Change your thoughts and change your results! By James Lantz
Thoughts come to all of us, both good thoughts and bad thoughts. Websters 1828 dictionary refers to thoughts as an idea or conception. This thought of conception reminds me of the power in a seed. Thoughts left unspoken or unacted upon will die unborn. Words are carriers of thoughts which could be referred to as thought capsules. Thoughts can also be received by revelation. Simon Peter was commended for getting revelation from The Father when he declared, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. A few verses later Jesus sharply rebuked Peter for choosing thoughts inspired by the enemy rather than thoughts from The Father. Mt. 16:23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. We must learn from this rebuke of Peter that the word of God is to take precedent over every other voice or thought!
The very first commandment tells us to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. As we obey this first commandment we will be attentive to the words of the Master, who said, if you love Me you will obey Me. Wicked people do not have their thoughts on God nor the things that He says. Before the great flood, God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Spirit of God says through the prophet Isaiah, seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near, let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the LORD. God will have
Let The Wicked Forsake His Way And The Unrighteous Man His Thoughts!
mercy on those who return to Him and He will abundantly pardon! All of us can look around at God’s great creation and know there is a God. Romans 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Jesus said that whoever believes on Him shall not perish but have everlasting life but those who believe not are condemned already. John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Jesus came preaching that men must repent and believe the gospel! This word repent includes the meaning of to think differently. In order to enter God’s kingdom we must humble ourselves to the fact that it is His kingdom and that things are done His way. Isaiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. None of us have maximized tapping into the infinite wisdom of God nor matured in all His ways, but the context here is that the wicked mans thoughts and ways are so evil.
One of God’s ways is righteousness! Our God is holy and righteous and He has never committed any unrighteousness and He never will. Ps. 92:15 To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. No sin can enter into God’s holy presence but only that which is right and pure. God is not only a God of justice but He is also a God of mercy! Our merciful God has made redemption available to fallen man through the gift of righteousness. Rom. 5:17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. God’s thought to offer righteousness to man as a gift was beyond what satan could comprehend. There was no way humanly possible for man to be resurrected from this spiritual death that came on him in his rebellion but God had a way. God in His great love, sent His Son Jesus to pay for our sins with His own blood and to rise from the dead to give us life. 2 Cor. 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. The moment we receive this gift of righteousness by faith we are ushered into the kingdom with access to the Father. Rom. 5:1 GNT Now that we have been put right with God through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. There are spiritual laws governing how the kingdom of God works such as the law of faith. We receive God’s righteousness through faith and faith only works when coupled with the royal law of love. Absolutely nothing happens in the kingdom of God without love and it is through righteousness that we reign with Christ. Hebrews 1:8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Answered prayer is contingent upon righteousness and faith which works by love as well as other spiritual principles such as humility and truth. The Spirit of God reveals a number of spiritual laws or principles required to access God’s mercy to heal our land. 2 Chron. 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall
God’s Thought For The Healing Of Our Land!
humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. The first principle is that we, the people of God, must ask Him to heal our land. The second principle mentioned is humility because proud people generally don’t even pray let alone acknowledge their sin. Perhaps you heard that wicked song which says, I did it my way. God is saying, do it My way and I will answer your prayer. The third principle is to seek God’s face which includes drawing near to Him with a willing and obedient heart and beginning to do what He says. The fourth principle is turning from your wicked ways. A form of wickedness that has been overlooked by many is the sin of refusing to develop and use your talent to advance the kingdom of God. Every member in the body of Christ has been commissioned to take the glorious gospel of Christ into the world and make disciples. Jesus taught that those who refuse to bring increase into the kingdom of God are wicked and will have no part with Him. Matthew 25:30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The good news is that God desires to answer the prayers of His people and He will heal our land as we come to Him in righteousness!
We are a privileged and blessed people to have God’s thoughts revealed to us through His word! God said we are to attend to His words because they are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh. We are a spirit being like our God is a Spirit and we can take His thoughts by receiving His word. John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. Our society puts precedence on the physical body and our soul, which includes our mind, will, and emotions, and all but ignores the spirit with which we contact God. There is a close connection between the spirit and the soul. We are commanded to set our minds on things above and when it comes to believing what God said we are not to consider anything contrary. Romans 4:19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: God wants us to take up His thoughts, speak them from our mouth, meditate on them day and night so that we will remember to do them, and get the victory that He provides! Thoughts from the enemy are now easily recognized and we just reject them and cast them down. We will avoid being conformed to thinking like the world thinks and we will be transformed into one who follows God’s plan for our life! Think on God’s words which are true, honest, right, pure, lovely, kind, worthwhile, and praiseworthy, and know His thoughts!
Phil. 4:8 ASV Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Faith Gets Ready!
God is a planner! God had planned for the redemption of His man before He even created him and at least four thousand years before Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus has been and continues to diligently prepare mansions for His bride, to come and live with Him for about two thousand years. Eph. 5:32 ESV This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
We have the assignment to be diligent about His business as He prepares a place for us! Mark 13:34 For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Jesus said He gave every man his work. We are to watch and pray and do our work! Early in the year is a good time to seek the Lord for direction and vision for the new year. Without a vision we perish or you could say with a vision we flourish! Write down the vision that the Lord has given you and ask Him to bring it to pass and to strengthen you as you pursue your part. We are to be like our Father and make plans!
God wants to increase His people! Psalms 115:14 The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children. The work that Jesus has assigned to us is building His kingdom! Psalms 112:1-3 Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever. God delights in His obedient people having more and more things because that means that He has more things available to build His kingdom with. God does not want us to just hole up in a mountain cabin somewhere just letting the world go to hell and hoping for the rapture to come quickly.
God was gracious to Israel when they were captive in Babylon, giving them direction through the prophet Jeremiah, saying, this captivity will be long so build houses to dwell in and plant gardens to eat fruit from. Jer. 29:6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. Jer. 29:7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. Notice that God instructed His people seek the peace of the city in which they lived because they would be the beneficiaries of the peace of their city. So it is with us in the United States that we are the beneficiaries of every good thing that God does for our nation.
Remember the words of our Lord to watch and pray, and occupy until I come!
