Overcoming the Bondage of Our Past

Have you ever felt that you have accepted Christ into your life but you still feel the same? Or is people still comparing you to the old person you use to be because of the things you done in the past? 

No worries if you have felt this way before. As Christians, we all question at times whether or not we are really a "new creation". The problem often times, is our thinking in the natural has not caught up with our spiritual minds. We have to learn to operate spiritually in a natural world. This is hard but the Word will transform you if you work diligently by studying and committing to heart the inspiring Word of God. 

John 3:16 (KJV) 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoeveth believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Romans 10:9-10

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confessions is made unto salvation. 

Romans 12:2 (KJV)

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. 

The bottom line is that when we were re-born we were made a new creation into Christ. This does not mean that we will be perfect in all phases of our lives. This means that we adopted into God's family. We are no longer lost but found. Also, God knows our hearts. He knows that if when we confessed and accepted Jesus was Lord and Savior and died for our sins, that we would not continue to seek him because we would no longer need to depend on him. 

God desires to have a relationship with each one of us. He knew us before the world even knew us.

Jeremiah 1:5 (KJV)

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."

When we accept Jesus into our lives. He wipes out all of our past transgressions. Unfortunately, the world is not so loving as our heavenly father; therefore, people will still judge, misuse, and you based on the past. But be encouraged. You are apart of God's family now. He will not allow things to happen to you, that you cannot bear. He will always give you strength--you just have to ask for it.

Philipians 4:13 (KJV)

"I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me." 

Whenever, my past begins to knock on my front door I immediately state "I rebuke you Satan in the name of Jesus." Satan knows our weaknesses. He will try to distract you even more so, because you are saved. Satan will use you friends, family, colleagues, and even your own mind to distract you from accomplishing God's will. Therefore, you have to meditate and pray to the Lord daily to give you guidance on dealing with these things. In fact, its common for new Christians to lose relationships with family and friends if they aren't believers themselves. The things we use to do in the past we can no longer do. We must try to maintain holy and acceptable to God at all times. But if you fall short, repent and ask the Lord for forgiveness because he is so merciful and loving. 

Matthew 5:11 (KJV)

"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake."

With this in mind, pray for those who try to condemn you because vengeance is the Lord's and not ours. Love those who tries to discourage you. Love those who speak negatively over your life. And eventually the Devil will leave you alone for a season until he discovers another weakness of yours to distract you from the Will of God.

Romans 12:19 (KJV)

"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written. Vengeance is mine [God]: I will repay, saith the Lord."

Mark 12:21 (KJV)

". . . Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. . ."

"It Shouldn't be that HARD"

Being a Christian does not mean that we are immune from life's difficulties. Instead, because of our faith in God we are able to deal with life's difficulties better.

It should not be hard to do what is "right" and what is beneficial for our own "good":

Galatians 6:9 (KJV)
" And let us not be weary in well doing for in the season we shall reap, if we faint not."

Questions to Consider:

• Can accepting Christ be that hard?
• Can being filled with the Spirit be that hard?

As Christians, life becomes difficult because we do not want to be obedient to God's WORD. We get in the mode of thinking that our ways in the "natural" is better than following God's WORD. Life for us would not be hard if we stopped resisting God's authority (i.e. his Word).

Proverbs 13:15 (KJV)
"Good understanding giveth favor: but the way of transgressors is hard."

Read Mark 10:22-25
-How hard is it for those who trust in riches (i.e. money) to enter into the Kingdom of God? Life will be hard for you when your trust is not in God. If you put your faith into your education, career, salary, husband, family, children, your own abilities, etc., life will always be hard. God created us to be dependent upon him and to develop a relationship with him.

Life is HARD for us as CHRISTIANS when:

• We resist and kick against God's Authority;
• We are lacking in faith. Not really believing in God and his Word; and
• Not trusting in the Lord.

Our heavenly father wants to take away the fret and the sweat in our lives; but, this requires us to be obedient to him, to have faith, and to trust him. 

Matthew 11:28-29

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest upon your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. 

