July 29, 2020                                   THE  MIND  OF  CHRIST                                   
1 Corinthians 2:16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he would instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
Philippians 2:5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”
The battle for our mind is a battle we must win if we are to experience life as God designed. We would all agree that how we think, or what we think, is all important. Proverbs 23:7 says it well: “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” If we are to win the battle for our minds, we must first acknowledge that we are responsible for our thoughts-we choose what to think about. Even the person who does not acknowledge God will have a ‘better’ life if he or she has a healthy mindset. However, those who have been born again-have trusted Christ as Savior-have available to them something that no one else has access too. It may sound like a ‘stretch,’ or even an impossibility for some, but that truth is that we can have the same mindset that Jesus had-amazing! This is a miracle. God has made us new creations, and a part of being made new is that our thought life takes on a whole new dynamic; we can now think in a different manner, according to the ways of God. This is all possible because the Spirit of God lives in us, enabling us to live as new creations, or as someone has said, a new species of man. Having the mind of Christ has practical implications. As an example, if one who is living according to the natural mind perceives that someone has done him wrong, he simply retaliates are rejects the guilty one to get even. On the contrary, when one who has the mind of Christ, instead of retaliating or rejecting, he forgives and is not offended by the one who wronged him. Responding with the mind of Christ is something that is rarely seen in this day. How about you and I? Because we engage with others, whether it be family, fellow employees, or neighbors, there are opportunities for us to demonstrate the mind of Christ in the way we respond to potential conflict. By operating according to the mind of Christ, we can actually live free of being offended by the action of others and we can bring peace to a potential volatile situation. Also, living with the mind of Christ is freedom; free from the thoughts and responses that lead to strife, conflict, and free to bless and build up others-even when they are wrong-that’s real freedom. I have no proof of this, but I believe that having the mind of Christ has a positive impact on our physical and emotional health as well as spiritual benefits. May we understand that because we are indeed new creatures, we can live day by day with the mind of Christ. 
2 Corinthians 10:5 “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
Blessings,
Buddy
 

 
July 26, 2020                                               JOY
John 15:11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
Psalm 16:11, 32:11,  “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”  “Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.”                  
Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
Colossians 1:11 “May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.
We may see them as the same, but happiness and joy are not the same. Happiness tends to evolve around circumstances while joy comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit and a true knowledge of God. Happiness may come and go, but joy abides even in the difficult times. We may experience great pain and difficulties, but even so, we can deep down know the joy of the Lord because we know that He works all things for good for those who know Him, and He gives us assurance and strength in the darkest hours. One reason that may hinder us from experiencing joy on a continual basis has to do with our basic view of our relationship with God. Even though it may be sub-conscience, I think that many have an ongoing thought process of what they should do to earn His approval and acceptance. Instead of enjoying the relationship with their Father, they perceive that they must ‘work’ on the relationship and ‘do better’ at being a Christian-they feel that they should read the bible more, pray more, have longer quite times, be more dedicated to the church program, and etc. What God did in bringing salvation to us and restoring us to Himself meant the death of His Son on the cross-the most meaningful event in all of eternity. Yet, it is beautifully simple; He HAS restored us and HAS joined us to Himself and He LIVES IN US and we live in Him-now!  God has already done what was necessary for us to be restored and made whole-there is no need for more striving, sacrificing, and trying. Now, we can enjoy our relationship with our Father. Don’t misunderstand, we are called to grow in the faith, and to mature-there is a process, and reading and studying His word is a part of that process; enjoying our relationship with Him does not mean we become spiritually lazy. The key is that as we enjoy relating to our Father, it becomes natural for us to be about the things that please Him, and for His nature to be expressed through us. I think we would do well to let go of the things we cannot control, the things too big for us, and to stop trying and simply enjoy what He has done-to enjoy our wholeness, our completeness, and our position as a child of God. Because our culture puts a premium on doing the things that bring results, on putting forth our best effort to get what we want, it may be difficult to accept this whole idea that God has already done it, and we are to simply enjoy what we already have! There are many ‘glad text’ in the Bible dealing with joy-check them out. May we have the wisdom to know and the ears to hear what God is saying to us about experiencing His joy-no matter the circumstances.
Psalm 28:7 “The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust Him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.”
