How to Use Sword of Spirit

Do you remember the armor of God in Ephesians? (Posted at bottom of this blog) I always thought it was a great idea to put on this armor, but I really didn't get how to do it. Especially when told to fight with the Sword of the Spirit. I figured this must be the Holy Spirit, but how exactly do I use this to fight the wily schemes of the devil? While spending time with God the other day and being still, I heard God tell me how to do this. Begin by knowing what God says about you. If you do not know what God says specifically about you go to this blog post here. Once you have God's thoughts about yourself then write then out and say them daily so they become very familiar and agree with them. It is very powerful when we agree with what God says about us.
Anyway, God let me know that to use the Sword of the Spirit I was to test any thoughts that entered my head with the words God has told me about myself. Does this thought agree with what God says about me? If not, throw it out. Do not allow it to remain in the head. Do not perseverate or give it anymore air time. Repeat something God has told you, like, "I am God's treasure."
I really like this practical way of using the truths God has been telling me about me to battle against any gobbledegook satan is trying to sell me.

Ephesians 6:10-18

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

The Fight against Evil

10 Finally, let the mighty strength of the Lord make you strong. 11 Put on all the armor that God gives, so you can defend yourself against the devil’s tricks. 12 We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world. 13 So put on all the armor that God gives. Then when that evil day[a] comes, you will be able to defend yourself. And when the battle is over, you will still be standing firm.
14 Be ready! Let the truth be like a belt around your waist, and let God’s justice protect you like armor. 15 Your desire to tell the good news about peace should be like shoes on your feet. 16 Let your faith be like a shield, and you will be able to stop all the flaming arrows of the evil one.17 Let God’s saving power be like a helmet, and for a sword use God’s message that comes from the Spirit.
18 Never stop praying, especially for others. Always pray by the power of the Spirit. Stay alert and keep praying for God’s people.

Positive Thinking Only Diet

This is no ordinary diet. There are no food restrictions or specific rules to follow when it comes to eating. Rather this diet is a brain diet.
How positive is your thinking these days? How often do you have a negative thought about anything?
If you find you are having a constant steam of condemnation going around in your head, please read my post entitled "Getting Rid of Self-Condemnation Forever"
Now that condemnation is gone from your brain, how many other negative thoughts do you find yourself meditating on? For instance, what role does worry/fear play in your life? How often do you find yourself complaining? Doubting? Just feeling down-in-the-dumps?
God really wants to free you from this too! So why not go on a diet for your brain.

Steps to Positive Thinking Only Diet:

Your main goal is to make it one entire day without a negative thought. If you have a negative thought, you must begin again to make it 24 hours without one.

1. Pray and ask God to give you wisdom and discernment about when a thought is negative and not beneficial. Also ask for him to help you hold it captive and release it.

2. Begin your day. When a negative thought comes up in your head, notice it is there, then throw it out in the name of Jesus. Just having this thought come into your brain does not count. It is MEDITATING on the thought or PERSEVERATING on it that gives it power. This is where Satan can get a foothold into your life.

3. Replace the thought with a verse. It can be any verse. Or simply say the name of Jesus over and over until you are focused on something new.

4. Build stamina in holding every thought captive just as you do when you build endurance in exercise. It will be hard at first, but do not give up. God will give you freedom from negative thoughts.

5. Do not get discouraged. Whatever you do, do not allow condemnation or anything negative to come into your head when you are unable to hold a thought captive. This is hard. It takes practice. One woman took 6 months of doing this daily before she could make it through one whole day without negativity sneaking into her thoughts. Ask God to strengthen you! You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In this blog I have used material I learned at Wind and Fire Mission Base.

 Wind and Fire Mission Base, 3243 Wind and Fire Dr. Marion, IA 5230230

Getting Rid of Self-Condemnation Forever!

Satan wants us to think we are unlovable.

I find that focusing on media such as TV, fashion magazines, and music videos puts a lot of images into my head that shows what one needs to look like to be loved -- according to the world. All the times you failed, all the things you did which you are ashamed of, how your body does not look how you think it should.

All of these negatives create a huge culture of self-condmenation. Do you condemn yourself continuously? Do you believe all the negatives you give yourself?

I did. Despite being a school counselor and telling kids daily to give themselves put ups not put downs, I was constantly barraging myself with negatives. About anything and everything.
I knew God wanted me to "hold every thought captive" and that He loved me, but I just totally believed all the gobbledegook going around in my head and was hopelessly unable to stop the nasty, negativeness that pervaded my brain.

