It Doesn't Matter

2 Corinthians 10:5 AMP
…and we lead every thought and purpose away captive…

Next level thinking will cause you to check your every thought and take it captive until you clear it with a very high set of standards. This can be exhausting at times but very rewarding.

Some things that change as you learn to take every thought through your set of standards.

1. You notice change in yourself
2. You see the world differently
3. You notice more negative and unproductive language in yourself and society.

The bible is clear that the Lords thoughts and ways are higher than ours. (Isaiah 55:8) For us to reach higher levels of thinking, we must realize that we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16(b)

says, but we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart. Though our old life is gone (2 Corinthians 5:17), we still need to do all we can to prevent the negative and unproductive thoughts to settle in our minds. We need to renew our minds daily (Romans 12:2) or we will daily face the consequences of an unfulfilled calling.

Jesus wants you to have a full life. (John 10:10) Start today by taking every thought captive. Sift it through the Word of God. If it’s scripture, keep it. If not, cast it down.

Insecure God…Not!

God may be a jealous God,

But God is not insecure.

He wants no idols before you

because He’s jealous for you.

He knows the price you pay for that idol.

He knows you’re short changing yourself

with other idols.

He knows the idols make you idle in life.

He knows the idols are a covering for pain

or a symptom of addiction.

God may be a jealous God,

But God is not insecure.

He’s jealous for you.

Death in the Garden

Jesus crucifixion started in the garden. The Father gave Him a vision. (Luke 22:41) Jesus died to His own will. (v42) Jesus accepted, visualized and internalized the Father’s plan. (v44) This sequence of steps was a defining moment for Jesus and for us. No, it was much more than that. It was the beginning of the final great battle that led Jesus to the victory that had been foretold for thousands of years. This was the established point in time for Jesus. The same point in time God gives to all of us. He gave His only begotten Son, our only chance, a vital, critical and crucial choice in the matter at hand. Make no mistake, the vision and the weight of it was clear. (v44) He chose to die.

I know I often choose to carry my cross. I do have to ask myself why. It could be of pure motives wanting to be more like the Lord. It could be I may get some sort of gratification out of it. It’s the “woe is me” syndrome that could get it the way of my sincerity. I could carry my cross all my life and never have to die. This way I can still partially have my way in any given situation in my life and not die. As long as I don’t die to a situation, I still have a bit of control in my life…so I think.

Today I’m not going to name any situations. I believe you are already thinking about them.

I’ve become tired of carrying my cross without the end game of death. I’ve had to die to what I’ve wanted in this life and cry for Him to give me the desires of His heart so I could live again.

I thought I would share this from my heart.

Andy

Indulging in Fruit

John 5:6-7 When Jesus noticed him lying there [helpless], knowing that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, Do you want to become well? [Are you really in earnest about getting well?] 

The invalid answered, Sir, I have nobody when the water is moving to put me into the pool; but while I am trying to come [into it] myself, somebody else steps down ahead of me. 

Think about this man’s response to Jesus. His statement gives us a very revealing look at his spiritual state.

To better understand this, we must clarify the meaning of the word “invalid”. This word has two pronunciations. 1) in-va-lid 2) in-val-id. Definition #2 means: an intended point or claim is not valid, is null or void. Definition #1, in which I will focus on, means: a person made weak or disabled by illness or injury.

Here’s the point. This man’s response revealed that he was not only physically disabled but also spiritually disabled. His first words to Jesus, who asked him a yes or no question, was a negative statement that had nothing to do with the question. He helped make him-self weak and disabled by the words that he spoke. Proverbs 18:21 states: Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]. If his first response to Jesus was negative, he had a mental stronghold of negativity. Negativity mastered him. He had been thinking negatively for so long that he couldn’t tell Jesus he wanted to be healed. The man was weakness, failure and self-pity and his tongue followed. He achieved what he thought and spoke every time.

 Unfortunately, this man’s life reveals a part of mankind and our nature of negativity. So what can we do differently? Proverbs 8:6-8 says: Hear, for I will speak excellent and princely things; and the opening of my lips shall be for right things. For my mouth shall utter truth, and wrongdoing is detestable and loathsome to my lips. All the words of my mouth are righteous (upright and in right standing with God); there is nothing contrary to truth or crooked in them. When we read the Word regularly and pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance, we can stop our tongues before they repeat the negative. We will have scripture to replace the negative thoughts. Then we can speak the truth of God’s Word, in faith, and see it come to pass.

“Next Level Thinking” requires us to search out our negative thoughts and words and align them with the Word of God.

Ask yourself today what fruit am I indulging in? Death or life? 

