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Dr. Cindy Trimm

Do You Know Who You Are?

Posted by & filed under Blogs, Empowerment, Kingdom.

“God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are.”
Romans 8:15-17 MSG

Welcome to Week Five of our 40 Day Soul Fast series!

If you’re joining us for the first time, you can review Weeks One, Two, Three, or Four—or anything you may have missed by clicking here!

Today we’ll be exploring the importance of your identity and the role it plays in the life and health of your soul. Do you know who you really are?

Ignorance, more than anything else, is your greatest enemy.

Yet, you must never forget that whatever has kept you bound and in the dark is not greater than God’s power to liberate and enlighten you! After all, “Christ is the light of the world“ (John 8:12)—He is “the light of all mankind“ (John 1:4).

Knowing who you are in Christ, and who He is in you, is the first step in overcoming the enemy of your soul, who seeks to keep you blind, deaf, and dumb to your divine power and true nature.

“Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”
Ephesians 5:14

Ignorance is what the enemy uses to keep you defeated, overwhelmed, afraid, and afflicted in your soul.

Not only ignorance of what is dis-easing your soul and keeping you from a more abundant life, but also ignorance of who you are as a child of God.

The key to deliverance is embracing who you are in Christ—and who He is within you.

Understanding the identity you have inherited from not only your ancestors, but also your Heavenly Father, will help you to maximize your potential and fulfill your purpose with greater precision.

Knowledge about why you do what you do—as well as what you are capable of—will give you the ability to minimize your weaknesses while capitalizing on your strengths.

This is vital to the health of your soul and essential to your empowerment!

In Ephesians you are told to “throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (4:22-24 NLT).

According to 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (NLT).

In Christ you have been given a new nature—an entirely new genetic code.

Regardless of who you thought you were, or the family you were born into, or the part of the country you’re from, you are your Heavenly Father’s child!

You can learn more about who you were created to be by learning about who He is. You have been made a partaker of His divine nature (see 2 Peter 1:4). You are to “be imitators of God as dear children” (Ephesians 5:1).

I like how THE MESSAGE says it:

“Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that” (Ephesians 5:1 MSG).

In God, you have been given all things pertaining to life and godliness “through the knowledge of Him” (2 Peter 1:3).

The more time you spend learning about the nature of God, learning the ways of Christ, and keeping company with His Spirit, the more you are transformed into His likeness—“becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him” (2 Corinthians 3:18 MSG).

There is nothing the Bible talks about more than the power and importance of identity.

You must know with certainty whom and whose you are and all you are capable of becoming.

Early in the Old Testament, God told the Israelites, “You are the sons of the Lord your God . . . you are a holy people [set apart] to the Lord your God; and the Lord has chosen you to be a peculiar people to Himself, above all the nations on the earth” (Deuteronomy 14:1-2 AMP).

At the very end of the New Testament, we read that God has “made us kings and priests . . . and we shall reign on the earth” (Revelations 5:10).

If you are to fulfill your destiny of reigning on this earth as a king and priest, you must be “constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Ephesians 4:23 AMP).

Constantly.

Only by constant and continual renewal of your spirit, soul, and mind will you be able to change your beliefs about the capacity you carry for greatness.

 Click to Tweet: The paradigm that dictates your outlook determines your outcomes.

The paradigm that governs your expectations will either gridlock or give way to what you are able to envision.

You have often heard me say that if your context is wrong your conclusions will be wrong.

Conclusion is a result of context.

Click to Tweet: Change your perspective and you will change your potential.

Your potential is only limited by your own perception of it!

This is why we are told over and over again about who we are in Christ.

God is trying to change your mindset. He is giving you a new perspective and paradigm for framing your identity. You are to “put on Christ, like putting on new clothes” (Galatians 3:27 NLT).

You are to “put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him” (Colossians 3:10).

“You have begun to live the new life, in which you are being made new and are becoming like the One who made you” (Colossians 3:10 NCV).

“What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation.”
Galatians 6:15 NLT

 What counts is whether or not your identity—your perception of yourself—is defined by God.

Allow yourself to be defined by your Creator, to live into that image—to be informed and transformed by the knowledge of who God created you to be.

Be defined by “Christ Himself, who is in you . . . [y]our only hope for glory” (Colossians 1:27 NCV)—your only hope of “being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV)—your only hope of breaking every yoke, setting aside every weight, breaking free from every encumbrance, being made new and completely transformed into the image and likeness of Christ Himself: “Heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17).

Be encouraged. Faith in God’s transforming, identity-altering grace will free you from whatever cords of sin, addiction, or unhealthy relationships have bound you by feelings of inferiority.

“Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.”
Romans 5:20

Never forget that “with God’s power working in [you], God can do much, much more than anything [you] can ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20 NCV)!

Remembering it is “God who works in you . . . to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13) will empower you to fix your mind on His truth about your divine potential.

Bind yourself to God’s grace—fix your mind’s eye on the capacity building power of Christ at work in you!

“He who has begun a good work in you will complete it.”
Philippians 1:6

This week, we will be focusing on the characteristics of faith, gratitude, destiny, identity, and purpose.

As you explore each characteristic throughout the week, think about the following questions:

  • How can you more fully embrace your identity in Christ? What does that look like? How can you live that out?
  • How does this knowledge enable you to live more authentically?

I pray you discover your true identity by acknowledging the Christ at work within you.

“This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance!”
Romans 8:15-17 MSG

Where Are You Directing Your Life?

Posted by & filed under Blogs, Empowerment, Healing.

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”
Proverbs 23:7

Welcome to Week Four of our 40 Day Soul Fast series!

If you’re joining us for the first time, you can review Weeks One, Two, or Three—or anything you may have missed by clicking here!

And don’t miss out on our deeply discounted Soul Fast resources…or an opportunity to meet in a town near you!


We are already nearing the halfway mark in our eight-week series!

This is where the rubber really begins to meet the road.

Hopefully by now you have a better understanding of the nature of your soul. As the seat of your mind, will, and emotions, your soul is the navigational center of your life.

So, if your soul is the helm from where you captain your life, then your thoughts are what sets it in motion.

You can harness your thoughts like a sailor harnesses the winds to take you wherever you want to go.

In the words of poet William Ernest Henley, “[You] are the master of your fate, [you] are the captain of your soul!”

In his timeless classic, As A Man Thinketh, James Allen observed, “All that a man achieves or fails to achieve is a direct result of his own thoughts.”

Believe it or not, your life moves in the direction of your thoughts.

Thoughts are the ever-present currents that move you either closer to or further away from your best future.

This is what makes faith so powerful: It is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen” (Hebrews 11:1).

The hopes and dreams you allow to fill your mind have substance; they are evidence of your world being transformed.

