Tag Archives: Lifestyle

Faith says “I CAN”

November 2, 2016 cpministries 2 Comments

Quick Jump Menu

I would like to talk to you about our thoughts. It is important to realize that as Christians each one of us must mold our thoughts to that of what the Word of God teaches us. In so doing, each one of us will begin to talk the same talk and to walk the same walk. This is because we are of the same mind, because we have molded our thoughts to what thus saith the Word of God!

2 Corinthians 1:19-20
19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.
20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

Philippians 4:13
13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

It’s in your mind set. It’s in your belief system.

Faith says I can!! Doubt says I can’t!!

Romans 14:23
23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

Did you hear it? Whatsoever is not of faith is sin!!

It’s time that each one of us challenge our belief system!! Let us examine our thoughts and see if what we are telling ourselves is truth or a lie!!

Proverbs 23:6-7
6 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

Hear it again!! For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he!! Your thoughts are directly responsible for your feelings!!

If you believe you are a failure, then you will be a failure. If you see yourself as a world changer, you will become a world changer. For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.

You must guard your thoughts!! What are you telling yourself? What are you allowing your mind to ponder upon?

Philippians 4:8
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

This is a great filtering system for your thoughts!! Think upon whatsoever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and things that are of a good report!! Not a negative report!! But things which are of a good report!!

Do not spend your time thinking about and speaking to others about things that are of a negative report!! Even if the negative report is true, we are not to spend our time dwelling upon it. We are to think on things that are of a good report!! This does not mean you live in a fairy tale world, but this means if you hear or see a negative report, you do not have to dwell upon it and you do not have to share it with everyone. Instead look for the good in the bad!!

1 Peter 1:13
13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

gird: to encircle or secure with a belt or band. Notice carefully that we are to HOPE to the end!! For the grace that is to be brought unto us at the revealing of Jesus Christ!! We are to maintain hope until the end!! We are to maintain a positive attitude through hope!

How do we maintain hope? We must maintain our faith!! Remember, Faith says “I Can”!!

Hebrews 11:1
11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

To maintain hope we must maintain our Faith. To maintain our Faith we must maintain our Belief system. To maintain our Belief system we must apply the Word of God to our thoughts casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ!! In order for you to do this, you must know the Word of God!! You must gird up the loins of your mind and apply what thus saith, the Word of God!!

2 Corinthians 10:4
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

Did you hear it? Are weapons are mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds. For all the promises of God in Christ are yea, and in him Amen!! I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Faith says, “I Can!! and I will!! not by my own strength, but through Christ which is my strength!!

1 Peter 5:8-9
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

He cannot devour one who has girded up the loins of their mind!! He cannot devour one that is applying the Word of God. He can only devour those who let him!! Those who are either ignorant of the Word of God or those who are not applying the Word of God!! [re-read v. 8]

9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

Your thoughts are directly responsible for your feelings!! If you allow yourself to think that you are trapped and without hope, then you will feel trapped and without hope!! Examine your thoughts. When you begin to feel unwanted feelings, stop! and begin to think about what you were thinking about. What are you telling yourself?

Learn to identify what you are thinking that is triggering your unwanted feelings and learn to replace your unwanted thoughts with other thoughts and your feelings will begin to change. But you must not only replace your unwanted thoughts with other thoughts, you must also change your underlying belief system that you are irrationally holding on to that is causing you to have the unwanted thoughts you were having.

Are you feeling down and out? Are you feeling depressed? Examine your thoughts and see why you are feeling this way. What are you telling yourself?

Are you telling yourself that you feel down and out? Are you telling yourself that you feel depressed? Because your feelings are a direct result of what you are thinking. Are you telling yourself that you are without hope? Are you telling yourself that you can’t make it? All of these types of thoughts are going to make you feel that you are without hope? Is this true? Remember what we are to be thinking about? Whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and whatsoever things are of good report.