Blessings, Buddy

 
July 23, 2020                                             BE  HOLY
1 Peter 1:15-16 “But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.”
Ephesians 5:1 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;”
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
We could never earn God’s love and forgiveness, or work our way to heaven by our good works. We were born into this world separated from God, lost in sin, and without hope. Only by the grace and mercy of God can we come to know Him and be saved and be joined to Him. As wonderful and as needed the grace of God is, it has often been misunderstood and misapplied. There is a tendency for us to come short of the full meaning of grace and salvation; many live with the belief that ‘we are sinners saved by grace’-and that we continue to sin and God continues to forgive us. There is certainly some truth in that view, but there is a huge underlying error that one falls into if that is their primary view of salvation. This view that we are sinners saved by grace is common due to the fact that for many years, we have heard a sub-standard gospel preached and proclaimed-by well-meaning individuals. I want to, and I believe that you want to, understand our salvation from God’s viewpoint-what He says it is. Perhaps we need to re-tool what we believe-look afresh at this awesome salvation. Salvation is so much more than a ticket to heaven. God has made us new; He has transformed us and given us new spirits, new minds, AND a NEW nature. There is an amazing statement in 1 John 4:17: “as He is, so are we in this world.” Being born again and being forgiven of our sins is a beginning point-not the end of the story. We HAVE BEEN made righteous and God has enabled us to live righteously-or holy lives; we now have His nature in us and that nature can be expressed. We are not to try to be righteous and holy in order to earn His love, BUT BECAUSE WE ARE righteous in Him, we are to live righteously. We have the blessing and the privilege of representing God in the place where we live.
Colossians 1:10 “so that you walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
July 20, 2020                                                     PUT  ON
Ephesians 4:24 “and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
Colossians 3:12-14 “And so, those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”
Romans 13:14 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regards to its lusts.”
In the last blog, ‘Lay Aside’, we learned that we have the power to ‘lay aside’ those things that are not pleasing to the Lord, and that we can ‘lay aside’ because the Holy Spirit lives is us. To lay aside the things we should is a good thing to do, but to be complete, we also must ‘put on.’ (Doing the things that please the Lord are also the things that will give us peace, joy, and fulfilment.)  Romans 13:14 tells us to “put on Christ.” To put on Christ is to take His life as our life, to have Christ as the supreme desire of our heart, and to die to ourselves. To put on Christ is to put on our new self, “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:24. The idea of putting on Christ is not just theory or some lofty idea, nor not just reserved for a select few; putting on Christ is something we do-an action on our part. Daily, and through-out the day, we acknowledge that we belong to Him, that we have died to ourselves, and that He is our life. The decisions we make through-out the day, the thoughts we allow, the responses we have, and the things we do are to all flow out of our desire to please Him in all we do. It is amazing, but putting on and living in our new self enables us to be “imitators of God.” Ephesians 5:1. Putting on Christ is no small deal-it’s dunamis-like dynamite to the old ways. Putting on Christ is a package deal; when we put on Christ, we are putting on attributes of Christ: compassion, kindness, humility, a forgiving spirit, gentleness and patience, and love. Colossians 3:3-14. By putting on Christ, we become equipped and empowered for life; we have wisdom and understanding; our thoughts and our actions honor Him; and we have peace, joy, and hope. All of this may sound too good to be true-but it’s not. Putting on Christ does not exempt us from difficulties, BUT it does mean that we are equipped and empowered to deal with whatever comes our way-and that is awesome news for us. To trade our old self for the new self that Christ has made us is the best deal we will ever make. Today, let us put on Christ and walk in His ways.
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
July 17, 2020                                             LAY  ASIDE
Ephesians 4:22, 25 “You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires.”   “Lay aside falsehood, then, let each man tell his neighbor the truth, for we are members one of another.”
Colossians 3:8 “But now you also lay aside all these things: anger, rage, wickedness, slander, abusive language from your mouth.”