The Ground

God gave us the perfect picture of how deep His Son's blood will penetrate our past and wipe it clean. Luke 22:44 says:
"And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."
The ground is what God used to make Adam. Gods redemption can't go any deeper than that. When Jesus bled on the ground He was drawing a line in the sand stating His people are no longer bound to condemnation.

Don't let condemnation hold you back. Condemnation is only a shadow not a reality.

Are You Hoarding?

Matthew 6:19-20

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal

I admit it. I enjoy watching the reality show “Hoarders”. It used to be that my self-righteousness would want to kick in and judge. Fortunately the Spirit reminded me how messed I would be without my Savior.

The show has a central theme of why most hoarders are hoarders. An unfortunate or traumatic experience in their past has made them get stuck. As Christians we could be “spiritual hoarders”. No, I’m not promoting a new reality show. What I am doing is looking at what I’ve had to realize in my life and share it in hope’s it will help someone else. In essence, I’m removing clutter from my house and giving to others. This very act of removing clutter from a house is the beginning for a real life hoarder to heal and get unstuck. So it is with Christians. Some of us Christians get stuck at the cross of Jesus. They never grow or build from there. Some of us grow for a few years until we get offended or a tragedy happens. Some just quit because they were looking for all the goodies of God and didn’t get them fast enough. (Sorry for stepping on some toes.) It could be any number of situations that would keep us from moving forward in any area of our life.

What is it for you? I would guess if you’re not experiencing growth in any area of your life, you are stuck. If you’re stuck it’s hard to see a good future. It’s hard to see a way to get unstuck. You’re likely frustrated with life. When we are stuck it’s difficult to have faith and hope in our God.

Here are a few steps that have helped me get unstuck.

1.  Identifying the area(s) of your stuckness. (Is that a word?) Is   it you health, career, a relationship or is it emotional? You may find it easy to identify or you may have to dig deep but do this step first. Once found, you can then start the process. Remember Peter before he denied Christ. He was stuck in his own limited ability to follow Christ. After he came face to face with the truth, he then became a pillar in our Christian history.
2.   Read Luke 9:13-17 several times in different translations. This is a powerful principle for “spiritual hoarders”. Simply put, when we give the wisdom, knowledge or gift that  God has given to us to feed the hungry, we don’t lose it. It multiplies when you share it. If you share your story of  salvation, you aren’t suddenly un-saved. If you share some bit of helpful information at work, you don’t suddenly  not know what you just shared. On the contrary, it multiplies. In addition, Jesus said, “For whosoever will save his  life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. If we start sharing little by little what we  know, in any area of our life, to the benefit of others, we will start to notice the flow of life again. To not share your  wisdom, knowledge or gift is hoarding.                                                                                                                                   
3.  Go with the flow. Revelation 22:1 (AMP) says, “Then He showed me the river whose waters give life, sparkling like crystal, flowing  out from the throne of God and of the Lamb." We have the fullness of Christ living in us. Therefore we, potentially,  could have the river of life flowing out of us. Hoarding stops the flow of life. First it stops your life then the life  you could have touched. If a kitchen sink is clogged, the water will flow slower and slower because of build up in the drain. When the drain  is completely clogged the water will back up to the surface and will bring a vomit inducing smell with it. (Sorry for  the gross description but I’m trying to make a point.) This is what happens to us if we get spiritually clogged. We slowly die and become a bitter smelling portrayal of Christ and Christianity. Sharing your wisdom, knowledge or gifts keeps the river flowing.

Are you hoarding? If so, start with these steps to begin to lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.

The Spirit helps us in many different ways. I hope this helps you.

What are other ways the Spirit has helped you get out of your stuckness? (There’s that word again.)

Don't we all have choice in our future? Most of us realize we have this choice daily. What most of us don't realize is the effect it will have on countless others for the good or bad.

God the Father gave Jesus a choice in the garden and He chose crucifixion because of the long term effect on your life.

What we do today, good or bad will make a difference in someone's life.

What will you do different today for the long term effect of someone you don't know?

This Is Going To Hurt

Psalm 42:7 (AMP)

[Roaring] deep calls to [roaring] deep at the thunder of Your waterspouts; all Your breakers and Your rolling waves have gone over me.

   This is not a description of a gentle God. It sounds like God is trying to drown the writer with a mighty vengeance. I love this description and I need it to be true in my life. Let me try to explain why.

   The apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesians to know the depth of God’s love. I’m sure I will never completely know this because God is Love. It’s too deep to comprehend. I can’t comprehend the depth of the core of the earth so how could I ever truly know the depth of His love. I see the first three words of the above Psalm, “[Roaring] deep calls…” as God calling. He is as a roaring Lion that loves us with an in-comprehensive love and He is calling to something. What is He calling? He’s calling to another “roaring deep”.

