Tear Down Those Walls!

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. 2 Corinthians 10:5

Close your eyes and picture a desert scene - hot, dry, barren, and fruitless. This was the Israelite way of life for almost 2 years, after 400 years of slavery in Egypt. Now, close your eyes and picture what the Promised Land must have looked like - lush, fruitful, welcoming, and full of promise. They must have been crazy not to want to enter, right? But most of the Israelites saw impossible obstacles blocking the way. They preferred circling in the desert - or even worse - heading back to slavery in Egypt! They viewed their move into the Promised Land through the eyes of man, rather than God.

Promised Land Living is all about moving out of our own desert into the spacious, fruitful land of blessing that God has prepared for us before the foundation of the world! We can be victors, overcomers and conquerors in this fallen world.

Desert living is full of fear, frustration and failure. Satan, the father of lies, uses lies in attempt to steal our joy, destroy our hope. Lies have been whispered to us all our lives, often without our knowing it. They likely started small, over time gaining mass and volume to the point they start to appear as insurmountable walls. We bump into these walls of lies at every turn and they block the way to our Promised Land rest. If you want to know more about the rest given to us through Christ - please read Hebrews chapter 4, marking every place you read Sabbath or rest - eye opening, isn't it? Lies seem powerful until they are put into the context of God's power. The same power that raised Jesus Christ resides in all believers. Do you understand? Do you believe? Then you can be more than a conqueror!

So - Are you ready to unpack a lie in your life? In Module 3 of Promised Land Living, we learned a specific tool to help you do that - The Seven Step Shift - and in Module 4, we discussed replacing lies with truth. Let's begin! 

Step 1:  Note the symptoms (Irritability? People-pleasing? Specific fears? Control freak? Lack of peace?)           

Step 2: Identify the lie (as opposed to God's truth about the matter)

Step 3: Ask, "Will I tolerate the lie?" (do I want to break through that insurmountable wall?)     

Step 4: If not, then confess that you have believed a lie and ask God, "What truth WILL replace the lie?" (gleaned from God's word)                 

Step 5: Recite the truth (memorize & recite whenever that symptom arises)

Step 6: Ask God to show you one small step towards Truth (this involves active surrender)

Step 7: Take the step (take your thoughts captive)

The longer we live with lies, the more "comfortable" we become with them and the harder they are to let go. We've spent a lot of time pleasing that person, avoiding that fear, controlling that situation - you fill in the blank. This Shift Process is not a one-time event and then we're done. It's a continual process of taking these lies captive and renewing our minds with God's truth. Set your mind to practicing this shift and let those walls of obstruction come tumbling down!

Ask yourself: What do I think will happen as a result of shifting?

Scriptures for meditation:

1Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.  2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.  3For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. Romans 12:1-3

3For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,  4for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.  5We 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, 2 Corinthians  10:3-5

8Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.  9The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8-9

Do you remember the first time you cooked a meal without your mom's help? You know, that first "real" meal, complete with side dishes and dessert. Perhaps a meal meant to impress another. Do you remember how difficult it was getting the timing just right so everything was ready at once? Becky recalls many "How do I...?" calls back home and a stained, dog-eared copy of "Joy of Cooking" to get her through those frightful times. I remember a recipe calling for half of a bouillon cube. I tried to cut it with a dull steak knife (of course the only knives I had when first married). Three hours and seven stitches in my middle finger later, Tom and I were sitting down to dinner. I realized I had a lot to learn!

Depending on the age of your child, their future meal preparation may seem far off, but showing them baby steps now will give them more confidence in the future. Before you know it, teddy bears, baby dolls and skate boards will be cast aside for business clothes, laptops and big dreams. Amidst all the flurry of packing, be sure to pack in a "Joy of Cooking" recipe book!

Cooking 101 - Check list of some basics

• Boiling water without boiling over

• Draining & rinsing pasta to keep from sticking (also oil in water while cooking)

• Browning meat & properly disposing of the grease in an old jar

• Heating spaghetti sauce without making a mess of the stove

• Reading a recipe all the way through before starting to ensure you have all the ingredients on hand

• Systematically putting away ingredients as added to recipe, to prevent duplication in the event of a distraction. Also makes clean up easier.

• Planning a meal for balance (protein, carb, veggie)

• Adjusting cooking for high altitudes and convection ovens.

• When to use glass or metal pans

• Measuring and equivalents

For more information on basic cooking, here are some helpful sites:

http://www.bhg.com/recipes/how-to/cooking-basics/

http://busycooks.about.com/library/howtos/bllessonseries.htm

http://www.fcs.uga.edu/pubs/PDF/FDNS-NE-104.pdf

Shifting to Truth

Martha Hedge

When we are confronted with truth, we have a choice to believe it or reject it. Perhaps the most amazing rejection was by the guards at the tomb of Jesus.

The chief priests and Pharisees demanded that Pilate set a guard of soldiers at the tomb to prevent the disciples from stealing His body. A guard meant maybe 16 soldiers with at least four on duty all the time. Near dawn there was "a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord ... rolled the boulder back and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning....  And those keeping guard were so frightened at sight of him that they ... became like dead men." (Matt 28:2-4 AMP) They were there at the resurrection of Jesus!

Some of the guards reported to the chief priests everything that happened. (v11) And they not only rejected Truth Himself, they accepted a bribe to spread the lie that the disciples had stolen his body, a lie that is still circulated today. Amazing!

Have you ever wondered why Jesus stayed around for 40 days after His resurrection? (Acts 1:3)  He validated His resurrection and firmly established truth in His followers. Talk about a strong follow-up program! After the great sorrow of His death, the power of His resurrection was demonstrated personally to many people.

Two of those people were men on the road to Emmaus. (Luke 24 AMP) They were walking home, heartbroken. Jesus joined them and talked with them in a natural way. "When their eyes were opened and they clearly recognized Him...He vanished." They were so excited they hurried back to Jerusalem in the dark. They shifted to a personal realization of truth.

When they got to Jerusalem and were telling the disciples, Jesus suddenly appeared and terrified them all. (v37) But here's the key even for us today, "He (thoroughly) opened up their minds to understand the Scriptures...." (v45)

And how does that apply to us? Jesus will do for us just what He did for them. He took the Word (logos) that they had heard and opened their understanding so that it became living Word (rhema). For example, if we struggle with rejection, the (logos) Word says Jesus will never leave or forsake us. When the Spirit whispers into our understanding "I'll never leave you," (rhema) Word becomes living truth and displaces rejection.