HYPER THINKING

Over stimulation of ideas leads to hyperactivity of random thoughts:
- Makes me non-productive.
- Stressful.
- I cease to flow in the Spirit.

Solution - Force myself to stop and meditate with Lord.

THE RIGHT MINDSET

WAR STORIES

Psalms 50:14-15 "Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High. Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”

CHANGE YOUR SEAT!

THE HARVEST OF 2018

The spiritual man/woman is always mindful of the principle of "Sewing and Reaping".

What we have planted and nurtured in 2017 - and the years prior - becomes our harvest for 2018.  

Let's ask ourselves the following questions:

1. Are we satisfied with what we have planted? Why?
2. If it what was planted is not acceptable, why wasn't it noticed until now?
3. What is our intended harvest for 2018? Why?

Whether good, bad or ugly, our harvest will always be the direct result of the type of seed we plant! 

Now is the time to ask the Holy Spirit to give us the eyes to carefully assess the fields of our hearts and minds.

This helps us to plant for a harvest that pleases our Father.

Galatians 6:7-9  NLT
Don't be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up.

PRIORITIZING 101

I want to share an easy to understand, but difficult-to-implement concept that is guaranteed to change how, and even when, you conduct your daily activities. 

"Fit my day into my time and attention with the Father, not trying to fit Father into my day"

I wake up with every intention of making room for Father's agenda to rule the day, but all too often life imposes its demands on the day, and I end up giving in to these demands. 

By placing my time and attention on my relationship with Father God, and my fellowship with Jesus throughout the day, I actually get the sense that I have spent my day with purpose, and am honestly content with its outcome.

This investment in our spiritual and mental health doesn't come easy.

The "flesh" - our old corrupt nature without Christ - resists the execution of this concept. So get ready for a fierce bare-knuckle fight to the death.

Our flesh is conditioned to be responsive to the things that are "urgent", not the things that are "important"; the easy, not the difficult; the immediately gratifying, not things that requires self-denial. 

Fitting the day into our time with Father is going to take some discipline on your part. We're going to have to get "medieval" with the flesh, and resolve in ourselves that we refuse to squander another day running on that "hamster wheel"- doing a whole lot of running, but going absolutely nowhere. Never again being satisfied with accomplishing the frivolous, superficial and vain.

The  flesh and the spirit - by feeding one, we starve the other. By doing exactly what the flesh does not want (that is to put the things of God - the important things- first), we deprive it of it's life controlling power.

The flesh is afraid that we will start thinking, acting and talking like our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

It will die, its control broken! Hallelujah!!

Matthew 6:33 MSG
Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

THE WORD BEARER

I am not responsible to share what the Lord doesn't reveal to me, only for what He does.

He holds me responsible to share "what" He reveals, only "when" He allows me to share it.

Father does not hold me responsible to share what He reveals with "everyone", I am only responsible to share with those who are "meant" to hear it.

REAL COPING SKILLS

As a result of my years of work and experience as a mental health recovery specialist and minister, I felt that effective coping skills needed to be more than just changing one's  mental focus to enable them to manage their emotional/psychological drama.

Many people use a variety of unhealthy coping skills that enable them to "tread water" until;

• the flood of their emotional crisis subsides,
• someone comes along and pulls them out to safety,
• or until they succumb to the exhaustion of treading water for so long.

Their ability to cope is measured by how long they can continue to "keep their head above water".

For most of my life, my coping skills were just as flawed.

My default was to go into what I call my "Crisis Mode". Crisis Mode is the act of making myself emotionally numb.

This was supposed to insulate me from having to experince hurt or distress.

If I cant feel it, it can't hurt me.

The problem with this strategy was that the emotions eventually burned through my insulation. They leaked or exploded all around me, hurting not only myself, but my marriage and family relationships.

I've since learned that I had to master the biblical coping skills that Father devised.

Prayer with, and to Him

It's through my communion with the Father, and honestly sharing my hurts and cares with Him, that enables me to;

• Adapt to circumstances I cant control.
• Allow Him to take me "through" my emotional experiences instead of avoiding them.
• Overcome negative emotional reactions.
• Use them to promote my spiritual growth and development. 

Philippians 4:6-7 MSG
Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

NOT UNDER MURPHY'S LAW

Father is in control of what happens in my life.

Therefore, when life as I know it goes wrong, it really hasn't at all. Father is always using the wrong, to work His right.

Often my interpretation of things gone wrong, is when things have not gone according to my plan.

When life doesn't go according to how I - or the world thinks it should - I don't see, nor understand, that Father is fitting me into "His will." 

Without Father's discernment, my perception of what's going on is flawed. I can't see the "big picture", He can! He not only can see it, He controls it!

Because of my limitations, the fog that clouds my perception has influenced my understanding of what is happening around me, so I just accept it as "bad". Father clearly says that "it's good, I already planned to use it for your good"!

Therefore, there are no set of circumstances that can ever change God's will or His Word in my life to bless me REAL GOOD!

Romans 8:28 (TLB)
28 And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans.

..Jeremiah 29:11-12 

For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen.

EATING ON THE RUN

Let me begin by saying that, "busyness" is one of the thugs I contend with on a regular basis. It threatens the time I spend tending to my spiritual disciplines.

Because of time constraints, it is inevitable that we may find ourselves having to study and meditate on the scriptures while we're "on the move".

A habit of "eating on the run" is not spiritually healthy at all, but there are times we may have to get the Word of God in, whenever and however, we can get it in. 