How are you without hope when Christ is the hope of glory? Is what you are telling yourself true? Examine your thoughts and tell yourself what is true. I can make it!! I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me!! Tell yourself the truth!! I am not without hope. I have all hope in Christ Jesus.

I may have felt feelings of despair, but the truth is everything is ok. I’m a child of God!! I’m a child of the king!! And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Mt 10:28)

Romans 8:28-32
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

All things!! Not some things!! But all things!! Turn your negative thoughts into positive thoughts!! Boy I’m having a hard day, but thank God the day doesn’t define my future!! But my obedience to Jesus Christ and the Word of God does.

Do not stop with just saying, Boy I’m having a hard day. This will give you a completely different set of feelings. You can change your thoughts and your belief system simply by adding more information to what you are telling yourself. Boy I’m having a hard day, but thank God the day doesn’t define my future!! But my obedience to Jesus Christ and the Word of God does.

Address feelings of Self Worth and Worthlessness. Is it true that you are worthless? Is it true that you have no value? Not according to the Word of God.

Matthew 10:29-31
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Are you not judging and condemning yourself while telling yourself that you are of no value and worthless? Is not this the way you see yourself? Is this true then? The answer is no as we have seen. You must then change your belief system and the way you perceive yourself!! You must challenge these unwanted thoughts and lies that you are telling yourself? You must ask yourself is this true? Does this align up with the Word of God? If it does not, then you must remember that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Luke 6:37
37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

1 Corinthians 4:3-4
3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self.
4 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.

Do not begin to feel overwhelmed!! Do not begin to think that I cannot do this!! Faith says, “I Can” Remember this is a process of time. It will take time to begin to recognize your unwanted thoughts and to then replace them with thoughts that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and things that are of a good report!!

Each time you apply this, you will see your unwanted negative feelings disappear and new feelings will appear in their place, depending on what you are now telling yourself. You must believe that you can change your unwanted negative feelings!!

Luke 12:29
29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.

Faith says, “I can”!!! Gird up the loins of your mind and be not of a doubtful mind!! For all the promises of God in Christ are yea, and in him Amen!! If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. (Mt 17:20b)

Do you believe it? Do you believe the Word of God? You must eliminate your doubtful mind and the worries that accompany it!! You must learn to let the peace of God rule your heart and your mind through Christ Jesus!! Faith says, “I Can”!!

Philippians 4:6-7
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

A precious promise of God!! However, the key to allowing this peace of God to keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus was to 1) Be careful for nothing. Which means do not allow yourself to be anxious for anything!! 2) But in every thing by prayer and supplication 3) With thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

At that point is when you say never the less Lord your will be done and not my will. It is at this point that you 1) Choose to refuse to allow yourself to be anxious 2) That you place your faith in the Lord that whatever the Potter chooses to do will work together for your good 3) You then place your trust into the Potter’s hand 4) Wait with patience for what you have sought from the Potter 5) Accepting the will of the Potter with contentment.

This is a delicate balance of belief, faith, hope, trust, acceptance, patience, and contentment. You must maintain each one of these in order to allow the peace of God to rule your heart and mind.

If any one of these gets out of balance due to the thoughts you are having you will lose the peace of God that you were experiencing. This is because Belief and Hope maintain your Faith and Trust.

If you allow yourself to begin to Worry, then the Hope you had in what you sought from God will begin to waver which will directly influence your Faith. This negative influence on your Faith will then begin to destroy your Trust that you had in God, which will then begin to destroy your Belief in what you Hoped for in God.

Fear tells us things like:

I can’t do that. What if I mess up? What if someone sees me mess up?
How can I handle myself if I am made fun of? I don’t understand.
Who do I turn to? Where will I go? How will I get there?
What if I made the wrong choice? Should I rethink what I’ve done?
What should I do?

All of this fear is directly tied to your belief system which is completely controlled by your thoughts!! What are you telling yourself that is provoking this worry and fear? And is it true? Take the time to start analyzing what you are telling yourself that is provoking your fears, doubts, and worries.

