Spiritual Mirror

James 1:22-25 (New Living Translation)

But don’t just listen to God’s word.

You must do what it says.
Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

For if you listen to the word and don’t obey,
it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.
You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.

But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free,
and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard,
then God will bless you for doing it.

In the natural, the spirit realm can’t be seen or felt, the only way to accurately perceive spiritual truth is through the Bible. Simply take God’s Word and believe it!

Jesus said in John 6:63,

“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

God’s Word reveals spiritual reality. If you want to know what your spirit is like, you must find out from the Word, not relying on emotions or other perceptions. God’s Word is spirit and life! It’s the reflection of who you really are.

When you look at your face in a mirror, you aren’t really seeing yourself, you’re viewing a reflection. Even though it’s only a reflection, you have learned to trust it and act on what you see. God’s Word is just like that mirror; it reflects perfectly who you are in the spirit.

You must look into God’s mirror and trust the spiritual reality you see! It reflects your new born-again spirit, your innermost part.


The context of this message was taken from a teaching by: Andrew Wommack
To read the entire article, Click Here

This article is part of a series entitled "Spirit, Soul, and Body". It is an excellent series and I highly recommend it. Following are links to the audio lessons of that series.

http://downloads.awmi.net/teaching/awm_1027a_basics.mp3

http://downloads.awmi.net/teaching/awm_1027b_redemption.mp3

http://downloads.awmi.net/teaching/awm_1027c_faith.mp3

http://downloads.awmi.net/teaching/awm_1027d_spirit.mp3

Type rest of the post here

Your Spouse is Not the Enemy

A message from my pastor. Dennis Rouse is the pastor over Victory World Church in Norcross, Georgia

A man and his wife are arguing. She is upset because he comes home from work every evening and plops down on the sofa with the remote control. He seems completely oblivious to her plight as she struggles to keep their two children from killing each other while simultaneously trying to keep dinner from burning on the stove. She shoots him dirty looks, but he is so focused on the football game that he doesn't even notice, and she says nothing.........

Later on, when they are all sitting at the dinner table eating, he chuckles and says, "Chicken again, honey?" Suddenly, she explodes at him. "You're always criticizing me! You don't like it? Maybe you should cook dinner for the rest of the week!" The husband is genuinely taken aback. "I didn't mean anything by it, honey. What's wrong?" She rolls her eyes and mutters, "Nothing." Annoyed, the husband does not press the issue, and for the rest of the meal, both husband and wife are brooding, speaking only to the children and not to one another. They continue to ignore each other for the rest of the evening. The wife gets more and more irritated as she corrals the kids and fights to get them bathed and ready for bed while her husband works on the computer to complete an unfinished task for his job. At bedtime, husband and wife exchange a terse "Good night" and collapse on opposite sides of the bed, still irritated with one another.

If you have been married for any significant period of time, you can relate to this couple. So what went wrong?

Both husband and wife allowed the devil to influence them in this situation, turning them against each other and causing unnecessary exasperation. Satan used a spirit of offense to drive a wedge between them, and a fight that could have easily been averted ended up ruining the entire evening. The first problem was that the wife did not ask her husband for help with the children while she made dinner. Instead, she stewed silently, getting angrier and angrier while he relaxed on the sofa after a long, hard day at work. Had she let him know that she needed his help, he may well have gotten up to help her. This was the first open door that Satan took advantage of. Obviously, we see her frustration finally come out at the dinner table when her husband makes what she perceives to be an antagonistic remark. This is the result of allowing offense to build up inside of you without making any effort to resolve the situation.

Now before you husbands get too smug, let's look at where the husband went wrong! Although he may have had a hard day at work, it is obvious that he did not make the effort to communicate with his wife when he got home. He could have told her just how long a day he'd had, and she may have been more understanding of his need to relax. At the same time, as the father and head of the household, he should have made the effort to help his wife with the children without her necessarily having to ask for help. Whether he simply kept them out of the kitchen while she was cooking, helped them with their school work, or went outside to play with them, he should have taken a proactive role in helping his wife and further developing his relationship with his children.

As we ultimately see, the situation escalates outrageously, with more and more offense being sown by the enemy as the evening goes on. Eventually, husband and wife go to sleep, still angry with one another.

How can we avoid situations like this? The key is to communicate. I cannot stress enough the importance of communicating with your spouse. By communicating honestly and being transparent with one another, you will be much more successful at avoiding Satan's trap of offense in your marriage. When you are irritated or angry with your spouse, tell them! Don't let it build up inside of you to the point where you explode.

