From Pity to Praise

Healing From Within

I listened to a teaching from Steven Furtick a few years ago and wrote this thought down, because it is dead on for someone who is fighting all the wrong battles.

“I thought I was fighting someone, and I thought I was fighting something, but the real fight, the real war, the real battle was not a battle with them, it was a battle I was fighting within.”

There are times in our lives when we are like Saul in the Bible, fighting the wrong battles, trying to kill what God is trying to use. We explode or “freak out” on people, or treat them badly, when instead we should just bless the Lord, if we could just get ourselves right, our minds right, if we could just fix our eyes, it would all come together.

Saul wads walking, talking civil war. He took out what was happening within himself on the closest available target.

Parents do this all the time to their children. It’s not that we don’t love them, we love them more than we love ourselves, but sometimes we don’t love ourselves. So, we cannot give them the love we have for them, if there is no love of God that flows out of us. We are not fighting them we are fighting ourselves.

When we are at war with ourselves, wretched if you will as the Apostle Paul calls the weapons of this world. We are fighting the very thing that God is trying to use in our lives.

Sometimes we are fighting against what we should be fighting for.

Knowing the true nature of God will help us to trust Him and open ourselves up so that we can receive the healing that only the Holy Spirit can provide for us.

Tom and 8:32 says,

“He who didn’t spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how would He not also with Him freely give us all things?”

After Jesus suffered and died for us, why would He withhold healing our wounded souls? We can confidently open up to Him and know that He has our best interests in mind simply by looking at what He went through on the cross for us.

We are loved by God, not because of what we’ve done, but because of who we are. The Bible tells us that while we were sinners, Jesus died for us. He longed to have a relationship with us even before we became His children (Romans 5:8).

Jesus says in John 15:14, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down His life for His friends.”

Jesus laid down His life for us -that is how valuable and dear we are to Him.

We must realize God’s will for our souls.

Aside from the spirit of man, we should remember that this is the most important part of a man. His soul. Our being is man and emotion. But the soul comprises three parts, the mind which says “I think,” and the emotion which says, “I feel,’ and the decision which says, “I will.” We should understand that it is crucial in our inner or emotional healing because it is our own self-consciousness, our inner being if the spirit is part is God-conscious, and the flesh is world-conscious, then our soul is our own self-consciousness. It took me 10 years to understand this, Hopefully, now you can understand this and benefit from it as I have.

“For God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and of a sound mind” – 2 Timothy 1:7.

When the Holy Spirit comes, the will of God for the healing of our souls comes. God completes us!

We should make it clear in our minds that the Holy Spirit can work by God’s grace if we let Him. It is for us to decide.

Abuse, trauma, hurt, and pain are all works of the devil and the consequences of our fall. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and to restore His children to fullness to which He had created them to fulfill.

When Jesus was here on the earth, He went about doing the will of the Father in heaven, and this included healing all who were oppressed of satan.

“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, (satan) for God was with Him” -Acts 10:38.

When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes as a result of this acceptance and He will be the One that will bring us to transformation.

Realizing our identity in Christ Jesus is absolutely vital to our healing process. We need to know that we are “new in Christ” freed from the darkness of our past, forgiven of our sins, and that freedom and healing are ours because of the Blood that Jesus she’d for us.

The decision is whether we surrender wholly to Him, and allow the Holy Spirit to live on the inside of us.

Computers

Write about your first computer.

My first computer was an HP all-in-one with Windows. Computers have changed our lives in many ways, including how we communicate, learn, and access information.

It connected the world in ways our ancestors never thought possible and has impacted everything from education to healthcare and enabled unprecedented levels of connectivity and productivity across many fields.

Why Do Some People Die Young?

Psalm 91:16 says, “With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.”

If you’re like me you know people who have died to young. It seems in the last year I’ve known too many people who have passed away far too young. It got me to thinking what God says in His Word concerning our life on earth -how we are to live and how long. God has a good, long life planned for us. But without that revelation, we can’t expect to live out the full number of our days. It takes faith to receive the promises of God.

There are several reasons people die young. To live long on the earth, it is important to do some things:

Receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, and live under God’s protection.
Except to receive God’s promises of long life.
Speak only good over your life, do not declare sickness, disease, or death over yourself.
Walk in love. Bitterness and forgiveness are the root of many diseases.
Obey God’s commandments, and live according to His Word.
Do what’s right in the natural. Eat right, exercise, and avoid unhealthy habits.