You’ve heard me say that God speaks to you at the speed of thought—but have you considered that thought moves at the speed of light? God whispers through His Spirit to your spirit, “Let there be light!“

As quickly as light illuminates a room, a single thought can illuminate your life.

You are always only one thought away from living the life of your dreams—one decision away from changing your destiny.

Like short-wave radio signals, your thoughts send messages out on a specific frequency and are transmitted back to you as an experience or occurrence in your life.

Your thoughts create a magnetic field around you—attracting either positive or negative experiences.

What you think has the power to literally transform your life. Your life is very literally what your thoughts make it!

James Allen wrote that a person “will find that as he alters his thoughts toward things and other people, things and other people will alter towards him.”

This is the basic premise of the Law of Attraction.

The Law of Attraction is based on the principle that we attract into our lives whatever we focus on as a result of the energy that is exchanged in the process.

All matter—seen and unseen—is comprised of energy.

The energy created by our unseen thoughts either attracts or repels the energy matter of what we ultimately see and experience as a result.

This phenomena is rooted in the findings of quantum physics, which found that nothing in the universe is static due to the fact that all matter is vibrating energy—raw energy that responds to the vibrations of our thoughts, so that consequently “what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen” (Hebrews 11:3b).

To repeat, it is the essence of faith: “The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

Everything you see began in the unseen realm.

The first book of the Bible tells us that God spoke the earth into existence—“the worlds were framed by the word of God” (Hebrews 11:3a).

Yet before God’s word ever was there were His thoughts. The source of all energy—and all matter—is the mind of God. The Creator—the Great Imaginarian—in Whose image you were created.

Your thoughts are powerful.

If you want to change your life, you must change your thoughts.

If you want to unstick or unclutter your life, you must first unstick and unclutter your thoughts!

  • How are unhealthy soul toxins and debilitating soul ties created in the first place?
  • How can you end up cluttering your soul simply by the thoughts that you think?

It is due to this exchange of energy that takes place when you give something your attention, entertain it in your mind, meditate upon it, and talk about it.

What you invest mental energy in is what you tie your soul to, both positively and negatively.

As currents of electricity create electromagnetic fields connecting positive or negative charges, your thoughts create similar fields.

Your positive thoughts attract positive attachments; your negative thoughts attract negative attachments.

The seed of a thought, like any seed when planted, will always result in an exchange of energy and therefore some kind of an attachment.

An exchange takes place through investments of time, energy, attention, and action in the form of thoughts, deeds, or words.

Exchanges can be both intentional and unintentional.

Sometimes we can be completely oblivious to what we’ve attached our souls—something may have taken hold in our mind because we inadvertently paid attention to it for too long.

I believe this is why Isaiah stated, “he who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil…will dwell on high” (Isaiah 33:15-16).

You have to be careful about what you pay attention to—what you spend time and energy thinking about and dwelling upon.

Your life will move in the direction of what you contemplate.

As it says in Proverbs, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (Proverbs 4:23).

What consumes your thoughts gives you a good indication of what ties your soul.

Our thoughts, intentions, motivations, and aspirations—whether they be secretly pondered in the heart, openly declared as a desire, or formally written as goals—mold and shape our personal universe into something either grand and beautiful or base and hideous.

Whatever you harbor in the innermost corridors of your thought-life will, sooner or later, reveal itself in the outer arena of your life.

Whatever is hidden will eventually be brought to light. First Corinthians 4:5 states that God “will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.”

Just as a seed is for a time hidden underground, it will eventually breakthrough the surface and it’s true essence will ultimately be revealed.

Everything you see in the natural began as a spiritual seed—a thought.

The temporal realm has its roots in the spiritual realm.

Grabbing hold of this profound spiritual truth will enable you to make some critical connections that can transform your life.

Once you understand that the spiritual realm is the “causal realm,” you will begin to grasp the massive power of your thoughts, ideas, words, and prayers—spiritual things that engineer, mold, and craft the current and future state of your temporal existence.

Proverbs tells us, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).

Your outer world is a direct result of your inner world.

Every circumstance in life is a result of a choice—and every choice is the result of a thought. All those things that fill your mind hold the keys to your reality.

Make it a habit to examine what your thoughts are chasing after, because your success and prosperity hinge on what lies within your mind.

You will never have more, or go further, or accomplish greater things than your thoughts will allow you.

Become the architect of your future.

Use your thoughts like an architect uses a blueprint. Think about every detail.

An architect not only thinks about the rooms in a house, but the types of windows, the size of closets, the location of outlets, and so on. Nothing is too insignificant.

Think big! Think detailed!

If you want to progress in life, you’ve got to think progressive thoughts. You’ve got to think beyond where you are.

Take the limits off your mind!

This is the challenge of creative thinking—you’ve got to open the spiritual channels of your mind so that God can download divine insights into your brain.

Spend some quality time with God this week and ask Him to enlarge your capacity for thinking and imagining—ask Him to help you take the limits off.

Do yourself, and the world, a tremendous favor by getting the toxins out of your soul by taking control of your thought life.

This week we are focusing on the characteristics of beauty, effortlessness, authenticity, focus, and order. Take some time to think about and discuss:

  • What your thoughts are on your thoughts.
  • How have you experienced “thinking for a change” in your own life?

“Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts…Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions. Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you.”
Proverbs 4:23-25 MSG

Break Free Once and For All!

Posted by & filed under Blogs, Empowerment, Healing.

So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.”
James 1:21 NLT

Welcome to Week Three of The 40 Day Soul Fast!

If you’re joining us for the first time, you can review Week One & Week Two or anything you may have missed by clicking here.

Also, be sure to visit our online store to take advantage of our deeply discounted Soul Fast resources…and check out my itinerary below to see if I’m coming to a town near you! I would love to meet you!

This week we will take a closer look at the nature of the soul—what it is and how it works.

You are not alone if you’ve ever asked yourself, “What is the soul exactly?”

Sometimes the essence of who we really are is the most difficult thing to understand.

Consider how much research has gone into studying the human body—think of the science that has been dedicated to understanding our cells and the chromosomes they contain which make us who we are!

By understanding who you are on a “soulular” level, you are better able to diagnose your vulnerabilities, supplement your weaknesses, and nourish your strengths.

As much as our true nature is revealed on a cellular level, so is the truth of who we are hidden within our souls!

When I think of a healthy body, I think of a body that is able to defend itself from disease.

I’ve heard it said that you are exposed to enough germs at any given moment to make you deathly ill, but as long as you keep your immune system functioning as it should, you can fend off even the deadliest germs.

Likewise, the health of your soul depends on its ability to defend itself against whatever may cause you dis-ease. You may understand how to keep your cells protected and strong, but what about your soul?

Your body provides a beautiful metaphor for how your soul functions.