Hebrews 12:1 “Wherefore seeing also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”
These verses offer us a great insight that we may find almost too good to be true, or it may sound naïve. Our response may be “You just don’t understand how difficult it is to just ‘lay aside’ what I’m dealing with. In the natural, it is difficult or impossible to simply lay aside those things that ensnare us-things we know we should lay aside. However, if we know Jesus as Lord and Savior and know our true identity as His sons and daughters, we are not limited to the natural and to self effort. Knowing Jesus does not just make us better, it transforms us into new creations. Transformation is just that-becoming something we were not previously. We hear a lot about the Holy Spirit, but perhaps we have lost the impact of what it means that the Holy Spirit of God lives in us! However, we can grieve the Holy Spirit; “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30. The Holy Spirit does not force Himself or His ways upon us, but He does draw us to the Father. Without the indwelling Holy Spirit, we could never live the Christian life. The Holy Spirit has many functions, including, revealing Christ to us, revealing the truth of the scriptures to us, teaching us, guiding our steps, enabling us to live as God calls us to live, convicting us of sin, comforting us, encouraging us..and so much more. When we resist Him and choose not to cooperate with Him, we grieve Him; it grieves Him because He knows that the Father loves us and has our best interest in mind and to see us, God’s chosen-ones, not walking according to His Spirit is grievous. When we welcome and embrace the work of the Holy Spirit in us and when we are quick to obey the Spirit, we then will be able to discern His work in us and will be able to hear in our spirit what He is saying to us. Laying aside the things that so easily beset us is a definite and specific action, and is also an on-going process. Let us accept as true the fact that you and I can lay aside those things that we know we should lay aside-wrong responses, wrong habits, wrong thoughts and attitudes, wrong beliefs, indifference, self-centeredness, or whatever it or they may be. It is a matter of consciencly putting off, or laying aside the things that do not please the Father and putting on the new person we have been created to be.
1 John 3:6 “No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him.”
Romans 6:11,14a “So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.” “For sin shall not have dominion over you:”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
Luke: 7:47 “For this reason I say to you, her sins which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgive little, loves little.”
We would do well to have the truth of this verse in the forefront of our hearts and minds. In this verse we find that there is a connection, or relationship, between love and forgiveness; and quite often this relationship is overlooked. The forgiveness that God has extended us is based on His perfect love for us and His forgiveness is not conditional. In Hebrews 8:12 God declares that He will remember our sins no more, and in Psalms 103:12 we are told that God has removed our sins as far as the east is from the west. The verse above explains how love and forgiveness are related. Until we realize how great our sin was and how much God has forgiven us, we will not be able to extend forgiveness that is based on love. When we become aware of our own need for forgiveness, we are not so quick to judge others when they sin-after all, who am I not to forgive someone else when I have been guilty of sin myself?  When we are forgiven, our heart is softened and we find that, contrary to what many say, extending forgiveness is not difficult. Actually, having a forgiving spirit is part of our new nature, just as God is a God who forgives. And we need to note that the woman in this verse was guilty of “many” sins; so we must extend forgiveness regardless of how many times someone may have sinned against us. If we do not forgive others, we become imprisoned. Forgiveness is important, as it is part of the reconciliation process, because when we forgive, we are expressing the heart of God and demonstrating His love even in the face of sin. Forgiveness is light overcoming darkness. Somehow, in so much of the church in our culture, there is little said about sin and the need for forgiveness. It seems that we have come to a place where we ignore, or put the issue of sin on the back burner. Thank God that we have been forgiven and born again, but that does not mean that we will never sin again and never be in need forgiveness again-it is possible for us as believers to sin and be in need of cleansing and forgiveness from God and from others. I believe that when we ignore, or choose not to obey what God has said through the scriptures, it is sin on our part. If we are not desiring to live according to the word of God, our hearts should be broken and we should find room for repentance. It is true that we are new creations with new hearts and minds and it is no longer our nature to sin, but we still have to ‘put on’ the new person that we are; if not, we walk according to the flesh where sin finds its opportunity. Colossians 3:5: “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”  Let us reflect on the fact that we were once sinners who were bound for hell, but God extended forgiveness to us when we did not deserve it. Realizing our own need for forgiveness will do away with our judging others and will cause us to “love much.”  The giving and the receiving of forgiveness is a doorway that leads to the very heart of God. Finally, if we allow ourselves to sin against God or another person, let us be quick to confess our sin and turn form it. May this be a time when we see God moving amongst His people: purifying and preparing us for the advancement of His kingdom-and may “His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Mathew 6:14: “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
James 5:16: “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
July 11, 2020                                         MARCHING  TO  A  DIFFERENT  DRUMMER
Romans 6:4 “just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even we also should walk in newness of life.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
