Let's Worship!

Found this video over on Heather's blog. I'd never heard the song before, but now I'm convinced that I'll have to get my church to sing it on Sunday mornings. ;o)

Never Let Go by Matt Redman

** For whatever reason, the video wasn't playing when I embedded it here, so I've taken that off, and just left you the link to go listen... ** :-(

And, here are a couple of other videos that I really loved!...

We Win by the David Crowder Band

Indescribable by Chris Tomlin


Let's worship in the SON-shine! ;o)

Enjoy!

Believing a lie

I discovered, a while back, that I feel unfulfilled. I lack true 'sastifaction'. Sure - I realize that I am VERY blessed to be where I am, and to have what I do. But something is still missing. And I know, now, what that is: it's faith.

Don't get me wrong! I have faith. But, it's weak. I believe in God, but I have trouble actively believing God. I constantly doubt Him: His love, His acceptance of me, His care, His plans for me...

It's all a lie! In her book, "Believing God", Beth Moore says:

"Satan, posing as the serpent, couldn't keep Eve from believing in God, so he did the next best thing. He baited her, tempting Eve not to believe God or trust His motives."

There are a multitude of verses, though, that refute these lies!

Jeremiah 31:3 - God loves me...
Romans 15:7 - ...and accepts me
Isaiah 43:10 - I am chosen by God
Jeremiah 29:11 - God has "good plans" for me
1 Peter 5:7 - God cares for me

So, if there are verses to help lay my doubts aside, why do I still have an issue here? It must be that I doubt... the Bible! :-(

Do I believe the Bible? Absolutely! I believe it's God-breathed and God-inspired TRUTH! But...

... Do I believe it is "truth" for me? Ah... herein lies the issue. I can so easily accept the Bible's truths as they apply to other people. But, when it comes to believing them for myself, I falter. I want to! Oh, how I want to! But, for some strange reason, I struggle to do so.

And, I believe I've discovered the "root" of all of my "issues"... I've done up two different "flow-charts" to explain...

This one is of my trouble "believing God"... the ROOT is my unbelief.

(click the picture to enlarge it)

This one shows the natural consequences, were I to be "SECURE" in God's love & acceptance of me! :o)

(click the picture to enlarge it)

See the HUGE difference?? It's amazing!

In the first picture/chart, it's a self-defeating cycle... it should almost be in a circle, as it just repeats on itself.

But in the second picture/chart, there's a natural outflow of love that just keeps going forward... doesn't get "stuck" somewhere along the way. ;o)

I am praying for a heart change... for God to allow me to accept that His Word is true, even for me (maybe *especially* for me!), and for God to help me feel secure in His love & acceptance of me.

Getting Free... (more on Thoughts)

In my "Breaking Free" Bible study homework, last night, I was studying about a "steadfast mind", and how we are to "take every thought captive" to Christ & His power. And, Beth shared the steps we need to take to "get free"!

1. Recognize the captor.


2. Confess sin to God.


3. Tear down the lies.


4. Put up the Truth.


5. Take every thought captive.

Here are some quotes from the study...

p.188 - "captivating thoughts are controlling thoughts -- things you find yourself meditating on too often. Focusing thoughts."

p.189 - "Taking thoughts captive to Christ doesn't mean we never have the thought again. It means we learn to 'think the thought' as it relates to Christ and who we are in Him."

p.191 - "Confession means coming to the point of saying the same thing God says about any specific matter."

p.193 - "The demolition of strongholds really begins when we expose and tear down the lies fueling our strongholds."

p.194 - "...if you don't listen to God and obey in the early stages, the longer you wait, the less discernment and strength you have."

p.194 - "If you know a stronghold exists somewhere in your life...yet you cannot identify the lies, you are still a captive."

p.195 - "...the walls of your mind will never stay bare...Once we tear down the lies, we have to re-wallpaper with the Truth or the enemy will happily supply a new roll of wallpaper [for our 'prison']."

p.195 - "God will not release us from anything that has enslaved us until we've come to the mind of Christ in the matter... Once the mind of Christ has taken over, the power of the stronghold is broken and the person and situation will finally begin to evacuate the premises."

p.197 - "Before we can get any controlling thoughts out of our minds, they must become Christ-controlled thoughts while still in our minds."

Steps for getting free...

1. Search God's Word for Scriptures. Find Scriptures that speak the mind of God to your specific stronghold.

- compile a list of Scriptures. Keep looking until you find them. Not just those that rebuke, but also those that speak of God's unfailing love & forgiveness to you.

2. Write these Scriptures on note cards.

- best way to compile them is to use spiral-bound note cards... call them "Truth cards".

3. Take these Truth Cards wherever you go.

- "be prepared to fight for your freedom with some radical choices...expect the battle to heat up when you start tearing down the lies!"

4. Avoid as many forms of deception as possible.

- "flood your mind primarily with truth and secondarily with materials that line up with truth... we must exercise radical caution when we're escaping."

More quotes...

p.198 - "Our thought life is something we'll work on for the rest of our lives."

p.199 - "When we do not make the deliberate choice to think according to the Spirit, we tend to default to the 'flesh'."

p.199 - "When the Holy Spirit convicts me of sin, the purpose is for life & peace."

p.200 - "The more we feed the Spirit of God within us and yield to His control, the more His presence will fill and satiate us with life and peace."


My biggest "stronghold" is currently my overeating & weight issues. And, the cool thing is, I already have an "armory" of verses (both "rebuking" and "uplifting") to combat the lies and replace them with Truth! God has given me many over the last year and a half. :o)