There are always forces at work bombarding your soul—trying to invade and break down protective walls—attempting to get a foot-hold where there is a weakness in order to throw your system off balance.

Just as a virus is a formidable enemy on a cellular level, so are the forces of darkness when it comes to the life of your soul.

I think of how laser technology is able to destroy cancerous tissue or disintegrate a malignant tumor, and how the light of truth with laser-sharp accuracy is able to destroy all the works of the enemy.

Human souls are what kingdom forces are warring over.

God’s primary objective has always been to liberate the souls of humanity from the enslaving forces of the enemy so the sons and daughters of God can take rightful dominion of the earth.

Why is the human soul the front-line of the epic battle taking place between the kingdoms of light and darkness?

Because the soul is the driving force that causes a person to dream and gives every individual the power to create a new reality—a different outcome—to change the course of history.

The soul is the engine that gives any person the power to imagine a desired outcome and the determination to achieve it.

It provides the motivation, willpower, desire, drive, enterprise, passion, resolve, urge, and zeal to accomplish an objective. It is what makes the human will unstoppable.

It determines whether you move toward or away from God’s divine purposes—and it determines the speed at which you move in either direction, depending on whether it is fueled by Truth or deception.

The soul is both the navigational center as well as the engine room of a human being.

Unlike the mind, the soul is the seat of one’s personality—it is where the genetic code of each individual’s drives, desires, aptitudes, and abilities are imprinted. It is the “inner man” that is expressed through the outer man we all see when we look at one another.

The soul is our life force. It is made up of electromagnetic energy that can be measured. It is a substance that has been scientifically proven to exist (read The 40 Day Soul Fast to learn more).

This substance is what gives each person his or her distinctive identity—it is from where we derive our sense of self and individuality.

“What is soul? It’s like electricity—we don’t really know what it is, but it’s a force that can light a room.”
Ray Charles

The soul is contained within a physical body that God created from the dust of the earth—a body created from the earth to interact with and function in the physical realm.

With the aid of five physical senses, the body enables humans to be conscious of the world around them giving them the ability to discern earthly things.

In contrast, the spirit of man was created to reflect the image and likeness of God, making him God-conscious, and giving him the ability to interact with and discern spiritual things.

While the body is temporal and earth-bound, the spirit is eternal and heaven-bound.

These two planes of existence—the earthly and the heavenly—come together in the human soul.

The great battles taking place between the kingdom of heaven and that of the world—between the Kingdom of Light and the kingdom of darkness—are for the souls of humanity.

These battles not only rage in our souls, but for our souls.

The soul is where the temporal and eternal aspects of human existence intersect.

The soul gives human beings the ability to discern the divine self—to be self-aware—and to consciously live a life elevated by the Kingdom of God while still physically bound to the earth.

The soul is the seat of intention, conscience, and choice.

In other words, the soul is the governing mechanism of your life, which in turn is either governed by Christ, the world, or the enemy.

What you allow to govern your soul is what you permit to occupy it.

  • Is your soul governed by the love of things or the love of God?
  • What do you spend the most time thinking about? What do you most hope and long for?

Hope acts like an anchor that will either tether your soul to the Kingdom of God or to the kingdoms of this world—to your painful past or to the promise of your future.

“The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope.”
Colossians 1:3-5 MSG

It is our hope in God alone that provides “a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls” (Hebrews 6:19).

From the beginning, God set mankind apart from the rest of creation by breathing into him His very own breath and causing him to become a living soul—an eternal thinking, feeling, rational, creative being like Himself.

He created him in His own tripartite image—spirit, soul, and body.

When we are born into the family of God, His DNA is activated within us.

God’s Spirit comes alive within our spirit, we are given the mind of Christ, and every cell of our mortal bodies is revitalized by the power of His Resurrection Life.

Every aspect of the Godhead comes alive in our own tripartite being—His Spirit comes to live in our hearts, His Nature takes up residence in our consciousness, and even His eternal Word is made flesh in our mortal bodies.

So why doesn’t every believer in Christ walk in complete victory in all areas of their lives?

Why do God’s people struggle generation after generation, day after day, not only with the multitude of opposing forces at work in the world, but the forces at work in their own minds and bodies—even in their own souls?

The great Apostle Paul wrote about this very thing in his letter to the Romans:

“But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me”
Romans 7:23 NLT

How can you be a child of God and still a slave of sin?

This is the primary question we will be dealing with throughout The 40 Day Soul Fast.

What are the toxins and ties contaminating and entangling your soul keeping it vulnerable to sin and cycles of failure?

Even if you don’t feel bound by sinful behaviors or victimized by continual defeat, there may still be other encumbrances within your soul keeping you from breaking through and achieving the greatness God has implanted in you.

But there is hope—the Word God has planted in your heart (James 1:21)—the Christ in you (Col. 1:27 )—which makes all things possible! (See Phil. 4:13.)

Put Yourself Back in the Driver’s Seat

Posted by & filed under Blogs, Empowerment, Healing.

“What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?”
 Mark 8:34 MSG

Welcome to Week Two of The 40 Day Soul Fast!

If you’re just joining us for the first time, you can read about Week One or catch up with anything you may have missed by clicking here.

And be sure to take advantage of the many Soul Fast resources found here…and friends, if I’m coming to a town near you, please come see me! I would love to meet you!

Today we will be talking about the purpose of soul fasting.

Everything you experience begins on a soulular level.

When you feel weighed down, uneasy or apathetic, or just plain stuck, you’re in need of a soul fast!

If you feel like you’re drowning in a quagmire of mental clutter, stress, hurt, loneliness, or fear—fuzzy headed, indecisive, not able to think straight—you need to stop and clean your inner house!

“Make a clean sweep of your lives.”
 Luke 3:16-17 msg

Breaking free, getting clear, and finding that peace and confidence that makes life joyful is the purpose of The 40 Day Soul Fast!

You are not alone when you feel waves of despair crashing against your mind—or that for every one step forward you end up taking two steps back.

Every human being is susceptible.

The first step to healing and liberating your soul is simply making the decision to do so.

If you are here reading this, I congratulate you on taking the time to invest in the life of your soul. You are already on your way to creating a stronger, fitter, better you.

When your soul is fit and strong, everything else about you will become better and stronger!

It amazes me how little we are willing to invest in the most important asset we have—the one asset that governs everything else we experience in this life!

The minutia that ties up our souls is one of the most misunderstood things keeping us from running with purpose and certainty.

Experiences, events, habits, relationships, desires, motives, and even spirits, can ensnare our souls, holding us back from moving confidently forward in the direction of our dreams.

In his award-winning book, Renovation of the Heart, Dallas Willard wrote,

“The hidden dimension of each human life is not visible to others, nor is it fully graspable even by our selves. We usually know very little about the things that move in our own soul, the deepest level of our life, or what is driving it.”