Romans 12:2 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
1 John 2:6 “Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.”
What drummer are we listening to in our march through this life?  Are we in step with the world, or with the kingdom of God? The gospel message that we are new creations and not refurbished people is a radical message. We live in the world, we have jobs, families, we have trials and difficulties, but yet, the scriptures tell us not to live according to the pattern of this world. When we read the scriptures, we read about being ‘new creations’ and what it means to be a follower of Christ, yet we may find ourselves being more conformed to the pattern of the world than to the pattern of His kingdom. I think one major problem we have, one major error we fall into, is that we merge the new with the old; we co-habit with the old self and the new self-and that puts us in a no win situation when it comes to living life that is in harmony with the scriptures. Because we have been exposed so long to a sub-standard gospel, we have come to except this co-habitation of the new and the old as the norm. On the one hand we believe that we have been made new, but on the other hand, we may find ourselves all too often responding out of our old man, the flesh. We have this abiding internal, perhaps subtle conflict, in our spirit; we know we are not living out the gospel, but we have learned to live with life the way it is;  we have accepted the merging the new and the old-to our own harm. However, there is a clear distinction; the new creation is one thing, and the flesh, or the old self, is something entirely different; we cannot walk in the Spirit and the flesh simultaneously. The good news is that we can live in the world, but can live as new creations, in step with the kingdom of God. The gospel is great news! God has done all that is necessary for us to lay aside the old self and walk in who He created us to be. Let is not rationalize our walking in the flesh by claiming that ‘we are not perfect,’ or ‘everybody sins,’ etc. The eye-opening truth is that we make the choice of whether we walk according to the Spirit or the flesh; we do not have to walk according to the flesh. It’s not about ‘sinless perfection,’ but about living as new creations. (If we sin, we confess it and God forgives us.) Are we listening to our flesh, the old man, or to the new creation we are in Christ? Our part is to be transformed by renewing our mind to the truth of the gospel-and it’s the gospel truth that we are new creations-now let us walk in our new self.
Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”
Romans 6:6 “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin;”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
July 8, 2020                                           WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT
Psalm 119:105,130 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path.”  “The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.”
Mathew 5:15-16 “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
John 8:12 “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
What a blessing it is to have light shine into the darkness. In life, one can find himself or herself walking in the darkness of doubt, confusion, brokenness, fear, anxiety, addictions, depression, hopelessness, and boredom in general. It is a no-brainer-but there is no benefit or blessings to walking in the darkness, but endless blessings and benefits to walking in the light. Many search for light in education, wealth, popularity, physical appearance, and you name it, but there is only one source of light. It is the word of God that gives light; there is no substitute or alternative light-whether we believe it or not. The verse above tells us that Jesus is the light of the world and all who follow Him will have the light of life. The blessing is that the light is not limited to a select few, but is available to all who follow Him regardless of their financial status, race, education, physical health, past failures, or present circumstances. While on earth, Jesus demonstrated living in the light; He spoke the truth, He gave, He showed compassion, He was not angry or irritated, He had peace, He was not swayed by the influence of the world, and He had a heart to heal and to bless. In our culture, we have many potential distractions that would cause us to turn from the light and walk in darkness. We must make decisions about our careers, finances, marriage, education, health, where to live, how to deal with those around us who are in the midst of difficulties- and the list goes on. The only possible way to navigate this life, to make wise decisions, is to walk in the light of God’s word; we are not capable of making it on our own. The best of man’s ways is insufficient and ends in defeat and death. We do not ‘acquire’ light on our own; to have the light of God is no less than a miracle, but it is available to all who follow Him. The obvious to all of this is that we must expose ourselves to, and become familiar to the words of God because it is the ‘entrance His word’ that gives light. Walking in the light is not to be private affair; walking or living in the light becomes evident to all; those who are in darkness need light and that is why believers are not to hide the light, but to let it shine that it may give light to all and glorify our Father. Matthew 5:15-16. Simply said, if we want to walk in the light, then we must hear (read) His word and let it enter our spirit and follow Him. We do not have to live in darkness; we can live in the light of God.
Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life-of whom shall I be afraid?”
Blessings,
Buddy
​

 
July 5, 2020                                         SOWING
2 Corinthians 9:6, 9:10 “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”      “Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.”
Proverbs 11:24-25 “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessings will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.”
Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
Do we get the message? It is a good thing, it is wise, and it is God’s desire for us to be givers. The natural man, and even many professing Christians, believe that getting and accumulating is the thing to do. The prevalent viewpoint for many is to ‘get all we can and can all we get.’ There is no clearer example of how the ways of God are different from the ways of the world when it comes to giving. Being logical is good, but when it comes to giving, logic may be a stumbling block for us-unless our ‘logic’ is based on the ways of God. Logic tells us that if we give, we will have less, whereas God says that when we give, we get, and when we withhold, we have less. Don’t misunderstand; to save and prepare for the future and to be wise with our finances and possessions is a good thing and it does not violate God’s word. This is where we can easily get into error; even though we may make financial plans for our future, we must truly trust God for our future; our plans and preparations is no guarantee for the future-our plans can be derailed and never come to pass. When we talk about giving, we normally think in terms of money, however, we can give of our time and other resources at our disposal. Giving is a heart; if we give only because we ought to give, then we lose the blessings that come when we give from our heart. Unlike the world, when we as believers give, we are to give without expecting a return-with no strings attached. We are not called to give to everyone nor to meet every need we see; we are to give as the Holy Spirit prompts us to give-that is the key point. Undoubtable there will be times when we are not sure that it is the Holy that is prompting us to give, or is it just a thought we have. I think that in those times, it is good to go ahead a give and trust God to use it for good; God loves a cheerful giver; err on the side of giving rather than withholding. An awesome promise in the opening verse above is that God will supply seeds for us to sow and will enlarge the harvest of our righteousness-we will not run out of seeds to sow! And, when we give freely, we become richer! And, when we bless others, we will be enriched, and when we water, we will be watered. Who would not want to be a giver?!
Psalm 34:10 “The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; but they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.”
Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
Hebrews 13:5 “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.’”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
July 2, 2020                                       RULING  OUR  SPIRIT
Proverbs 16:32 “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.”
Proverbs 25:28 “Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit.”
If there is a pressing need today, it is that believers heed the admonition to rule their spirit. There is a definite tendency to let the circumstances rule over us-to ‘just go with the flow.’ Instead of just being responders to situations and circumstances, we must set the course we will take as we process the situations at hand, and rather than letting our emotions dictate our response, we are to determine our response by our spirit. Our emotions and our spirit are not the same; we have emotions, but they are to be ruled and led by our spirit. This is a message that our culture desperately needs to hear, and not only hear, but embrace. When we are not ruling our spirit, we are actually out of control, subject to our emotions-whatever they be at the moment. (Road rage is a good example of being led by the emotions; a perfectly normal person can become angry and vindictive in an instant when someone cuts in front of them in traffic; there have even been cases when road rage has led to murder.) We think of ourselves as a body with a spirit, but we should see ourselves as a spirit with a body; the spirit should not be subject to our ‘body’ (emotions and impulses) but our body is to be subject to our spirit. Ruling our spirit is better than ‘capturing a city’-wow! You could say that our spirit is neutral-our spirit will go where we direct it to go. There is one proviso; we can have a ‘right’ spirit, or we can have a ‘bad’ spirit. Our spirit will be what it should be only when the Holy Spirit of God is having His way in us; the work of the Holy Spirit is to guide us, and correct us when we err, and to empower us to live in a way that pleases our heavenly Father, and we have a part to play in this process. 2 Corinthians 7:1 tells us to “cleanse ourselves from defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”  Blessings come when we rule our spirit under the direction of the Holy Spirit; wisdom, love, patience, confidence, peace, joy, kindness, and gentleness are the norm when we rule our spirit in accordance to the ways of God. Indeed, the one who rules and controls his spirit is mighty. No matter our plight in life, we can rule our spirit and experience the blessings of God. As part of our design, we have emotions and emotions are good as long as our emotions, as well as our spirit, spring from God’s rule in our lives. May each of us, this day, rule our spirit in such a way that leads to life, both for us and those around us.
Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
2 Corinthians 10:5 “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”
Blessings, Buddy