    Recently God has called to a “roaring deep” in my life. He has called to deep emotional injuries of my past. And He has called to it with a vengeance to be feared. Jesus said He came to give us life and life to the full. One way for Him to give us life to the full is to heal us emotionally from past pains.

    Emotional pain is a bit different than physical pain. In most cases we can narrowly pinpoint the cause of a physical pain. It can be very different with emotional pain. In many cases it will take years to expose its disfigured head. It may take a tragic event or help from a therapist. And if we don’t confront it head on, it will lead us to a sad, pathetic and regrettable end of life. I don’t want that for me or you.

    Once exposed, the Spirit of God will get very definitive and go to the root of the pain. For us it’s a dreadful journey through an intense hidden path that leads us to the graveyard of our emotional disfigurement. This path is hidden by the wilderness of an untamed jungle created by our neglect, disregard and dismissing the fact that we have a deeply infected injury. And to get through the jungle of our bitter justifications, we need to take hold of the Spirit of the Lord until He blesses us. We must take hold of our spiritual machete, the Word of God, and allow it to cut away the untamed jungle of our soul. Hebrews 4:12 (AMP) says:

“For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.”  Your heart was injured and Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted.

    It will be extremely difficult at times to confront the source of the brokenness. But remember Psalm 23:4. Yes, though I walk through the [deep, sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort me.

    What next? If you feel suffocated or overwhelmed with life and you can’t seem to hear from God or get a sense of direction, it may be the Lord has His rolling waves over you. Maybe He is calling you to go deeper with Him. If so, you have two choices.

1.      Panic and do nothing but continue in the neglect of your injury. In this case you will notice the infection will lead to a slow agonizing spiritual and emotional death. Your relationships will not flourish. You will live a shallow and incomplete life. But the most devastating result will be living out phantom Christianity, not ever knowing the depth of God’s love for you.
2.      Admit your need for deep healing and allow the God of Love to cleanse you with His healing power.

    What will you do? I encourage you to pick up your machete (The Word) and allow it to cut away the untamed jungle of your soul. Let the depth of God’s love go to the depths of your brokenness and heal you. I promise you He is faithful to finish the good work He started in you.

If you would like to hear this blog, press here.

He Upped The Ante Part 2

Last week we discussed the expectations Jesus has for us if we are to follow Him. In Matthew 5:20 Jesus said, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness (your uprightness and your right standing with God) is more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” In addition He added to the requirement. In verses 21-22,27-28 He digs deeper into our spiritual pockets and makes it clear on what He expects of us concerning our heart and mind.

When Jesus brings in these additional verses, He is stating that we have the responsibility to control what goes on in our mind and heart. Jesus also said in verse 48, “We are to be perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect.” He is making it very clear that we must, at all times, be conscious and cautious about our thoughts. In Philippians 2, Paul says to “work out our salvation.” He later goes on to say that part of doing that is to do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless… If we grumble and complain, it is because of our mindset. Wow! To be perfect as God the Father and prove ourselves blameless, are some big commands.

The bible is trying to teach us that the bottom line is we must take responsibility for our own thinking. Before Christ came and died and rose again for us, God said, “"My thoughts are completely different from yours," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) But now that Jesus came and gave us a new and better covenant, as Christians, we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16) We don’t have any excuses to think differently than Him.

So how do we start thinking like Christ? Here are some pointers.

1. Remind yourself daily that it is your responsibility to change your thinking for the better. No one else can make you think differently.

Others can give you different perspectives on subjects but that is all they can do for you.

2. Read the bible. It is the surest way to find out how the Lord thinks. Proverbs gives insight to His wisdom and the Psalms give insight to His great love for us.

3. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the areas of thought that need to change in your life. He will show you and He will help you change those thoughts.

“Next Level Thinking” requires us to take responsibility for our own thinking patterns. Then we can take action to remove those patterns and replace them with God thoughts.

Some thought patterns can lead to self defeating behavior. Find an area in your life you wish was different. Ask yourself: What is a present thought pattern, I could change today, to change my life in the future?

Be Thoroughly Patient

James 1:4 AMP

But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.

    The best long distance runners not only need to be physically tough but also mentally tough. They must be patient or have much patience to get to the finish line. What does patience mean? This is how the dictionary defines patience: The quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.

    Paul said: let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and  let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us, (Hebrews 12:1 AMP)

    We all know what the sins are. The bible makes it clear what they are. But it is the encumbrances that it doesn’t name. Could it be that a negative attitude is an unnecessary weight that clings to and entangles us? I think so.