We must ask ourselves, “Why do I do the things that I do?”—“Why do I keep attracting the people I really do not want in my life, and repelling the people I do?”—“How can I break free from negative cycles?”

We must be honest with ourselves and have the courage to look around, take heed, and ask the difficult questions

What within your own life is causing your circumstances or determining the experiences you are having with other people?

Now more than ever, at this time in history, we must “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and…run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

The weights that tie us down keep us vulnerable to sin.

These weights cause us to inappropriately respond to life’s challenges—to adopt sets of behaviors that keep us stagnated and going around in circles.

These negative patterns prevent us from fulfilling our dreams and cause us to abort our purpose, until eventually we fade from life with dormant seeds of massive potential.

When we are unable to break free from the junk cluttering our soul life, we keep those around us bound up as well.

We become part of the problem rather than the solution.

We are among the blind leading the blind. Jesus asked His disciples, “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?” (Luke 6:39.)

We become the hurting that hurt, and the disappointed that disappoint.

In my years of interacting and observing people, it has become glaringly apparent that most folks are generally oblivious to how their decisions and thought patterns affect those with whom they interact on a daily basis—let alone how everyday words and decisions affect their own destiny.

This is heart wrenching to me.

I have spent my career as a civil servant, educator, and minister observing the debilitating burdens people carry who have been hurt or negatively affected by the words or actions of others, as well as their own.

Negative actions and reactions are simply the outcry of hurting souls.

It is a cry for healing and restoration—a desperate plea to be freed from the weights and bondages that have tied so many to continual defeat, failure, and despair.

It is a self-perpetuating process the enemy exploits to incarcerate the souls of humanity in prisons of offense, resentment, and unforgiveness.

Most of the junk cluttering our souls has to do with the experiences we have had, or are having, with other people. The result of the choices we make within the context of our relationships.

It all began when humankind first chose to walk away from a healthy relationship with God and to relate instead to the god of this world paying fatal attention to his deceptive propositions.

History bears witness to generation after generation of increasingly unhealthy relational ties.

We have become an increasingly self-centered people, pursuing the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life—experiencing deceptive measures of success without fully maximizing our potential or fulfilling our purpose.

Many never realize there is a direct correlation between where they are now and every decision they have made in the past.

Destiny moves at the speed of decision.

In other words, the life you are living—the state of your relationships, the joy and peace you are experiencing, or the sorrow and pain all find their root in the decisions you’ve made up until now.

Your life is simply a representation of the sum total of your choices—choices that either enslave or save your soul.

Think about that for a moment.

Ultimately, you are only one decision away from changing everything.

One decision can change the trajectory of your life.

You are always just one decision away from living the life of your dreams!

From here on out, make certain everything you say or do is aligned with the Word of God.

James wrote, “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22).

Why? Because it is by choosing to do and not just hear the Word that you are “able to save your souls” (James 1:22).

It is up to you to take charge of your soul—and ultimately your destiny.

I will be showing you how to detox your soul and renew your mind so you can break free from the decisions that are keeping you from going around in circles.

I will take you on a journey through the realm of your soul and the territory of your thoughts, and walk you through the mechanics of harnessing the power of your words and the extraordinary force of your actions.

You may have been handed a bad deal from the day you were born, but that doesn’t have to be your final epitaph!

“You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:32

The truth will set the real you—the divinely-created you that has been held captive—free from the limitations of your unsaved, enslaved soul!

What is one thing you can do—one decision you can make—right now to begin putting yourself back in the driver’s seat?

Let me know on Facebook or Twitter! I’ll be looking for you there!

Tune Into Your Most Authentic Self

Posted by & filed under Blogs, Empowerment, Healing.

“Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me…get a clear picture of what I’m about…then guide me on the road to eternal life.”
Psalm 139:23 MSG

Welcome to the first week of our 40 Day Soul Fast journey together!

Have you started reading (or rereading) your 40 Day Soul Fast book and/or companion 40-day devotional?

Are you ready to experience the best forty days of your life?

We’re on a mission to heal souls—to awaken more soulful abundance—to lead people to a place in God where their souls can thrive; to reacquaint you with your truest, most authentic self!

When you learn to live authentically, from a healed, whole soul—free and clear from artificial, socially modified, cultural toxins—you will not only change your life, you will be poised to change the world.

Strengthening people at the level of their souls will create massive positive change in the world.

Restoring our communities begins with restoring our souls.

By embracing your soul as the essence of your true identity—a powerful, self-directed person of value, intellect, and greatness—you begin stepping into your destiny as the difference-maker the world so desperately needs.

As a people, we are nothing more than the sum of our parts.

We must break the false perception that as individuals what we do does not make a difference in the greater scheme of things.

As the giant world-changer, a small man by the name of Mohandas Gandhi, once said, “A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.”

We will only be as whole and healed as a country as we are as a people.

Today, I want to talk to you about why we have set aside a period of forty days to focus on the life or our souls.

Why forty days?

It is certainly interesting when you begin to look through the Bible for examples of how God used periods of forty to mark great times of transition.

  • God cleansed the earth by causing it to rain for forty days and forty nights.
  • Moses was exiled for forty years before God sent him to liberate Israel from Egyptian slavery.
  • Moses was alone with God on Mt. Sinai for forty days three different times before he finally presented the Ten Commandments to Israel.
  • Spies searched out the land of Canaan for forty days . . .
  • and because the children of Israel believed their fearful report, they were forced to wander the desert for forty years before entering the Promised Land.

The number forty represents transition and metamorphosis—a time of testing and transformation.

After forty days, a human embryo becomes recognizable as a living child in the mother’s womb. After forty weeks, the child is born into the world.

Forty represents a period of gestation, new birth, or renewal. A caterpillar that withdraws into a cocoon emerges after forty days as a butterfly.

Most significantly, forty represents a time of cleansing and regeneration. Again, look at the forty-day flood used to cleanse the earth. And did you know harvests generally take place in forty-day cycles?

In biblical terms, forty years represents a generational cycle. In astronomical terms, forty days can be used to almost perfectly measure the rate of each passing solar year.

In biblical numerology, forty relates to the period of probation before the fulfillment of a promise.

It is the product of five and eight, pointing to the action of grace (represented by the number five) leading to restoration and new beginnings (represented by the number eight).

When the number forty relates to capacity building and “enlarging dominion,” it does so by virtue of its factors four and ten, representing completeness and divine order, respectively.

Look at the sequence of events that took place in the New Testament when Jesus ushered in a new era of authority and dominion. After He was baptized and before He stepped out into the fullness of His ministry, the Spirit led Him into the wilderness where he was tempted for forty days and forty nights.

After His resurrection from the dead, Jesus remained on earth teaching His disciples for forty days before ascending into heaven—His earthly ministry and extended rule (through a body of believers filled with His Spirit) complete.

