave the nest.

 

  • Houses, cars, stuff – What happens when catastrophe comes and you lose it? Are we really defined by what we accumulate? What the world defines as rich in this world is often poverty in the Kingdom of God. Idolatry is the worship of stuff, God doesn’t like that one bit.

 

  • Addiction – What happens if you see yourself as an XYZ forever? Didn’t God promise to deliver us and set us free? It may be hard to see yourself beyond an addiction. It may be difficult to see yourself as free. Renew our minds Lord Jesus.

 

  • Words of others – What happens when you get rejected, betrayed, or hurt? When we let others tell us who we are we give them our power. We let them play God. They are not our God. Just because someone says something doesn’t mean it’s true.

 

  • Sickness – What happens if you frame your world with sickness? When Jesus met the man at the pool He had one question, “Do you want to be well.?” There are people that like the attention that comes with illness. There are some that want a Dr. to tell them about their health and what to do next.

 

  • Past – What happens if you frame your world with your past? Can we ever move on to a new thing and let God move in our lives if we are living in yesterday? Many have become bitter instead of better. They have refused to forgive those who offended them and stay trapped living in the past. The root of bitterness grows and they wither in the Kingdom.

(Stop here, pass the frame around the room. Starting with yourself first, share with the group what you are struggling with. For me it was my past. It’s hard for me to see myself as free and strong instead of a victim.)

 What if we took those same pictures, those same circumstances, our same life and framed it with the Word of God?

(Turn frame number 1 over so it is blank again)

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.  By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”- Hebrews 11:1-3 NKJV

 

 

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” – Colossians 3:1-4 NKJV

 

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.  For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” – Colossians 1:15-20 NKJV

 

“For as the heavens are high above the earth,

So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;

 As far as the east is from the west,

So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

 As a father pities his children,

So the Lord pities those who fear Him.

For He knows our frame;

He remembers that we are dust.

 As for man, his days are like grass;

As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,

And its place remembers it no more.

 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting

On those who fear Him,

And His righteousness to children’s children,

 To such as keep His covenant,

And to those who remember His commandments to do them.” – Psalm 103:11-18 NKJV

 

 

“For You formed my inward parts;

You covered me in my mother’s womb.

 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are Your works,

And that my soul knows very well.

 My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.

And in Your book they all were written,

The days fashioned for me,

When as yet there were none of them.

 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!

How great is the sum of them!

 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;

When I awake, I am still with You.” – Psalm 139:13-8 NKJV

 Let us frame our world with the Word of God.

(Take the first frame, turn it over. Take the second frame. Let each person pick a colored sharpie. Pass the 2nd frame around the room and ask each person to pick a word from below that will help them overcome issue they are struggling with on the first frame. Ask them to get out their phones or Bibles and share a Bible verse that goes with that word. This is the verse they will hold on to this week)

The Word of God says we are:

  • Saved
  • Forgiven
  • Free
  • Redeemed
  • Blessed
  • Accepted
  • Born again
  • New
  • Citizen of Heaven
  • Royal Priesthood
  • Anointed
  • Sealed with the Spirit
  • Co-heirs with Christ
  • Appointed
  • Christ’s Ambassadors
  • Loved
  • Called
  • Chosen
  • Holy
  • Righteous
  • Secure
  • Friend
  • Beautiful
  • Justified
  • Sanctified
  • Reconciled
  • Righteous
  • Covered in Grace
  • Protected
  • Strong
  • Unique
  • Virtuous
  • Created for purpose
  • Victorious
  • Favored
  • A Masterpiece
  • Set apart
  • More than a Conqueror
  • Delivered

 Let us renew our minds and live from this place, in Jesus Name!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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faith, God, Hope, Religion and Spirituality, Spirituality

Feed My Spirit, not My Flesh Please

We are made of body, mind, and spirit. God made us and called it very good. Then sin entered the world and it’s been a battle ever since. God knew we would need help so Jesus (God in flesh) came and paid the price for our sins. When He rose He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit – our helper in all things. I guess He knew we would need some help with the day to day battles we have.