    Let’s break this down. The word attitude is defined: A settled way of thinking or feeling, typically reflected in a person's behavior.

    Many of us have decided that we want everything fast. Hamburgers, weight loss, and answers to our prayers. Yet we know that anything good is worth waiting for. Personally I’d rather wait for a great tasting burger than have a fast food burger. Health professionals tell us to loose weight slowly so it will be easier to keep it off. And as for prayers, we all know they don’t always get answered when we would like. And to make things worse, the bible says to let patience have full play and do a thorough work… in us. I’m not so sure that I’m being comforted by the scriptures right now. But there is good news.

 Paul says in 1 Cor. 9:24(AMP): “run [your race] that you may lay hold of the prize and make it yours.”Now the questions becomes: “What is the prize?” This takes us back to James 1:4. One of the prizes is  patience mixed with endurance and steadfastness will help us be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing. This is wonderful news to me because sometimes I feel like I’m not much of a person to be admired by God. These scriptures remind me I have purpose in this life. They remind me, God will complete the good work He started in me. They help me to remember, with the Word and the Holy Spirit, I will become more and more like Jesus.                                                                                                                                     

    Next Level Thinking embraces perseverance knowing there is a prize at the end of the race.

    I challenged you today to let James 1:4 be a prayer for your life.

Pass The Salt

Let your speech at all times be gracious (pleasant and winsome), seasoned [as it were] with salt, [so that you may never be at a loss] to know how you ought to answer anyone [who puts a question to you]. (Colossians 4:6 Amp)

My friend once told me a trick he used to help him avoid eating all the food on his plate lest he over eat. He would open the salt shaker and pour salt over the remaining food. I’m not so sure it was a good plan. It may have solved the issue at the moment but what about the discipline it takes to live a healthy lifestyle.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians, in part, the importance of following the teachings of Jesus. They were being lured into thinking that Jesus was not Lord and that He was insufficient. Paul had an interesting way of urging the Colossians to continue to believe in the lordship and sufficiency of Jesus. He writes,

“That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition]. [We pray] that you may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience (perseverance and forbearance) with joy, “(Colossians 1:10-11)

There is a load of teaching in these scriptures but I will focus on one thought. Paul is talking about our conduct. Though we cannot, in any way, earn our salvation, we still must work out our salvation. (Philippians 2:12) We do this as a response to love, not as a requirement.

Now back to the opening text. “Let your speech at all times be gracious (pleasant and winsome), seasoned [as it were] with salt…” For many of us, this can be very difficult. It will take discipline and not some trick to fulfill this request. But it is not impossible. Here are a few steps that will help you to be disciplined in your speech.

1.     Think before you speak.

a.     Ask yourself if the words you are about to speak are going to add flavor to the conversation or will you be dumping the whole salt shaker of salt on it. If you are dumping the all the salt, you will leave a bitter taste with someone.

2.     Ask the Spirit to help you daily with your speech.

a.     The Spirit is our Counselor. He will help you in your time of need and will show you your thought process. Your thought process precedes the words that you choose. When this is revealed, you then can work on changing your words.

3.     Ask the Spirit to help you walk in love.

a.     God is love. The more you are like Him the easier it is to respond in love.

Paul was trying to teach us that our words make a difference in how our testimony is perceived by others. Jesus said we are the salt of the earth, therefore we must decide, before we speak, how much salt to put in our every day conversation. “Next Level Thinking” disciplines us to think before we speak. Then we can make a choice of words before we open our mouth. Think of your mind as a salt shaker. Your mouth is the lid. Choosing the wrong words to speak is like opening the lid to the salt shaker and pouring out all the salt.

Ask the Spirit of God to show you the choice of words that you need to change in your thoughts and in your conversation.


To listen to the audio version visit: http://bit.ly/Hxda1s

Think Of The Good Things

Unproductive Thoughts

Next level thinking will cause you to check

your every thought and take it captive until

you clear it with a very high set of standards.

This can be exhausting at times but very rewarding.

Some things change as you learn to take every

thought through your set of standards.

• 1.     You notice change in yourself
• 2.     You see the world differently 
• 3.     You notice more negative and unproductive
        language in our society.

For us to reach higher levels of thinking, we must

do all we can to prevent the negative and unproductive

thoughts to settle in our minds or we will daily face

the consequences of an unfulfilled calling.

Next Level Thinking

Here are a few thoughts to 

help you start your day.

+ Think up, not down.

+ Think on things above, not below

+ We are kings and priest.

   So think like it.

+ Set yourself apart

   starting with your thinking.

+ As a man thinks,

   so is he.

+ Never think the glass is half full.

   Think of it as over flowing.

+ Make yourself have

   Next Level Thinking.