Throughout the Bible, the number forty is associated with deliverance and Kingdom expansion.

We all know the story of Goliath who terrorized the army of Israel for forty days before David slew him. For the next forty years, David seized unprecedented victories over Israel’s enemies even while a jealous King Saul attempted to kill him. When at last he became king, David, and then his son Solomon, each reigned for forty years of unprecedented peace and prosperity.

When Israel fell into sin, they were delivered into the hands of their enemy for forty years. Interceding on their behalf, Ezekiel the prophet bore their iniquity lying on his side for forty days.

In the time of Jonah, Nineveh was given forty days to repent—but long before that, the whole earth was prepared for the glory of the Lord by being thoroughly cleansed by forty days and nights of purifying rain.

 In both the Old and New Testaments—from Noah to Jesus—forty marked significant periods of preparation and transformation.

Consecrate the next forty days to clearing your mind, liberating your soul, and freeing your spirit by seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

For it is for freedom that Christ has set you free (see Galatians 5:1)—“freedom from all the distresses that are experienced as the result of sin and upon which your peace—your security, safety, prosperity, and happiness—depends!” (Luke 19:42 AMP).

By cleansing your life from the inside out, you will see all things become new in every area.

Please join me as we prepare our hearts for a fuller manifestation of God’s glory to be revealed in our lives, communities, and nations over the next forty days!

Never underestimate the power you have residing within you—”Christ in you, the hope of glory”—to change the world! (See Colossians 1:27.)

 

The Solution You’ve Been Looking For

Posted by & filed under Blogs, Empowerment, Healing.

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?”
Isaiah 58:6 NIV

My heart’s cry is to liberate the souls of humanity—not only from the suffering and turmoil all around us, but also the toxins and entanglements within.

The health of our collective souls determines the health of our societies—our communities, our cities, and our nations.

Could things be the way they are because we are the way we are?

I am on a campaign to empower people everywhere to grow into their most authentic, God-created, whole, healed, divine selves.

We won’t experience the Kingdom of God “on earth as it is in heaven” until we are walking in the fullness of life God came to earth to provide—and of course, this can only happen through a personal and vibrant relationship with the Provider Himself, Jesus Christ.

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
John 15:15

As St. Augustine once said of the Lord, “You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.”

Throughout the next 40 days, we as a ministry and as a community will be diligently laboring to enter that rest (see Hebrews 4:1-11). We will be locking arms and liberating souls as we partake in The 40 Day Soul Fast together.

I invite you to invite your community to join me for this time of exploration, consecration, and healing.

We will be stopping to look around as we are told in Jeremiah, “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls” (Jer. 6:16 NLT).

And as Jesus so gently implored, “Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:29 NLT).

The 40 Day Soul Fast is about finding rest and restoration for your soul.

When all is well with the souls of humanity, all will be well in the world.

When you have peace in your soul, you will bring that peace to bear on the world around you—you will become the change you are hoping to see.

A prayer offered by The Rev. Noelle Damico, a respected clergywoman and activist who has coordinated fasting campaigns for social change, echoes my prayer for you:

May this fast be a time of purification for you, as you seek truth and clarity. May it be a time of divine encounter, when you experience the presence and power of God…May it be a time of re-orientation that you may name the patterns of injustice and commit anew to their transformation.
…Together, may we be the change we wish to see in the world.

May we all feel the presence of God each and every day as we “do our best to enter that rest” (Heb. 4:11 NLT). And as we take up residence there, may we become more acquainted with our authentic selves and equipped to walk in the light of what we discover.

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
Galatians 5:1 ESV

If you have ever felt stuck, hampered, or like something was holding you back—or sensed an undercurrent of tension or unease, doubt or uncertainty, or just felt chronically “sick and tired”—you need a soul detox.

Here is a testimony I just received this week:

“The impartation I have received in these 40 days has not only healed areas of my soul, but has also impacted others. Tearing down the lies of the enemy and living in the authentic life God has created for me has liberated my soul and whole being. During these 40 days I have created a prayer declaration over my destiny, created my budget plan and financial goals for the next 5 years, I have written out my vision, and I have been blessed with a divine new career…”

This is why I do what I do…and I want the same for all of you.

If you are reading this now, you are already in pursuit of greater empowerment! So take action and plan to join me for this 40-day soul healing and soul-freeing journey…

This is where we take it to the streets—where the rubber meets road—where the real journey to authentic, empowered living begins.

Be willing to look inside—be willing to tune out the news and media to courageously tune into what’s keeping you from fulfilling your potential

Too many cruise through life unwilling to read the signs posted within their own souls.

“No matter who you are, no matter where you live, and no matter how many people are chasing you, what you don’t read is often as important as what you do read,” wrote the author of A Series of Unfortunate Events, Lemony Snicket.

Snicket opens chapter one of book seven in his series with this extremely insightful concept: “For instance,” he writes, “if you are walking in the mountains, and you don’t read the sign that says, ‘Beware of Cliff’ because you are busy reading a joke book instead, you may suddenly find yourself walking on air rather than on a sturdy bed of rocks.”

I am reminded of David’s resolute prayer in Psalms:

“Barricade the road that goes Nowhere; grace me with Your clear revelation. I choose the true road to Somewhere; I post Your road signs at every curve and corner. I grasp and cling to whatever You tell me…I’ll run the course You lay out for me if You’ll just show me how” (Psalms 119:29-32).

David knew there was no better signage available on the road of life than God’s Word. The above verse is preceded by, “Build me up again by Your Word” (Psalms 119:28).

Most people, even believing Christians, don’t give the Word of God much mind.

Most people go through life so engrossed and pre-occupied with either devastating news reports or mindlessly entertaining programs, they miss what is truly valuable and necessary.

As a result, they stay on the road going nowhere, building their life on air rather than on a sturdy bed of rocks.

Jesus taught, “Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matt. 7:24)—“like a man…who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock” (Luke 6:48).

This is what I have written The 40 Day Soul Fast to help you do—to dig deep and build the foundation of your life on the sturdy bedrock of your most authentic self.

“Embrace this Kingdom life and don’t doubt God, you’ll not only do minor feats like I did…but also triumph over huge obstacles.”
Matthew 21:21

Are You a Freedom Fighter?

Posted by & filed under Blogs, Empowerment, Kingdom.

“Our fight is not with people.
It is against the leaders and the powers and the spirits of darkness in this world.”
Ephesians 6:12 NLV

 

Sometimes we forget we live in enemy territory.

For us as Christians, this world is not our home. The day we chose to become followers of Jesus Christ, we rejected the confines, authority, and customs of this earthly kingdom in favor of the freedom, power, and lifestyle of heaven.

The trouble is, while we were spiritually renewed and reconnected with the Kingdom of God, physically we didn’t translate from one realm to the other.