Here are the questions I am pondering today:

  1. Do we just feed our flesh or do we feed our spirit?

  2. Do we feed on the Word of God to strengthen His and our spirit?

  3. Are we starving the Spirit of God while we feed our flesh and our religious grandiose self?

  4. Are we listening to the Holy Spirit or ignoring Him?

“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ” – Galatians 5:16-18

Preachers are funny sometimes. I can’t watch some of them on TV. It’s all about them, what they have, and what you need to do to get what they have. Guess what? I don’t want what they have, lol! I do not want to feed my flesh with “do this”, “don’t do that,” and “then you will get this” nonsense. Like God is someone we can analyze and manipulate. He is not a magic Genie either. God doesn’t work that way! His ways are higher than ours and His thoughts are higher than ours!

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” – Romans 8:1-9 NKJV

I mean really, do we even want to be around people who only want something all the time? You know the type. Or what about the ‘know it alls’?  What about the braggers? That gets annoying too. Self – ego – better than thou attitudes tell me that that person doesn’t care about God, they only care about themselves. I don’t think God likes that attitude either.

The flesh is the ego which feels an emptiness and uses the resources in its own power to try to fill it. Flesh is the “I” who tries to satisfy me with anything but God’s mercy. ” -John Piper

  • God’s mercy is the only reason I am still here.
  • God’s love is the only reason my hearts still beats.
  • God’s forgiveness is the only reason I have hope.
  • God’s faithfulness is the reason I still try.
  • God’s hope is the reason I believe.
  • It’s not my hope – it’s His hope in me that helps me lift my head.
  • It’s not my faith – it’s His faith in me that changes things.
  • It’s not my love or my duty or even my obedience – it’s His love and what He did and His obedience that changed everything!

I believe when we feed the flesh we do it backwards. It’s all about us – not God. So can these TV preachers get off the soap box and stop misleading the sheep? It makes me mad. If you pray this…If you send this amount… If you plant this seed…If you come to this church function or that church function…If you believe…If you pray this long…

Can we just stop trying to manipulate God?

Guess what? It’s not about you preacher man! And hallelujah it’s not about me either! It’s about God! Tell me about God’s mercy. Tell me about God’s love. Don’t lecture me about flesh. My flesh is dead anyway! Why are you talking to the dead guy? Ugggh! (Yeah, I guess I’m riled up about this…)

Depression, Healing, Hope, Mental Illness, Spirituality

Renew Our Minds to Heal Mental Illness

After my post yesterday on the prevalence of Mental Illness in this Nation, I feel compelled to share the only way that I have found to renew my mind. You see, I could relate to that girl.(Here is the post – THE SEMICOLON PROJECT)  I have had those self-destructive thoughts in my mind for years. I hated those thoughts. And I know they are NOT from God. God is not out to destroy me, the Enemy is. The Enemy has come to kill, steal, and destroy. Jesus has come to give us life and life more abundantly.

I have tried the ‘psychology’ fixes to change my thoughts. I have read almost every self-help book out there. But that did not quiet the thoughts in my head.

The only thing that has renewed my mind and shut up the destructive thoughts is the WORD OF GOD.

 

Think of your house.

You don’t let any old person in do you?

Just because they come to the door does not mean they get to come in and sit down on your couch and move in right?

The same is true with our thoughts. Just because a thought comes to the door does not mean we have to let it in.

Every thought we get to ‘take captive’ and test.

Is that thought true?

Is that thought what God says about me?

Is that thought out to destroy me?

If it is not true or destructive we can close the door and not let it in our house. Instead we can think on good things. God says we are good. God says we are fearfully and wonderfully made. God says that He has a plan and He will never leave us or forsake us. God speaks Truth, and those thoughts bouncing around may be LIES. Don’t let them in.

That is how we renew our minds and heal our mental illness, one thought at a time with the Word of God.

Bible Verses on Renewing Your Mind

 And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude], (Ephesians 4:23 AMP)

For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), (2 Corinthians 5:3-5 AMP)

 Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God,even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]. (Romans 12:2 AMP)

 

For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them]. (Philippians 4:8 AMP)

 

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