LOSERS, LOWLIFES, & SINNERS
Do you believe that in order to earnestly love God you must first hate yourself? In other words, do you think that mistreating yourself is somehow a spiritual act? Let me tell you, there are many baffled believers out there who are convinced that the only way to please God is to think of themselves as losers or lowly sinners. They have been deceived by a demonic scheme and have lost sight of Paul’s words in Ephesians 5:29: “ No one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church.
” With that in mind, I propose it’s time that we learn how to tenderly care for ourselves because Jesus wants us to live fully alive—spirit, soul, and body.
Bill Johnson rightly says, “We can’t afford to have a thought in our mind that isn’t in His!” Jesus put it this way: “ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly
” (John 10:10). We have an enemy who is attempting to rob us of our spiritual inheritance through demonic doctrines that project their own condemnation on to us. It is very important that we do not get the thief’s thoughts mixed up with what the Lord thinks of us!
A ROGUE TONGUE
One of the worst things we can do when our mind is under an unholy spiritual siege is to speak.
Let me be clear: I do not mean we should avoid asking for help or stay silent in some isolated corner; I am talking about verbalizing the demonic thoughts
, speculations or lofty things that are being propagated against us. Articulating these poisonous arrows only helps assimilate them in our hearts which in turn causes us to live them out in our souls.
Solomon said life and death are in the power of the tongue (see Proverbs 18:21). Ezekiel epitomized this when he spoke life over a boneyard, and a mighty army emerged. Therefore, it’s also possible to reduce a mighty army into a mere pile of bones with words spoken from an untamed tongue!
Look at the warning James gave us about shooting off our big mouths: “ Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!
” (James 3:4–5). It is tough enough to be in such an intense battle that you cannot see the forest for the trees. But it is stupid to set the whole forest on fire with our tongues.
As James tells us, our tongue is like the rudder of a ship. It can steer us into a safe harbor until the winds of adversity pass by. But instead of navigating our ship into refuge from the storms of life, we often tend to let go of the wheel. This allows the waves of circumstance to drive the rudder instead of our faith, virtues, and values keeping us on course.
THE PALACE OF OUR SOUL
Speaking words from a tongue gone rogue is like eating fruit from a poison tree. Destructive words are deadly. Speaking them out loud will rot the mind, weaken the heart, and immobilize our lives in every way. It is up to us not to consume and assimilate these words by allowing them to take root in our minds and hearts. Paul put it this way,
“ Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you..
” (Philippians 4:8–9)
As Believers, we must set up guards at the entrance of our hearts
and minds to protect the Kingdom of God within ourselves. Meditating on negative words is like opening up our heart gate and allowing enemy armies to invade the peaceful palace of our souls. This is why it’s vital that we heed Paul’s insistence—to dwell on God’s goodness. Meditating and often recalling that WE ARE Kingdom people destined to live in righteousness, peace, and joy
, invites the God of peace to reign over our spirit, soul, and body.
GOD’S FORMULA FOR SUCCESS
I know, when you hear the word “meditate,” you probably picture some guy sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, humming to himself, trying to empty his brain of all thoughts. But this isn’t scriptural meditation. Meditation that focuses on emptying your brain isn’t going to lead anywhere. In fact, it’s no different than an ostrich burying its head in the sand when it feels threatened; it’s a futile attempt at securing safety and restoring peace.
On the other hand, Biblical meditation
is active and always leads to our triumph. In fact, after Moses died and Joshua was left to lead God’s people into the promised land, it was meditation that God said was the key to Joshua profoundly prospering:
“ This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night,
so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.
” (See Joshua 1:1-8)
I’m not sure if you caught the, “YOU WILL,” part? God didn’t say, “I will make you prosperous and successful.” He said, “You will make your way prosperous and you will have success.” Seriously, meditation seems like an overly simplified formula for success, but it is actually proactively using God’s words, thoughts, and promises
to uproot any lies of condemnation that may be sabotaging us from living an abundant life.
Meditating on the truth that we are God’s beloved is God’s formula for a renewed mind! It enables us to walk in His gift of peace that surpasses all understanding.
My prayer for you today, on Good Friday, is that you would meditate on the righteousness, peace, and joy that Jesus Christ paid for. Let’s triumphantly declare God’s truth over us and speak out the lovely thoughts that He graciously shares with us.