We are not suddenly absent in the flesh and present with the Lord.

We have been transformed from being natives of the earth to tourists—but more than that, we have changed our allegiance from being loyalists to resistance fighters.

We are God’s dissidents, and though our activities are not always secretive and classified, we are not welcome members of the one “world party.”

We are now part of God’s underground.

We no longer support the power structure of a corrupt government that preys upon its citizens, but have become spies looking to undermine the current despot—“the god of this world” (see 2 Cor. 4:4)—countering his propaganda and recruiting new assets to join us in the fight.

We seek to free the prisoners, open the eyes of the blind, bring good news to the impoverished, and bind up the wounds of the broken and oppressed.

Some even scorn our activities as subversive and conspiratorial—and indeed, if we are truly doing our jobs as God’s agents on the earth, they are, but they also have a completely different aim.

We aren’t “selling something,” or trying to get someone to buy into our ideologies so we can control them or take advantage of their support…

We are looking to set people free in Christ.

For this is the only true freedom that exists on the earth.

You see, we are not here to live in peace with evil and tolerate an oppressive regime—we are here to throw the powers that be out of high office and establish our King in their place.

Those powers and principalities that rule the atmosphere of this world and poison it with lies, deceptions, jealousies, lust, infidelity, profanity, depravity, vice, manipulation, racism, bigotry, contentiousness, outbursts of rage, selfish ambition, power mongering, cliquishness and divisiveness, abuse, drunkenness, addictions, gluttony, arrogance, and the like, have no patience for the practitioners of “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

We, in turn, should have no patience at all for them.

Those things that strive to steal life from our children, neighbors, and loved ones should not be allowed any foothold in our jurisdictions.

But such authority and freedom are not won without a fight. Yet the thing is, the fight has already been won. The enemy is already defeated.

When we deal with devils and demons now, we are dealing with cons and charlatans. The only authority they have is what they can trick or intimidate people into believing they have.

That’s why Satan works so hard to spread his propaganda of fear and deception in our movies and media.

The enemy seeks to strangle the voices of our consciences and harden our hearts to the humanity of others.

He has no right to still be in charge, but like syndicated crime, he ekes out control by bullying, corrupting, threatening, scaring, and preying on the basest desires of human beings.

Those motivated by greed, lust, or envy are as easy to manipulate as those high on drugs—their addiction to the pride of life and other lusts of the flesh may not be as easy to recognize, but render them as vulnerable to destruction.

If we never realize the authority God has given us, the enemy has no reason to relinquish his. He is a criminal who takes what doesn’t belong to him and commands those he has no authority over.

Jesus won the victory, but He is not here on earth to enforce it—He has entrusted that to us, His Body.

Have you ever seen a head try to do something without its body?

That sounds like one of those old, second-rate science fiction movies where some guy’s brain is hooked into a supercomputer to run a city. It never works.

Heads only do well if their bodies stay connected to them, and bodies only succeed when they are connected and obedient to the head. If you don’t believe me, try to have your head go to work without your body (or vice versa) and see how it turns out.

Life just doesn’t work that way.

Few ever stop to realize that heaven depends as much, if not more, on us as Christians than we as Christians do on heaven.

The Bible tells us that in Christ “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28), but it also tells us:

“So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”
Ezekiel 22:30

There is a place for each of us in the fight between goodness and darkness on this planet.

If we don’t stand in our places on the battle lines, there will be gaps in our defenses, and all the authority of heaven will mean very little.

Unexercised or unrealized authority is no authority at all.

As Archimedes said, “Give me a place to stand, and I will move the earth,” but he had no place to stand from where he could place his fulcrum and shift the planet.

In the spirit, we are the same: We need the right place to stand and apply God’s Word in order to overturn the systems and syndicates that would keep our generation enslaved, impoverished, and subjugated.

When Jesus came to the earth and announced His mission on the earth, He quoted Isaiah 61. As it is recorded in Luke, He announced:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:18-21)

It’s time for us to find our footing and start pushing back for the things Jesus came to this earth to deliver.

Growing Up With God

Posted by & filed under Blogs, Prayer.

“When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.”
1 Corinthians 13:11

Last week we explored the nature of God as our Heavenly Father—and how we should approach Him in prayer as His beloved children.

Yet once the revelation of God as Daddy and Father begins to sink into our awareness, the next thing we need to realize about prayer is that we have some growing up to do!

As children we must not be childish in how we communicate with God.

As we mature and grow up—both in the world and also spiritually—we continually learn how to communicate more effectively.

We learn that “talking at” someone we love is not as effective as “talking with” them. We learn that a meaningful conversation involves intentional interactive dialogue.

Prayer is less about reciting lists of needs or pages of memorized Scriptures, and more about two-way communication.

Communication involves skillful listening.

When you approach your father, are you more interested in telling him all the things you need or are “believing for”—or are you more interested in listening to what he has to say?

Would you approach your dad with a pre-scripted conversation?

Now I’m not saying prewritten prayers are bad—I have written many such prayers and confessions and find them reassuring, positive, and transformational.

Repeating scripted prayers and confessions are wonderful ways to reset our hearts about who God is and what He really wants for us.

However, this is only one of many keys to unlocking the storehouses of heaven—it is not all that prayer is about.

As we mature spiritually, so does how we pray. Prayer becomes a two-way conversation where we are as much, if not more, interested in receiving from God’s heart as in sharing or professing what’s on our heart.

In fact, for us to grow up and mature at all, we must actively seek His wisdom.

Look at the book of Proverbs. These Scriptures are written from a father’s heart to his son—filled with instructions for how to grow up and live a successful life by pursuing God’s wisdom.

My son, do not forget my teaching…

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,
    and the one who gets understanding,
for the gain from her is better than gain from silver
    and her profit better than gold.
She is more precious than jewels,
    and nothing you desire can compare with her.
Long life is in her right hand;
    in her left hand are riches and honor.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
    and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
    those who hold her fast are called blessed.

My son, do not lose sight of these—
    keep sound wisdom and discretion,
and they will be life for your soul
    and adornment for your neck.
Then you will walk on your way securely,
    and your foot will not stumble.
                                Proverbs 3:1, 13-18, 21-23

Prayer is not only asking your heavenly Father for something, but it is also asking about something and then receiving His wise answer. It is a conversation.

Yet, in order for that conversation to take place, our spiritual ears must mature enough for us to discern God’s voice from all of the others that speak into our heads and our lives.

There is more to prayer than most people think.

We must first do work within ourselves in order to become mature enough to talk to our Father as a Friend and Mentor.

We must consecrate our hearts and our lives to not only be able to hear what our Father has to say, but to be willing to obey what we hear.