How I got rid of that constant stream of self-condemnation:

These were the steps I took to get those negative comments to leave forever:
1. I understood and agreed with the idea that any words of condemnation ARE NOT FROM GOD. Remember "HE HAS NEVER HAD A BAD THOUGHT ABOUT YOU."
1. I prayed, asking God for discernment and wisdom to hear and identify any condemnation.
2. I prayed with power and might (don't be afraid to get loud when you pray like this. I find praying when I am alone in the car works really well). I told condemnation to leave me forever! I know that the Bible says there is "no condemnation in Christ." I told that condemnation to leave in the name of Jesus. I told condemnation I would no longer be listening to anything it had to say to me.
3. God gave me discernment to hear specific negative words or comments I was saying to myself. Whenever it happened I would take 1-2 minutes and pray aloud telling it to leave. I would no longer think about this, in the name of Jesus. God has forgiven me (if it was a sin) and I was certainly not going to allow any thought patterns or strong holds associated with this condemnation to continue, in the name of Jesus.
4. I would put myself back into that thought for a minute - purposely thinking about the situation that triggered the condemnation. I would ask myself, "How do you feel?" If I felt nothing, great! I was done. If I felt fear, sadness, anxiety, etc. I would identify the feelings and say a prayer like this, "Fear, sadness, worry associated with this negative thought you will leave NOW in the name of Jesus. You have no place here!" Now, think of the situation that triggered again, any negative emotions remaining? If there are, repeat this process until there are none and you feel absolutely nothing.
5. I worked on this process for about a week. Within a week there was no self-condemnation present in my head anymore. I mean, you know how people say they are thinking about nothing and they really have nothing going on in their head? That is the way it suddenly felt. Nothing. No negative comments, no self hatred, nothing. Wow! True freedom!

Just a few more thoughts on this process:
- You have to be willing to put effort into this. God wants you to have this freedom. But, you need to take the time (generally, 2-5 minutes will actually be enough time) to attack this problem head on each time a negative thought enters your head.
- When you are praying - pray aloud. Your words have power! You don't have to be loud when you pray. If a condemning thought popped into my brain and I was around others I would take a minute to use the restroom or walk to a quiet spot in room and whisper (still aloud) my prayer.
-Praise God as you are emotionally healed and freed from these words that have plagued you for years!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In this blog I have used material I learned at Wind and Fire Mission Base.

 Wind and Fire Mission Base, 3243 Wind and Fire Dr. Marion, IA 5230230

Is God Disappointed in You? Is God Punishing You?

I became a Christian as a teenager and grew up knowing Jesus loved me because "the Bible told me so." But, I didn't really think He could love me?  I mean, look at the sins I had committed. I knew that I was forgiven, but really didn't I deserve to be punished? 

Certainly I deserved to have daily migraines because I had really let God down. He was really disappointed in me, right??

It was not until last year, when I was told a life changing message --

GOD HAS NEVER HAD A BAD THOUGHT ABOUT YOU!

I mean, meditate on that statement. All the times you have put yourself down for not meeting man's standards about reading the Bible for such and such amount of time daily or whether or not you prayed hard enough for the people on your prayer list, etc. All of those times I thought God was disappointed in my lack of christianity. 

Just because you have bad thoughts about you or the devil puts negative ideas into your head about who you are, this is NOT what God is thinking about you. 

What does God think about you? Have you asked Him? Why not spend some time alone with God (I like being outside if I can be) and just ask him "What do you want to tell me about me, God?" Then, sit and wait - be still and silent before God. He will give you a word, phrase, vision, or dream. 

Also, look at the word of God. Did you know that He loves you with an everlasting love? ()Jeremiah 31:3). Think about that His love for your is unending. Now, begin to agree with that idea simply by saying it aloud and saying something like, "I agree with how God loves me with an everlasting love."

When a negative thought about yourself suddenly pops up into your head, stop and say, "Thought you leave in the name of Jesus. You are not true. You are not real. God has never had a bad thought about me. I agree with how He loves me forever."

Begin to walk in freedom and remember what God really thinks about you - agree with Him and find true joy!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In this blog I have used material I learned at Wind and Fire Mission Base.

 Wind and Fire Mission Base, 3243 Wind and Fire Dr. Marion, IA 5230230