While we have a personal responsibility to live right, there are times when tragedy comes that we can’t explain.

There is no place for blame or guilt in these circumstances. It’s never God’s will for loss to occur, but He is always there to heal our hearts and comfort us. Some scriptures where God promises to comfort us are:

Isaiah 61:1-3
Psalm 23:4
Psalm 71:21
Psalm 24
Corinthians 1:3-4

The Bible teaches us that God is in control of all things, including death, and can even use tragic events to achieve a greater purpose.

While God’s plan may not always be clear to us, the Bible acknowledges that suffering and loss are part of life, and sometimes we may not understand why these things happen.

Recovering From Mistakes

When you make a mistake, the key is to acknowledge it, learn from it, and actively change your behavior to avoid repeating it in the future. This means taking responsibility, analyzing what went wrong, an implementing new strategies to prevent similar mistakes from happening again again.

There are some key points remember to recovering from a mistake,

Own up to the mistake: Don’t try to blame others or make excuses and admit your error.
Look at the cause: understand what led to the mistake so you can address the root cause.
Come up with a plan to improve: Identify specific actions you can take to prevent similar mistakes in the future.
Practice self compassion: Don’t beat yourself up, everyone makes mistakes.

Mistakes leads to growth because it provide opportunity to learn, improve, and develop resilience.

“ The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result” -Albert Einstein.

Mistakes provide immediate feedback on what went wrong, and help us learn to grow and improve.

Mistakes for us to think critically and solve problems, which helps to develop resilience and adaptability.

Mistakes can help us develop a growth mindset, which is the belief that you can improve through learning an effort.

If we don’t learn from our mistakes, we cannot grow or improve, a lack of self-awareness or unwillingness to acknowledge our mistakes.

Not taking the time to think critically about our actions, or being stubborn to change our behavior even when it’s faced with negative consequences doesn’t get us very far in life.

The Scariest Thing

What’s the thing you’re most scared to do? What would it take to get you to do it?

The scariest thing would be hearing the words “depart from me I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:23) After my body returns to the earth. Hearing God say these words is the scariest.

Jesus says “I never knew you” to those who claim to who claim to know Him but don’t have a relationship with Him.

Jesus is saying that people who believe they are saved because they say “Lord Lord, but do not do what God wants will not be saved.

The only thing I can do is to stay in a relationship with Him. Follow Him and obey Him.

The Root Cause Of Complaining

What do you complain about the most?

I try no catch myself before I begin complaining because it only provides temptation relief, validation, or an outlet for feelings of helplessness and lack of control.

God commands us not to complain. Some scriptures tell us to “Do everything without complaining and grumbling. Negative thoughts turn into negative words. It indirectly declares that God is not good, faithful, loving, wise or powerful.

Complaining is a sin and it’s important to avoid it. Complaining can lead to missing out on God’s provision.

Complaining tells God we don’t trust Him. It’s a lack of faith in His plan and ability to care for us,

Stop Feeding The Negative

Many people are say, addicted to negative thinking. The mind only response to the vibration and interest, in other words, the mind does not have a life of its own, but it does gather momentum from your attention.

Through constant attention to negative thoughts we give momentum to the negative in our minds, and then it feels like you’re mine has a life of its own and that is sneaking negative thoughts constantly.

There’s a way to get freedom of their negative thoughts and even negative situations we find ourselves in.

Stop feeding it.

The first step for freedom of negative anything it should become contents of our own dysfunctional movement towards feeding negativity.

There are many people who defend this habit of thinking negative thoughts by stating that they are just being “realistic.” They feel like they are only being “truthful,” When they think negatively about life or the world in general. it is possible to feel guilty for thinking a positive thought, or a thought of well-being. The truth is that whenever we align ourselves with negative thoughts, we align ourselves against life, because life cannot support you in a negative thought.

I read once the reason we feel bad when we have a negative thought is because, in that moment, we are pulling away from the vibration of life, or the whole of us. When we are disconnected from the vibration of life (which is based on love and joy), we end up, creating a reality that is based on fear and lack. So when we are thinking a negative thought we are not being a realist, we are being a hinderer of our well-being.

Negative thinking is a habit. Like any addiction, negative thinking gather a momentum with daily use. You may be a person who has been predominantly, thinking negative thoughts since your childhood, so now you become deeply addicted to the habit of negative thinking so much that you start feeling a loss of “identity,” when you are trying to align with joy and love.