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” (James 1:5-8 NLT)

If you remember when you were first born-again, if you were like most new Christians, you became a sponge, soaking up everything you could to learn about God and His spiritual world.

When a baby is born in the natural, the infant’s five senses may work perfectly, but the child must learn what the input from those senses means. A baby isn’t born knowing some things it sees are people, others furniture, and still others walls, doorways, or parakeets.

Neither is a baby born with depth perception. If you have ever held a newborn, you will notice its head and eyes wander randomly around as the child’s brain begins the process of distinguishing one thing from another.

A newborn infant doesn’t know what to focus on.

The first thing a baby learns is to focus on the face of the person holding him or her as that person coos and caresses his or her cheek.

Babies learn to focus on their mother’s face as they suckle, or their father’s as he rocks them to sleep. They learn to distinguish noises from voices and words from gibberish. They learn what cries to make to gain attention and what gurgles to make to receive smiles and affection.

It is a process that takes months and comes slowly, but the more the baby interacts with his or her parents, the faster he or she learns to know them.

Is it really any different when we are born spiritually?

Eventually babies are expected to learn real words to get what they are after; they cannot cry and think they will be given what they want.

They must understand the words “no” and “don’t” to avoid the things that might hurt them. They are expected to learn to obey instructions and recognize the voice of their parents over the voices of the world around them.

As they learn to walk and move about on their own, they enter the world of “toddlerdom.” They learn the power of willfulness and the rewards of obedience.

This is the phase spiritually where I believe the vast majority of Christians get stuck and stagnate.

Most of us have witnessed a toddler throwing a tantrum on the floor because the child didn’t get what he or she wanted.

Children do this because they remember crying out when they were only a few months old and seeing help come immediately. But when a child does this at three years old, crying doesn’t achieve the same response.

It is time for the child to grow up a little…

Even though the parents or caregivers probably know intuitively what the child wants, they cannot respond to the cries of a three-year-old in the same way they did for a three-month-old.

The process is gradual, but the relationship between parent and child must change over time if the child is ever to become a successful, contributing member of society.

“The Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.”
Proverbs 3:12

No matter what great plans a parent has for their child, if a child never gets past kicking and screaming thinking the entire world is centered around him, he will never fulfill his potential.

That is the place I believe most of the Church is today.

This is why we haven’t yet learned to distinguish the voice of God from the voices of the rest of the world. We don’t want to grow up and separate ourselves from the things that are holding us back.

We crave our own satisfaction and comfort more than we crave the voice of God.

Do you ever find yourself wanting all of the rewards of being a child of God, yet often not willing to take the time to pursue His presence, listen for His voice, or study His Word?

We must be willing to discipline ourselves in our pursuit of God and His Kingdom. We must seek His face and pursue His wisdom with our whole heart. We must be willing to grow up to the point where we can handle all He longs to give us.

And that is why I have written The Prayer Warrior’s Way.

I encourage you this Father’s Day to honor your father by spending time enjoying his presence—and really listening to him. You’ll be glad you did, and so will he.

The Greatest Spiritual Revolution

Posted by & filed under Blogs, Empowerment, Prayer.

“Our Father in heaven.”
Matthew 6:9

Our Father.

There is a spiritual revolution in those words.

Jesus didn’t teach His disciples to start their prayers, “O God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses,” or “O Maker of Heaven and Earth,” or even “O Great Spirit who sees all and knows all,” but “Father”—and not just “Father” or “My Father,” but “Our Father.”

By instructing us to pray “Our Father,” Jesus told us we had the right to go to God in the very same capacity He did.

Christ the Messiah, Savior of the world, Lord of lords and Kind of kings forever revolutionized how humanity relates to Almighty God.

With the directive that we approach Our Creator with the words, “Our Father which art in heaven” (Luke 11:2 KJV), Jesus not only shed new light on the nature of God, but also on what it means to be a dad.

The divine force of fatherhood is a sacred and precious gift.

Of all the gifts and promises we’ve been given, fatherhood is the most precious.

In fact, explains Peter, it is through all of these “great and precious promises” that we are enabled to tap into the true nature of fatherhood.

“With these gifts you can share in God’s nature.”
1 Peter 1:4 NCV

Think about the nature of God.

Throughout the Psalms, David described God as gracious, kind, compassionate, slow to anger, full of tender mercy and loving-kindness.

Galatians describes His Spirit as being characterized by “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

“God is love.”
1 John 4:8

Think about how that influences our understanding of what it means to be a father—and our understanding of what it means to be a fathered child.

Paul, who received the revelation of this, amplified what Jesus taught in Romans 8:15 explaining: “You received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry, ‘Abba Father’ [or, as we would say, “Daddy”].”

“We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children.”
Romans 8:15 MSG

You are God’s child and He wants to have a relationship with you like a father to a son, a daddy to a daughter.

Knowing Him as a gracious, kind, compassionate, merciful, caring and loving father should help you relate with Him more authentically and intimately as you converse with Him throughout the day.

Being mindful of God’s presence and turning your heart toward Him is called prayer.

God wants to hear your prayers and see that prayer develop in you the power of an overcomer.

As Pete Greig, one of the founders and leaders of the 24-7 Prayer movement, described it:

Prayer is about power. Prayer is about miracles. Prayer is about breakthrough. Prayer is about the extension of the Kingdom. But more than any of that, prayer is about being intimate with God. It is about the lap of the Father, and being chosen by Jesus.

The beginning of confidence in prayer is realizing that there is Someone on the other end who not only wants the best for you, but also wants the same relationship with you that a parent has with a child.

He wants to see you born whole, admiring your every little finger and toe, see you grow, see you learn to walk, see you learn to fend for yourself, and never be farther away then a phone call or a text message as you mature and go out to fulfill your purpose in the “family business.”

He wants to hear what you have to say, He wants to see your needs met, He wants to answer your questions, He wants to give you understanding, wisdom, and revelation, and He wants to meet your friends.

He always has your back, He always has wise advice for you, He has words of encouragement and edification, and He has the power of the universe to use on your behalf when He sees fit—all you have to do is make the connection with Him.

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”
Matthew 7:11

Now I know this is a hard concept for some of us to grasp because our earthly fathers have never exactly been focused on “connection”—let alone approachable.

Many fathers are all together absent—if not physically, then emotionally. I truly believe there has been an attack on fatherhood in our world for exactly this reason.

The enemy doesn’t want us to have a good opinion of fathers as that might put us one step closer to God the Father.

Satan wants us to think of fathers as guys who leave when we are too young to remember them, who use their hands to beat us rather than train or comfort us, who are selfish and lazy, aimless and thieving, reckless, uncaring, destructive, and flawed.

As author of The Shack, William P. Young, described this feeling: “I spent most of my life trying to wipe the face of my father off the face of God.”

