Life is Good .......

Philippians 4:6-8

Just look at the look on this face. It just screams Life is Good! Caeden is my five-year-old grandson. He has no worries. His life is good. He never meets a stranger and has a smile for everyone he meets. He lives in a home filled with love, acceptance, worth and security. He has two sets of grandparents that ...well shall we say are pretty fond of him.

I don't always feel that Life is Good. Sometimes I am overwhelmed with the press of life. Sometimes I am overwhelmed with the struggles of others. We have been living by faith for many years and I know Father always provides and yet sometimes I am overwhelmed with financial burdens.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed? In spite of the fact those feelings are real and visit all too often, there is an answer. "The truth is always what God says no matter what or how I feel".

Lets look at what He says:

I am without condemnation Romans 8:1
I am a brand new creation I Corinthians 5:17
I am blessed with every spiritual blessing Ephesians 1:3
I am loved John 3:16
I am complete in Christ Colossians 2:10

In the end, when I consider the truth, which is always what God says.......

Life really is Good!

Renewing your Mind

About Renewing Our Mind

Renewing the mind need not be mysterious and difficult. We do it all the time but because we call it by another name, we don't recognize it as such. This is part of Satan's strategy to deceive us. When we are born into this world we have a mind fixed or set on the flesh because that is what happened in the garden. We all became spiritually dead and therefore controlled by our flesh. When we are saved, our spirit is quickened or made alive and we are a new creation¹. We are also made the righteousness of God in Christ². However, our mind is not part of that instant change as it is not part of the spirit, but of the soul (mind, will and emotions). Satan's deception is to get us to believe it was changed as a completed work like the spirit. We then come to the only "logical" conclusion we can reach…"There must be something wrong with me….I am somehow defective". This of course is not true but it is so easy for us to buy in to.

1- Changing your mind:
Yes, that’s right change your mind. Have you changed your mind lately? Renewing the mind is nothing more than changing your mind. You see, whatever we believe determines our behavior and life.³

2- The "Habit Trap" is a major source of deception:
Many people try and try and yet fail because they fall into the "habit trap". The habit trap is our self will, self discipline way of "fixing" a problem and it never works long-term. The “habit trap” says I will not or I will never be or do ( ) you fill in the blank.

There are two primary reasons this never works:

1- You can not replace a negative with a negative as in "I will not do whatever. We even get this in Sunday school, church, and popular Christian books. "Just stop sinning etc and you will be ok" The scripture says first "walk in the spirit and then you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh". Notice God's order of occurrence in the scripture noted.⁴ Turning and walking in another direction is also called repentance.

2- The second reason is the subconscious mind does not process negatives. It receives and follows all instructions we give it but it cannot process the negative. If we say "I will not ( )", the subconscious hears "I will ( )". And it learns by repetition. The more we say or pray "I will not" the more it hears "I will" and the deeper the groove becomes.

¹ II Cor. 5:17
² II Cor 5:21
³ Prov. 23:7
⁴ Gal. 5:16, Gen. 1:14,18

All About Me

....... and My Little World

The words of a country song remind me of the mind set of many we encounter daily.

"You know talking about you makes me smile
But I wanna talk about me
Wanna talk about I
Wanna talk about number one
Oh my me my
What I think, what I like, what I know, what I want, what I see
I like talking about you you you you, usually,
but I wanna talk about me me,me,me,me,me,me I wanna talk about me" ………

This may be a little over the edge but we all know someone like this. We may not want to spend much time with them but we all know one. So what is going on? Are they just obnoxious or is there a deeper reason for their behavior?

There is a deeper reason. We often miss the true "root" of an issue because we "over-focus" on the symptom, the "all about Me" behavior. So what could be going on? This is a person who is trying desperately to find
Love, Acceptance, Worth and Security.

The scripture calls this effort by self "flesh". Flesh is described as "my best effort to meet my needs". If you grew up in an environment that included some of the behaviors below, that may be a good to place to begin looking for answers.

Dad	Mom
Cold	Angry
Distant	Bitter
Non expressive	Demanding
Passive	Critical
Unavailable	Moody
Workaholic	Sarcastic

The remedy for the behavior that goes along with this mindset is “brokenness” or coming to the end of self. The route there is not a popular one as it is death. Death to self only comes by the cross.

Galatians 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me".

In his Devotional book "My Utmost for His Highest", for January 15th Oswald Chambers calls it your white funeral. "Do you agree with God that you stop being the striving, earnest kind of Christian you have been? We skirt the cemetery and all the time refuse to go to death. It is not striving to go to death, it is dying—“baptized into His death." Have you had your "white funeral." "Do you agree with Him that this is your last day on earth? The moment of agreement depends upon you."

Well, are you ready to exchange your best shot at life which has not and will never work for His Life? The Life He came to give us. John 10:10 "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

Feelings Buried Alive never Die

Warning! Feelings Buried Alive Never Die


Fifty years ago industrialists thought they could just bury toxic waste and it would lie safely and quietly forever. We have since learned it doesn't just lie there. It causes all sorts of problems. Oh, it may take a while before it shows up but it will. It begins to eat away on whatever “safe” container it may have been placed in. Eventually a “meltdown” will occur contaminating water, crops, and the soil. Left unattended it can cause disease or even death to animals and humans. Feelings Buried Alive react much the same way. They never die! And “Self” is simply not equipped to handle them.