What did the Word of God say? Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:6-7) And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind!! (Lk 12:29) Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ!! (1 Peter 1:13) (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (2 Cor 10:4-5)

We must learn to bring our thoughts under subjection to the obedience of Jesus Christ!! We must learn to challenge our thoughts and our belief systems and see whether or not they align up with the Word of God!! If they do not, then we need to change our thoughts to that which does align with the Word of God. This changing of your thoughts will also change your feelings because as man thinketh in his heart, so is he. (Pro 23:7a)

Therefore it is of the utmost importance that you focus upon telling yourself what is the truth and not allow yourself to continue to sabotage yourself with thoughts that are not true. Remember to use Philippians 4:8 as a filtering system for your mind and think about whatsoever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and things that are of a good report!!

Is this going to be easy? The answer is no, but Faith says, “I CAN”!!

Quick Jump Menu

Behavior, Bible study

Come Let us Grow Together: False Christians

October 24, 2016 cpministries Leave a comment

Come let us Grow Together is a weekly series that deals with the many topical categories that exist within the Word of God. The purpose of this series is to grow in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding in things pertaining to God.

For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? (Lk 6:43-46)

Every tree is known by his own fruit!!

And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, (2 Cor 6:15-17)

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. (1 Jn 2:15-17)

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Gal 5:19-21)

He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. (Lk 13:6-9)

And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (Mt 3:10) For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? (1 Pet 4:17-18)

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Rev 21:7-8)

Quick Jump Menu

Bible study, Christian Living

Come let us Grow Together: The Heart

September 25, 2016 cpministries 3 Comments

Here lies a subject of great importance. The heart. Many people put their trust into their heart when it comes to making decisions in their life. But what does the Bible teach us concerning the subject of the heart?

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. (Pro 4:23) For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. (Mt 12:34b-35) For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. (Mk 7:21-23)

So is it safe for someone to trust what their heart is telling them?? The answer is no. Your trust should be in, what saith the Word of God?

He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered. (Pro 28:26) There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
(Pro 14:12)

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. (Jer 17:7-10)

As you can see, the heart can not be trusted. We must live our lives according to what the Word of God teaches us. Serving the Lord is a heart condition. Do you have an honest heart? Do you have a good heart? What do you allow your mind to ponder upon? Do you gird up the loins of your mind when evil thoughts arise out of your heart? Or do you allow yourself to think upon these things?

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance. (1 Pet 1:13-14) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ!! (2 Cor 10:3-5)

It is crucial that you recognize that the thoughts you have come out of your heart. You have a choice in you mind whether or not you allow these thoughts to play out or not. You must bring into captivity every thought you have to the obedience of Christ. Which means that you must learn to apply the Word of God in your life; which means you must study the Word of God, go to church, and hear the 5-fold ministry that God has given to us; so that you can resist the tricks of the enemy of our souls.

The parable of the sower given to us by Jesus Christ in Luke tells us, But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. (Lk 8:15)

Serving the Lord is a heart condition. Let us follow after Christ with an honest and good heart; while keeping the Word of God.

Quick Jump Menu

Bible study, Christian Living

C&C: Serving the Lord is a Heart Condition

September 24, 2016 cpministries 2 Comments

Connections and Comparisons is an ongoing weekly series that deals with many scriptures in the Bible, some of which are not commonly addressed. The purpose of this series is to examine the scriptures at hand comparing what is said and looking at the connections within.

Quick Jump Menu

Psalms 119:1-3
1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.
2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.
3 They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.

Pay special attention to what was just said. Those that are undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord, keeping His testimonies and seeking God with the whole heart do no iniquity: they walk in His ways!

On the other hand those that are defiled in the way, do not walk after the law of the Lord, do not keep His testimonies, and do not seek him with the whole heart. These do iniquity: they walk not in His ways!