If that is what your father was like, I want you to lay that aside. I want you to let that mindset be broken off of your life, because it is a curse that doesn’t belong to you. Your Heavenly Father has none of those negative characteristics.

Instead, imagine what the best father on earth would be like.

Your heart knows more about real fatherhood than you may realize—it is a bit of that something of Himself God put into each of us.

Think of the good fathers you have read about in books and seen in the movies or experienced in the homes of your friends. What were the things about those dads that gave you a clue as to what a good father is like?

Take some time and imagine how the best possible father would be. And then think again, because God is a Father above what we can ask for or imagine.

Meditate on the aspects of the goodness of God the Father and let Him fill your thoughts with Himself.

That is “Our Father”—that is “Your Father” and “My Father.”

That is the Father who created all of heaven and earth—the entire cosmos—just so we would have a place to play and spend eternity.

That is the Father who planned out the best for you before you were ever conceived in your mother’s womb.

Even if you didn’t have a good father, you still know on the inside what a good father would be like.

While it may take a while for these truths to become deeply real to you, the beginning is in going to “Our Father” in prayer.

Go and sit in His presence and let Him teach you who He really is. Spend time sitting in His lap. He won’t mind—in fact, it is what He has always hoped you would do!

Learn more about how to activate this kind of relationship in your life—and how to tap into the true force of fatherhood—in Prayer Warrior’s Way. This might be the perfect gift for those you know striving to become better fathers.

The Secret to Accomplishing Big Things

Posted by & filed under Blogs, Empowerment, Kingdom.

“Have you commanded the morning since your days began?”
Job 38:12

Have you ever had the gnawing feeling that you weren’t accomplishing all you could?

Have you sensed the possibilities all around you, but can never seem to tap into them?

Have you come to believe that life is a mystery that cannot be solved?

Students everywhere in this season are graduating from high school or college—they are feeling that pressure to fulfill all they are capable of…and to leverage the incredible possibilities swirling around them.

Yet many have already been conditioned to believe that success and prosperity are destined for everyone except them.

There is a set of keys that will unlock all God has in store for His people.

Human nature is predisposed to accepting the status quo. I would say it’s our fallen nature that acquiesces to less than we are capable of becoming.

For those who are willing to see beyond what seems possible in the present moment and reach for something more than what they can grasp hold of today, the future holds unlimited potential.

“Only as high as I reach can I grow, only as far as I seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream can I be.”
 —Karen Ravn

There are keys that will help all who are setting out—and all who have already sailed—escape the “prisons of the mind.”

Don’t allow your life to be governed by success-undermining mantras such as “Stuff happens,” or “Life is unpredictable,” or “All good things must come to an end,” or “If it is not one thing, it’s another,” or “This is as good as it gets.”

Most people are ignorant that they are victims of their own self-fulfilling prophecies.

We define our lives by our every thought and word. If we want our lives to change, it all starts with what we think and say.

These two elements form the creative substance that molds and shapes the destiny of humanity. Each of us becomes the person we are, chooses the direction we take, and accomplishes everything we do based on these two primary elements.

Everything in the universe begins with and revolves around two things: Words and thoughts.

Our thoughts, intentions, motivations, and aspirations—whether they be secretly pondered in the heart, openly declared as a desire, or formally written as goals—mold and shape our personal universe into something either grand and beautiful or base and hideous.

Whatever you harbor in the innermost corridors of your thought-life will, sooner or later, reveal itself in the outer arena through your words or actions.

Whatever is hidden will eventually be brought to light.

First Corinthians 4:5 tells us God “will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.”

Just as a seed is for a time hidden underground, it will eventually break through the surface and its true essence will ultimately be revealed.

There is life-giving power that resides in every spoken word just as in every seed.

This principle illustrates how the spiritual law of incubation and manifestation works: Everything you see in the natural began as a spiritual seed—a thought.

The temporal realm has its roots in the spiritual. Grabbing a hold of this profound spiritual truth will enable you to make critical connections that will transform your life.

Once you understand that the spiritual realm is the causal realm, you will begin to grasp the massive power of your thoughts.

Thoughts, ideas, words, and prayers are spiritual things that engineer, mold, and craft the current and future state of your temporal existence.

We are told in 2 Peter 1:3-4 that God, in His infinite wisdom, has already given us all things pertaining to life—“all things of his god-like virtue”—that we might partake of His divine nature:

“He gives us everything we need for life and for holy living. He gives it through His great power. As we come to know Him better, we learn that He called us to share His own shining-greatness and perfect life.”
2 Peter 1:3 NLV

Included in this celestial equipping are divine thoughts and inspired words.

As a spiritual being created in the image of God (see Genesis 1:26), your spiritual genes hold the creative power to frame your personal world by the thoughts and words you think and speak—divine tools given for your creative use.

All you are, experience, and ultimately achieve, can be traced back to how you have made use of these two simple, yet vastly powerful, tools.

The power of the spoken word is one of life’s greatest mysteries.

All that you will ever be or accomplish hinges on how you choose to govern what comes out of your mouth.

You can either bless your life to great heights of success, or send it orbiting into realms of failure, sadness, and discontentment by what you allow to occupy your mind and mouth.

This is why Proverbs tells us “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he,” (Proverbs 23:7) and urges, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (Proverbs 4:23).

“For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.”
Matthew 12:34 NLT

Just as what occupies your mind determines what eventually fills your mouth, your outer world showcases all that has dominated—and at times subjugated—your inner world.

Because the law of cause and effect is continually at work, there is always an inner cause for every outer effect.

 Your outer world is a direct result of your inner world.

Every circumstance in life is a result of a choice—and every choice is the result of a thought.

All those things that fill your mind hold the keys to your reality. Your thoughts provide the fuel for your words, and your words provide the fuel for your world.

Take responsibility for what you experience in life.

You are the sum total of every choice that you have ever made or let happen without your intervention.

If you don’t like where you are, you are only one thought away from turning towards the life you desire.

Yet if this is to happen, it is paramount that you become the master of your thoughts. You must sift your thought life.

Filter out anything that you do not want to show up in your future and focus on what you truly desire.

God wired your thoughts to have power so you would be equipped to overcome every obstacle.

He fashioned you to create, innovate, strategize, and succeed—and just to be sure, He put His own divine thoughts and nature within you.

“I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts.”
Jeremiah 31:33 NLT

Every new day in Christ brings the dawn of new and better possibilities. Today could turn out to be the best day of your life—but how it ends depends on how you begin it.

You are in charge of commanding your morning—and as you do, know that whatever begins with God has to end right.

I pray God will reveal the power of Christ in you—and that your hope of glory would be made more real as you…

…learn to command your morning through the wisdom of His truth every single day.

No matter how good or bad your life is, every circumstance can change for the best if you learn how to command your morning before the dawn of a new day begins!