Some of the feelings we attempt to bury alive are guilt, (real or imagined), anger, resentment, inferiority, loss, insecurity and the list goes on. We typically try to bury them in one of two places. I am really not sure which is most popular, the mind or emotions. The truth is neither are a good place for such storage. Any attempt to keep Feelings buried Alive will result in a meltdown. We often see on containers (batteries for example) must be disposed of properly. Burying feelings Alive is NOT proper disposal. Meltdown usually begins in the mind or emotions but will eventually find it’s way into the body. The mind, emotions and will comprise the soul. The soul works like a link between the spirit and the body. When Toxic Waste contaminates the path from spirit to body through the soul, it hinders communication from God. That hindrance of flow from spirit to body can result in emotional disorientation, mental fog, a false perception of life in general, destruction of interpersonal relationships, various types of acting out and a multitude of physical symptoms.

Proper disposal

Proper disposal of Toxic Waste can only be accomplished by following God’s formula for disposal. A thorough search of the soul is prescribed. Just as surely as where there is smoke, there is fire when the above symptoms are present, there are Feelings Buried Alive. Follow the debris back to the source. You may even be surprised what you find. Now, ask yourself: Who hurt me, what was the offense, and finally What did I feel. Not what do you feel now, but what did you feel at the time. As a child or wherever you were chronologically. Forgive as an act of your will and allow Father to bring healing and freedom to your soul.

Developing Healthy Self-Talk

Developing Healthy Self-Talk
Part one of two

This will perhaps be better presented in two parts:

The first and most important step in transforming negative, destructive self-talk is to recognize and acknowledge its existence. Many people struggle with “issues” in life and keep trying the same old strategies to beat them year after year to no avail. And we all know “if we keep doing what we have always done, we will keep getting what we have always gotten.” So, we need a new plan. The plan below is not intended to be a “quick fix” for something that can and may indeed be choking the life out of you you. For some it will be an answer to prayer. For others it may be a ray of light in the darkness. Simply work through it and ask Father to use it in your journey to freedom/
Here is a brief starter for you:

1- Stop and listen. This needs to be done when you have made one of those “missteps” mentioned in my last post. This is when it is most prevalent so it is the best time to listen for it.

2- Identify the negative “self-talk” what you said to yourself. “I am so stupid”, “I am worthless”, you fill in the blank.

3- Now ask yourself where it originated. If you don’t remember, ask father to reveal its source to you. Someone who said or did something or did not do something that should have been done.

4- You now have a choice to make. Do I want to continue allowing this person or persons to hold me hostage or would I rather be free to “have a Life”?

5- Matthew 18:21-35 gives us a picture of what forgiveness is truly about. It is a choice to release that person or persons from responsibility to repay you for the hurt they have cause you. Study the passage well and realize that “forgiving” them is not for them. It is not giving them a free pass or saying it is ok. It is releasing you from the prison within. As you forgive each one you will free yourself from the anger, resentment, hatred and bitterness that is likely now affecting every cell of your life. (More on forgiveness later)


Continued in my next post …….

Is Self-Talk sabotaging you?

Is Self Talk sabotaging you?

Self Talk? Many people don’t even know it exist and yet we can be totally controlled by it. One of the other real ironies of Self Talk is that if positive script exists at all it is rarely heard. The negative seems to have a magical power to overpower the positive.

So, what is self-talk? Where does it come from?

What is it?

Self-Talk is that negative, often caustic and ultimately crippling script that plays ever so subtly in our head at just the right time to inflict the most damage. It even sounds just like you and me and is most always heard in the first person. It usually shows up when we have made some misstep in life. Said or done something that hurt someone else or experienced some failure. The script often goes something like this:
• You are so stupid!
• You are hopeless
• You are a real looser
• You fill in the blank
Sometimes it takes minutes to recover, sometimes hours and sometimes days. When another comes before we fully recover, it may go on indefinitely.

Where does it come from?

Negative Self-Talk comes from “Negative Programming”. This programming may come from parents, siblings, a schoolteacher or other people of influence in our lives. Sometimes it is one traumatic event that “burns the groove”. Others grow up in what we might call an atmosphere of negativism. No matter how the Programming comes, it can be devastating. Our own voice is the most believable we have. The downward spiral begins with the words we hear, followed closely by thoughts and then feelings about ourselves. Moving down the spiral we come to beliefs about ourselves and finally an identity. This identity is a noun. It is who we believe we are. It may go something like this.
“Can’t you do anything right? Accompanying thought … I don’t do it right. Accompanying feelings … “I feel so stupid”. Accompanying belief … “When I show up things go wrong”. And finally, “I AM stupid, a looser, a Klutz, you fill in the blank for your thoughts, feelings, beliefs and identity.

In my next entry, we will look at what we can do about this kind of programming.

Under Construction

Welcome to my Blog,

As I am just beginning it will be a few days before I get into the rythem of posting so be patient with me and then enjoy the ride.

Thanks for visiting and come back soon.

Phil

http://www.safeplaceministries.org