This week as you seek to build and improve upon your marriage, make it a point to communicate your feelings to one another, keeping in mind that your spouse is not the enemy, and that Satan is the one attempting to sow strife and offense into your marriage. As you become more and more accustomed to communicating and being open with one another, you will find yourselves arguing less and less, and you'll also discover an intimacy with your spouse that is beyond anything you have ever experienced together.

A Solid Foundation

Luke 6:46-49

"So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

Check out how The Message translates this passage:

"Why are you so polite with me, always saying 'Yes, sir,' and 'That's right, sir,' but never doing a thing I tell you? These words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundation words, words to build a life on.
"If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss."

Words to build a life on! I love it. And how true. Take note of the fact that it says "when the floodwaters rise" not "if the floodwaters rise".

Storms are going to come your way. It is inevitable. My testimony is a prime example of what can happen to a life that is built with no foundation. I did everything my way. It' was the "Michael Plan". I built my family. I built my business. I built my house all on my own power. Now building under normal circumstances isn't a problem. It seems as though most of us can easily accomplish that. Look around you. For the most part people are prosperous. It's the land of opportunity, right?

But then along came a storm. Not just one storm, but an entire series of storms. It was hurricane season at it's finest. The morter of my meaningless life couldn't hold up. It began crumbling bit by bit. Soon entire bricks were falling to the ground. Next the walls started separating from the joists and eventually collapsed. A roof cannot support itself, it needs the walls, therefore, it was only a matter of time before my roof fell flat to the ground also. One that happened, my life was exposed to all of the elements. The floodwaters were terrible, and very tough to bear, yes. But now even a good rainfall was enough to make my life miserable.

Why did all this happen? I had no foundation. But thank God, I found Jesus!

Psalm 118:22-23
The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.

Now that I not only hear what he says, but actually do it, I obey, my house is on it's way up once again. I have the foundation laid. The plumbing is all brand new. The walls are framed. The joists and rafters are in place. As I renew my mind, new wires are be routed. Soon I can begin putting up sheetrock, picking out colors and shopping for furniture. It will not be long before flowers and shrubs will be growing in the yard and birds of the air will begin nesting. The neighbors will be coming over for barbecues and equity will start to accumulate! Praise God!

Friends, where are you today? Do you get a little concerned about the stability of your own house? When you see those dark clouds off in the distance does it make you just a little uneasy? Have you thought about what is going to happen when the walls come crashing down?

Jesus is the answer. I promise you that with all my heart. Be like the smart carpenter. Dig deep. Lay a foundation. If you do this I assure you, you cannot be moved!

A.B.U.S.E.

Today I Join the folks over at BlogCatalog and post on the topic of abuse. There are so many types of abuse in today's world. Over the past couple of weeks I have been sharing how drug and alcohol abuse nearly ruined me. But I also shared how coming into "Relationship" with Jesus Christ not only freed me from my addictions, but also set me free from the issues that led me to substance abuse in the first place. Abuse is quite often a result of trying to fill a void. Face it, there is a void within each one of us that can only be satisfied by one thing; that one thing is The Love of God. Jesus is the answer for the world's problems today. if you don't believe that, I encourage you to get in the bible for yourself and find out what it has to say.

God's Word is Truth and the Truth Will Set you Free!

So, for the topic of abuse, I am going to let the Word speak for itself:

A. B. U. S. E

A. Apathy – “Lack of interest or concern, especially regarding matters of general importance or appeal; indifference. Comes from the Greek word “apatheia” meaning insensibility to suffering.

Romans 8:17 (NLT)
And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

B. Boastful – “exhibiting self-importance; "big talk"

2 Timothy 3:1-3
You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good.

U.Unfaithful. – “not faithful; false to duty, obligation, or promises; faithless; disloyal.”

2 Timothy 2:12-14
If we endure hardship, we will reign with him.
If we deny him, he will deny us.
If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny who he is.

S.Self-centered – “concerned solely or chiefly with one's own interests, welfare, etc.; engrossed in self; selfish; egotistical.”

1 Corinthians 10:23-24
You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.

E. Egotistical – “characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance; "a conceited fool"; "an attitude of self-conceited arrogance"; "an egotistical disregard of others"; "so swollen by victory that he was unfit for normal duty"; "growing ever more swollen-headed and arbitrary"; "vain about her clothes"

Philippians 2:2-4
Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

End Abuse
JESUS IS THE ANSWER!