Fear is the reciprocal of faith. Just as faith opens the door for you to receive blessings from God, fear enables the works of the devil to wreak havoc in your life. Simply put, faith connects you to the promises of God, while fear connects you to the things you fear. There have been reports of people who were so afraid of dying in a plane crash, for example, that they actually died that way. And it was no coincidence. Their fear of death connected them to the accident. The same is true of people who are afraid of contracting cancer or some other terminal illness. Their fear of sickness is stronger than their faith in healing, and they ultimately contract and die from whatever disease they feared.
Conflicts arise when a child begins to distance himself from his parents' values and way of thinking. Sometimes, a child's thinking can move so far out of alignment with his parents' that it's difficult to imagine that he and his parents are related. This is true with many Christians today. They proudly wear the title of Christian, but their thinking doesn't line up with the Word. Nothing that they say or do bears any resemblance to their heavenly Father.
To not partake of the authority that rightfully belongs to you is to forfeit an important part of your salvation. In Mark 16:17-18 (AMP), Jesus says, "And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; they will pick up serpents; and [even] if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will get well. " You have dominion over the enemy! That was one of the benefits that was purchased for you on Calvary.
In order to agree with God's Word, you must first know God's Word. Contrary to what you may have learned in the past, the Bible is not a book of restrictions designed to hinder your pursuit of happiness. Instead, it is a manual for transformation. You don't read the Bible just to learn what not to do; you read the Bible to transform your thinking so that it lines up with God's thinking.
To determine whether or not you're walking in the Spirit, examine your thoughts. Basically, your thoughts are a reflection of what you know. The question is, What do you know? Do you know what the world says, or do you know what the Word says? When it comes to your finances, for example, do you know what the world says about making money, or do you know what God says-that He has given you the power to obtain wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18)? When it comes to your health, are you convinced of a doctor's diagnosis of sickness, or are you confident that by Jesus' stripes you have already been healed (Isaiah 53:5)? What do you know?
When you walk in the Spirit, you can defeat any fleshy thought that enters your mind (Galatians 5:16). As you continue to read the Word and adopt God's thoughts as your own, you'll begin to resemble your heavenly Father-you'll be a mini version of God!
Conflicts arise when a child begins to distance himself from his parents' values and way of thinking. Sometimes, a child's thinking can move so far out of alignment with his parents' that it's difficult to imagine that he and his parents are related. This is true with many Christians today. They proudly wear the title of Christian, but their thinking doesn't line up with the Word. Nothing that they say or do bears any resemblance to their heavenly Father.
To not partake of the authority that rightfully belongs to you is to forfeit an important part of your salvation. In Mark 16:17-18 (AMP), Jesus says, "And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; they will pick up serpents; and [even] if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will get well. " You have dominion over the enemy! That was one of the benefits that was purchased for you on Calvary.
In order to agree with God's Word, you must first know God's Word. Contrary to what you may have learned in the past, the Bible is not a book of restrictions designed to hinder your pursuit of happiness. Instead, it is a manual for transformation. You don't read the Bible just to learn what not to do; you read the Bible to transform your thinking so that it lines up with God's thinking.
To determine whether or not you're walking in the Spirit, examine your thoughts. Basically, your thoughts are a reflection of what you know. The question is, What do you know? Do you know what the world says, or do you know what the Word says? When it comes to your finances, for example, do you know what the world says about making money, or do you know what God says-that He has given you the power to obtain wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18)? When it comes to your health, are you convinced of a doctor's diagnosis of sickness, or are you confident that by Jesus' stripes you have already been healed (Isaiah 53:5)? What do you know?
When you walk in the Spirit, you can defeat any fleshy thought that enters your mind (Galatians 5:16). As you continue to read the Word and adopt God's thoughts as your own, you'll begin to resemble your heavenly Father-you'll be a mini version of God!