The Power of "1"

Have you ever hoped to make a significant impact, but felt too weak or insignificant to do so? If so, then I want you to meditate on the following:

How can we be more powerful than we ever been before?
As a body of Christ?
As an individual?

We must understand as Christians, that are battles in life are spiritual; therefore, our power must come from a spiritual source in order to become powerful and defeat such obstacles.

Ephesians 6:12 (KJV)
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

Understanding the Power of "1"

Matthew 12:25

"Every kingdom divided against itself will be brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand."

• You cannot have power and/or be powerful if there is division (i.e. 2 is always better than 1)
• We are defeated by division. 

In order to be powerful , we have to learn how to be "1" at every level. 

God is the power source. God works out of one body. He uses each and everyone of us to accomplish his Will.

John 17:22 (KJV) 

" And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may believe that thou hast sent me."

1 Corinthians 1:10 (KJV)

"Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." 

Ephesians 5:31 (KJV)

"For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh."

Genesis 2:24 (KJV)

"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh."

7 Reasons for Unity 

1. To prevent desolation and failure. Mathew 12:25 
2. For stability in faith. Cannot be double minded. James 1:8
3. It's good and pleasant to those in the circle of unity. Psalm 133:1
4. The flow of the anointing. Psalm 133:2
5. To receive commanded blessings. Psalm 133:3
6. To accomplish the impossible. Genesis 11:6
7. To be a witness for Jesus. To know he was sent by God and to show our love for one another, presenting the love of God. John 17: 21

Ephesians 4: 1-3

"I therefore, the prisoner  of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longer suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace."

The ABCs of Change

It is now mid-February and I am sure you had made a new years resolution. How is your progress going? Have you made any changes?

Well, I started with a plan...even tried executing it...and have failed epically! This blog has been one of my goals. To write the messages of God and post for the world; but, I have not been consistent :( My goal is to make drastic changes and choices in order to accomplish this. I will not fail!!! because I have God and his GRACE.

So, my Pastor mentioned a couple of Sundays ago the idea of "change".

Generally people do not like change because:

• Change has been known to have a bad reputation;
• Change distrupts our normal/familiar behaviors; and
• We are comfortable with our present/current circumstances.

So what is change? Change can be defined as follows from dictionary.com :

1.to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone: to change one's name; to change one's opinion; to change the course of history.

2.to transform or convert (usually followed by into)

3.to substitute another or others for; exchange for something else, usually of the same kind: She changed her shoes when she got home from the office.

4.to give and take reciprocally; interchange: to change places with someone.

5.to transfer from one (conveyance) to another.

 

The Bible indicates that our understanding of change has been misconstrued. In fact, the Bible associates changes with a positive connotation.  

 

Job 14:14

" If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come?"

 

Colossians 1:6 (NLT)

" This same good news that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God's wonderful grace." 

 

Therefore, change is GOOD. It is essential to walk with Christ. We GOD cannot use us to accomplish his will if we remain the same. In order to change, we need to release our PAST. 

We have to learn to walk in the "newness" of renewal. 

The ABCs of Change 

A-Agent

B-Behavior

C-Conversion 

AGENT. Change requires an Agent. A change Agent. The change Agent that changes us to become Christians was and is Jesus Christ through the Word. The word of God is a change agent. If you are looking for change to manifest in your life, you have to allow the Word of God to change you. This comes through studying and meditating on the word of God. 

BEHAVIOR. If you think you have changed and your behaviors have not changed , then you have not changed. In order for your behaviors to change, you must change your thinking patterns. Your thinking can be changed through the constant renewing of your minds (Romans 12:2). This should be done daily. You renew your minds through the Word of God. 

CONVERSION. Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of God. (Acts 3:19)

Keep in mind, the day that we accepted Christ into our lives we were changed at Day 1, when we accepted that he was Lord and Savior of the World. Our Spirit was changes. Now we must strive daily to change our Mind, Will, Emotions, and Body (Flesh) to be Christ-like. So, we are constantly striving as Christians to be like Christ.