Negative thinking is a highly dysfunctional addiction because it causes us to stay connected with life itself and keep us rooted in reality that perpetuates suffering.

We have to be willing to let go of our defensiveness and acknowledge our negative thinking is the only reason for the negative reality we are living. The more we start becoming conscious of this dysfunctional habit the more it slows down in momentum. This takes some time, but it’s worth it.

When I began the process of getting rid of this habit, I also felt as loss of identity. I was thought how to only think negative thoughts from childhood, so it was a hard habit to break. But if your patient with yourself and allow this process to happen, you mindfully dissolves, the momentum, it has gathered to the attention of negative thinking.

Favorite Sports

What are your favorite sports to watch and play?

Most people have a favorite sport to play and watch. But I don’t really like sports. It is something that never interested me.

My son played baseball as a child. And I was happy to be there for every game. Playing baseball helps with eye and hand coordination and teaches you how to react quickly.

My daughter bowled she loved it, so much I purchased her a bowling ball and shoes at a young age. I was there every time she had a game. I know some people had a different views on whether bowling is a sport or not.

These are the only sports I ever watched or played. And I did so for my children.

Overcoming Disappointment And Reclaiming Your Destiny

Disappointment can be a subtle yet powerful enemy of our progress. It can creep into our hearts, severing our connection with any faith we have and derail our purpose. Many people have fallen prey to its destructive power and were unaware of the danger lurking beneath the surface.

At its core, disappointment is not just a fleeting emotional response, but a state of mind that can have far-reaching consequences. When we allow disappointment to take root in us, it can lead to a disconnect from our destiny both in life and spiritually. The future God has planned for us begins to fade and is replaced by a sense of hopelessness and despair.

Satan is well aware of the devastating impact of disappointment. He cleverly manipulates circumstances that create an environment conducive to vulnerabilities, and fostering unbelief. When we dwell on our past hurts and failed expectations, our hearts become increasingly disconnected from any plan God has for us. Our once clear vision of our lives becomes dim, and our soul withers.

So, how do we break free from the grip of disappointment and reclaim our rightful place in God’s plan?

The answer lies in living by faith, even in the darkest times. I’m reminded of Matthew 17:20 where Jesus says,

“Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Faith is the key to unlocking our destiny. We must learn to reject disappointment, forgive those who have wronged us, and repent of our own shortcomings. When we do the healing power of the Holy Spirit, can restore our connection with God and revive our vision for our destiny.

If you are harboring disappointment in your heart you can allow the Holy Spirit to remove the weight of it from your life. It’s important to repent of any unbelief or bitterness that may be holding you back. Remember that your appointment with your destiny is still set. Don’t let disappointment stand in the way of fulfilling your God-given destiny.

Having A Heart Like King David’s

When we read Psalms in the Bible it’s almost impossible not to hear David’s heart. We can understand and see his deep devotion, genuine faith, and complete reliance on God.

David was committed to God’s will despite his flaws and mistakes, he expressed his love for God by his trust through prayer and worship throughout the Psalms.

David’s life is marked by a profound commitment to God, even during challenging times, which showcased his genuine love and reliance.

David portrays himself as a humble servant of God, readily acknowledges his imperfections, and gives credit to God for his victories.

Many of the Psalms are attributed to David and are powerful expressions of his heart, encompassing praise, lament, and Thanksgiving, which offers us a window into his intimate relationship with God.

David was authentic in his prayer life, where he openly expressed his thoughts, feelings, and needs to God.

This year I want to strive to be like David. I think about how many times I have been struggling with something, getting frustrated then it’s like a lightbulb goes off in my head “Ask God.”

Here are a few applications I am going to apply to my life:

Winning The Lottery

What would you do if you won the lottery?

If I won a huge amount on the lottery. I would payoff my bills and buy a house with some acreage near a bench. I would probably be driving my old blue jeep.

I’m not into fancy cars. And I couldn’t get to the mountains to feed my soul every now then would probably not be a very happy person.

I would help my children if they needed it, and just a comfortable life after that. Money would not change who I am. I would still do the things I am doing now.

Books

What books do you want to read?

I have been wanting to read a few books from Rick Renner. He is a highly respected Bible teacher and is very scholarly in his knowledge of the Greek language.

The Last Days Survival Guide by him has sparked my attention and also Living In The Combat Zone.