Here are some tips to consider:

1. Be mindful of your portions. Focus on small portions of scriptures or readings. We can only digest a certain amount of truth at a time.  Remember, we are called to study the Scripture, not to just read it, we study to get the understanding of what's said!
2. Be careful where you eat. Too many of us depend too much on others to do our studying for us. We must be mindful of how the Word was prepared. If we're not, this can lead to deception. Take the time to check the scriptures for yourself! Be sure wherever your getting fed, your being fed truth.
3. Choose from the menu wisely. Whether the Word is preached or written, we have many options to select from. Be led of the Holy Spirit for what He intends to teach for the moment. Whether milk,  meat, sweet or sour, it is all good, but it needs to be consumed in the correct proportion.

THE PRAYER OF FAITH

1 Samuel 1:10-18 NLT
Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. And she made this vow: "O Lord of Heaven's Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut." As she was praying to the Lord, Eli watched her. Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. "Must you come here drunk?" he demanded. "Throw away your wine!" "Oh no, sir!" she replied. "I haven't been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord. Don't think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow." "In that case," Eli said, "go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him." "Oh, thank you, sir!" she exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad.

1. Hannah walked away with total confidence that God not only heard her, but that her request was granted.
2. She put off her sadness and resumed her life as usual.
3. She did not see the need to ask again.

The result was the supernatural birth of "God's man", the prophet and judge, Samuel; whom God raised up to restore the spiritual integrity of the priesthood.

The Awesome Power Behind the Faith and Integrity of a Godly Mother!

HIGHER LEARNING

Common sense can never supercede God's log.

Common sense is natural knowledge, God's logic is spiritual.

1 Corinthians 2:13-16 NLT
When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit's words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren't spiritual can't receive these truths from God's Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can't understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For, "Who can know the Lord's thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?" But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

DUMP THE PROPS - ITS CHRIST OR NOTHING!

Spiritual growth consists of Father's loving process to eliminate our dependence on props.

This process can be extremely painful, depending on our level of attachment.

Props are the temporal things of the natural realm; people, places, positions or things, that we tend to depend on to help cope with the pressures of our lives.

Props provide us with a "perception" of security,  safety, support and comfort - deceptively so. 

We are convinced that they are necessary to help us to "weather our storms" - to endure, or to totally avoid experiencing pain or discomfort.

The problem with props is that they have a tendency to fail under extreme stress. 

It is during these times of extreme stress that we are "encouraged" to realize that our props are not only dreadfully unreliable, but they may end up enslaving us.

Father wants to remind us that props, no matter how convincing, will never do!

We have a Cornerstone not a prop to provide us with all the security, safety, support and comfort, we will ever need - He is Christ our Rock!

Matthew 7:24-27
"Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn't obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash."

                          ITS CHRIST OR NOTHING!

THOUGHT DISCIPLINE

In the life possessed by the Holy Spirit, there is discipline of thought.

We must strive for the absence of idle thoughts.

All thoughts must be engaged; then purged or acted upon, under the Holy Spirit's supervision.

2 Corinthians 10:5 ESV
We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

TOWERS OF BABEL

There are too many Christian ministry events that serve only to glorify the achievements of man, rather than advancing the interests of our Father.

We plan and carry out these events without the Spirit's counsel, then expect Father's blessing to be upon it.

The lust for the honor of man can never be satisfied. Our satisfaction is found in being honored by our Father.

John 5:44 Living Bible (TLB)
44 No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that comes from the only God!

DIFFERENCES

It is not the differences among people that is the cause of contempt between them. The culprit is the attitude about those differences.

James 2:4 doesn't this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?

NO SUBSTITUTE

Busyness is not holiness! 

We can never substitute our good works of ministry, for our holiness before the Father.

.

Romans 12:1 MSG
So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. .

It is only when we work from our place on the altar, we can actually get the "right work" done, at the right time, the right way, with the right spirit! 

1 Peter 1:14-16
So you must live as God's obedient children. Don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn't know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, "You must be holy because I am holy."

DAVIDIC WARRIOR TRAINING CONCEPTS Part 1

THE LORD'S TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

The scriptures reveal that David was without question, anointed in the skills of close protection security,  warfighting and leadership. These skills were not just isolated to the natural realm, they also transcended into the spiritual realm. 

Even though his training and experience was not conventional, it was extensive and thorough. As a matter of fact, because of God's  training and development plan,  David's skills were honed to be a cut above those who were considered the professionals of his day.

David was God's man, trained God's way, to do God's will!

God's way of preparing us for ministry is not going to always conform to what's considered typical or customary.

Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT
"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the Lord. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

That, brother and sisters settled it for me.

In the next series of articles, we will highlight some key concepts that the Holy Spirit wants to reveal to us. These concepts will prepare us for the work of the ministry we are anointed to complete.

DAVIDIC WARRIOR TRAINING CONCEPTS PART 2

Shepherding Training 
Training Objective: Disciplined in the awareness of God's faithfulness, building relationship through intimate time in prayer; cooperating with God's development process, development and practice of God's protective and leadership skills.

Please observe the following training points:

• While shepherding as a boy, David learned how to take advantage of the enormous amounts of "alone time" associated with the care of his sheep..

• I personally don't believe David knew how to be alone by himself, but he did know how to be alone with God. This was his practice, his discipline, everyday, all day.

• God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.' Acts13:22. David's loyalty and obedience to God made him exceptional. 

• David did not seem to have an agenda, other then his relationship with God.

• He was teachable. David was able to understand and learn God's correlation between; shepherding, and God's nature.

 

• David seemed to realize who he was as a servant of God. It appears to me that this is where he found his identity. 

• David's life was heavily influenced by his awareness of God's commitment to love and to care for him.

• He learned by experience, how to surrender to Father's love, power and care.

Psalms 23:1-6 NLT
The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.