It is simply impossible to have a significant relationship with God without the study of His Word. (2 Timothy 2:15) When you become familiar with The Main Character of The Book, your life will take on a fresh and gratifying perspective.
My wife and I have been honored by God to travel across the nation and abroad. We hear and see much. One thing we have noticed is the world’s resistance to God’s Way of Thinking. We understand this as being a sign of our times. What has captured our attention is this slanted way of thinking has crept into the minds of some Believers. This thinking is not only in the minds of new converts, but also in mature Saints.
Unfortunately, the mature Saints, who influence many, have bought into this deception.
The Enemy Comes Courting
Seasoned Saints unknowingly participate in the death process due to their lack of time with Jesus The Living Word. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us...” (John 1:14) When there is decreased exposure to the Word, the carnal mind will begin its selfish ambition of lording itself in life.Ignorantly, because of its desire for control, the carnal mind opens the door to the evil prince of this world. The adversary’s desire is to enslave Christians once again. “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:” (Ephesians 2:2) Did you notice the enemy accomplished his work in the disobedient? He is courting disobedient children.
That person, unless there are illuminated by TRUTH, is no better off than the unsaved. They bare the distinct marking of the spirit of anti-Christ. Their disobedience can lead them out of the ranks of Believers and expose their actual identity. (1 John 2:18-19) Their demise began when their thought-life became slanted. (Proverbs 6:2 and Proverbs 23:7)
Mutated Mind?
“For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). A carnally or fleshly minded person has set their course for destruction. Their way of thinking may seem comfortable and even convenient - their ultimate end is certain death. “There is a way that seems right to a person, but eventually it ends in death” (Proverbs 16:25 GOD’S WORD Translation)Simply defined, “death” is separation. Not only separation from the physical body, but death is being cut-off from The Supernatural Character and Nature of God. This means becoming a stranger from God’s Life now and in the ages to come.
Ephesians 4:17-18 reads, “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18) Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:” Please notice the phrases “understanding darkened”, “being alienated” and “blindness of their heart” in verse eighteen. Those phrases combined could be translated to read; “Obscured thinking leads to alienation from The Life of God due to stupidity of mind.”
When the Word level is low the darkened mind will side with the flesh against the new man. The unrenewed mind will assume dominance over the entire being replacing the recreated spirit’s rightful authority. Subconsciously, this individual will live a life endeavoring to gratify the dictates of a mind that opposes God. From all appearances, that person acts no differently than the world. Their life will be ineffective as a Christian. More than likely, God will be the target for all their woes and sorrows.
“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:7). Whoa! Let us rewind. The mind that continually does whatever it desires has actually taken a position as an enemy of GOD. That is a mind that does not have Holy Spirit’s Influence on it - at all. (See Romans 8:6) It is actually a mutated mind. This mind has abandoned its purpose of honoring God.
1 John 2:16 the Amplified Bible gives us another view of how the carnal mind functions without God. “For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh [craving for sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in one’s own resources or in the stability of earthly things – these do not come from the Father but are from the world [itself].” The mind without the Word of God’s Washing and Refreshing is worldly. When your Word level is low, your flesh level will be high. This person will find they are doing and sayings things just like the world.
Spiritually Minded
“For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). Now the spiritually minded person does not simply have life and peace, but they have God’s Life and Peace in them. The Power of Absolute Life and Peace that comes from spending time with God regulates their life.Somehow, we have this image of the spiritually minded person as one who speaks in tongues all day, seeing abstract visions, being plain weird in public and out of touch with reality. Not quite true. The spiritually minded person simply desires to please their Source, Who happens to be The Father of Spirits. Following His Instructions is more satisfying than following the opinions of those who do know God.
No one considers it strange for dogs to bark at one another. It is not strange for birds to chirp and sing to one another. Scientists, in the name of research, spend multiplied millions of dollars to interpret the various calls of whales and dolphins. Why is it so difficult for some, in the Church as well as in the world, to grasp that our recreated spirits are on a similar quest to communicate with God? Animals communicate with animals and the Born-Again spirit calls for God Who is a Spirit. The spiritually minded person is simply communicating with their Father, though it may appear strange to some people.
Spending quality time in prayer is essential for our times. Things are changing more rapidly than ever. What was stable is now unstable. The world’s systems are struggling to keep their collective heads above water. You and I know it is impossible to remain balanced without DIVINE HELP. It is important to receive information from Holy Spirit to hear His Specific Directions concerning our unique part in service to Him. This is The Church’s finest hour - jump in!
It is time you settle the issue of spending time with The Father. There are no excuses that will justify being disconnected from His Life. After reading this month’s letter if you are still on the same path of poor fellowship with The Father, it will be by choice. Forgive me if I seem blunt. I am prompted by Love Himself to interrupt any patterns in your daily routine that have kept you from your encounter with The Most High. Make it a priority beginning right now to rearrange everything to fit your scheduled time with The I AM GOD.
“Acquaint now yourself with Him [agree with God and show yourself to be conformed to His will] and be at peace; by that [you shall prosper and great] good shall come to you.” (Job 22:21 Amplified Bible)
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