Shalom, welcome to June 13^th


><//>--------------------Thought for the Day

In Christ we are called to re-educate (renew) our minds. We must learn to think differently. We are called to take on the mind of Christ. We begin by taking a long view of sin and of living a carnally-minded life instead of the short view. We have to look beyond the false sense of independence to what lies beyond this attitude that is not found in Christ Jesus. We have to look through the moment of sin and a life governed by defiant independence to what comes afterward. No matter how good sin or defiant independence might look in the short view, in the long run it is poison compared to a life with our Jesus.

Have I looked through the deception of sin and defiant independence to the better life that lies ahead?


><//>--------------------Meditation for the Day

God-Inspired

You have entered now upon a mountain climb. Steep steps lead upward, but your power to help others will be truly marvelous.

   Not alone will you arise. All towards whom you now send loving, pitying thoughts will be helped upward by you.

   Looking to Me all your thoughts are God-Inspired. Act on them and you will be led on. They are not your own impulses but the movement of My Spirit and, obeyed, will bring the answer to your prayers.

   Love and Trust. Let no unkind thoughts at all dwell in your hearts, then I can act with all My Spirit–Power, with nothing to hinder.


><//>--------------------Prayer for the Day

Father, we pray that we may think Your thoughts after You, just as Jesus did. We pray that our thoughts may be guided by Your thoughts. Amen.


A Disciple’s Reflections: The Narrow Road

Beloved, the meditation above from the Lord shares why we need so diligently to watch over our thought-life.  Oh, precious one, if you have not read the meditation above and considered it yet then take a moment to do so and return here to continue once it is absorbed into the mind.

"I and My Father are one", said Jesus, and the same holds true for us as well.  Do you know that Jesus and we are one just at He and the Father are one?  Therefore, it is right to conclude that as the Lord walked in the Mind of God on earth as man; we should be walking in the Mind of Messiah Yeshua, Jesus, while we are on earth.  Oh that we could only get this truth seeded deep with our souls to our spirits.

Before we are found to boast that we walk in the Mind of Christ, we need remember that the Lord Jesus bore no resentments and lived without fear. He neither lived for Himself nor the things of this world. One more other important thing! His very thought life did not begin with Himself and end with Himself as ours is found to do.

His life began and ended by placing our Father at the center of His thought-life by seeking the Father's will alone with every breath He took. We are each actually in the process of achieving such a mindset.  This is the goal for my life and I am led to bring you the reader with me.  For us it is the process to continue daily to achieve what the Lord had already gained.  So, beloved, I do not boast, but rather share timidly.

Have you ever had an intimacy with someone that was so close you could know their thoughts? Eventually, you and they could finish each other’s sentences?  We all have at one time or another.

This is the way our intimacy with God is meant to be. We begin to think as He thinks, and can finish His sentences. This is the way of the disciple of Messiah. Is this not wonderful to know and behold?  This is the key that separates all other faiths in this world from the truth of Christ.

The true disciple doesn’t operate in his own mind, but uses his mind to gain the mind of Christ Jesus. That’s why the Lord said unto Saul of Tarsus, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

Those persecuted Christians were of one mind with Christ, or they never would have been persecuted like He was in the first place. The same holds true today – those who are of one mind with Christ will suffer much at the hands of those who remain in their own carnal mind, rather than spiritual mind.  This persecution could even come from believers who are of a carnal mind and display this lower mind-set in the form of anger, sectarianism, disunity, and even unkindness.

This may sound like gibberish, so please allow me to illiterate with my own personal experience in the Lord that all may be blessed. 

As we begin to mature, or perhaps I should say, if we begin to mature spiritually, and not just religiously; something wonderful and also very uncomfortable begins to happen. We begin to lose our minds. This is absolutely essential to spiritual growth if it is to be recognized as genuine. 

There have been times I believed myself to be going insane with mental and emotional anguish as my mind began to convert to the likeness of the mind of Christ. Most believers simply don’t believe this really happens and make excuses. This is the reason we have such a defeated church as we see today.  Many become afraid as they begin to lose control, and fear they are losing their minds.  This is the most active and successful area of the enemy's work in a believer's life.

This is also why we must live by faith, which precludes discontinuing the process fearing mental disorder.

This must not be confused with the typical mid-life crises of men and women of the world. This is the violent overthrow of the stronghold of Satan over our minds and turning that authority over to Christ through the Holy Spirit.

This is our responsibility, and we have an essential role to play in this mental and emotionally violent revolution. This is also one of the reasons, the Lord in His Wisdom. chose the way of discipleship in which to learn and grow. It is also why He said, “Unless you come unto Me as a little child…” because during this process we sometimes must be cared for, aided, and guided by a mentor – for we may have difficulty caring for ourselves, and suffer a spiritual short-sightedness as a child of the world often does.

During this period of new-life we simply fasten our safety belt through prayer and hang on taking it moment by moment. 

Few believers are even aware that this is to take place, and go on living in the old mind religiously with cosmetic language to conceal this reality. They marry as the world marries, live as the world lives, and serve the Lord as the world serves the Lord – selfishly and self-centeredly – aborting the change of mindset.

One brother, a well-known recording star, who had recordings dating back to the sixties came into my acquaintance in the rooms of Alcoholic Anonymous.  We were coming to Christ at about the same time and we naturally were drawn to each other as new-born believers.  A year or so on, I noticed he was in an emotional crises.  I recognized as he shared his feelings and experience with me that we were both having the same spiritual experience.  We both lost our equilibrium and didn't quite know what to do regarding our lives. 

Through prayer and meditation I understood what was happening to us and knew we should take it easy one day at a time and trust God with tomorrow.  He just couldn't.  Instead of waiting he went back to rock and roll.  This was not God's best for him, I am sure.

Apparently, lest we give ourselves over completely, this change in mindset to the mind of Christ is aborted, or at the very least delayed until the vow of undefiled commitment is paid in full.

Our old life (the old man) must taste the death of the cross. When we do wrong we must repent, confess openly, and make amends to those whom we have harmed (if any) whenever possible without harming them or others further.  This must not be a legalistic experience, but rather a matter of love.

Accepting God's word as true that we believers have ALREADY died with Messiah, the Christ, is a must for success in spiritual life with Him.

Believing that our old man has already been put to death with the Lord. and this alone, will enable the Spirit of God to counter the old life and give us the capacity to recognize the difference between spiritual right and wrong. The experience is a bit like being pregnant and giving birth, only we birth our new selves. It’s both horrible and wonderful all at the same time.

Let us be sure that we are not talking about Salvation that we receive by faith alone in the Son of God, but about maturing spiritually (abiding in Him) or inheriting the Kingdom about which the Messiah spoke.

Fear not, beloved. Though it is the Via Dolorosa (the Way of Pain) it is also the way to a type of Paradise. May we all choose to take the only road – the Narrow Road, the Via Dolorosa. Let the world know that we are one with our Messiah, children of God, not by our speech, but by the deeds that flow as a river from our renewed spirit, and how we respond to our wrongdoings and help others with theirs and truly love one another without limit as the Lord loves us without end. 

Our Prayer:  Father, let us all be united and rejoice at this amazing opportunity that You have given us for our worthless lives to become precious and eternal by being joined with Christ’s Life both by faith and in practice, of course, only by the grace of God. AMEN.


The Real Thing

If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 
– Romans 10:9

Billy Graham tells a story about a family from South Carolina who went to New York City for a vacation. They told all their friends they would attend the Broadway play, MY FAIR LADY. Unfortunately, the play was sold out and they couldn't obtain tickets. They were disappointed. They were also embarrassed to have to go back home and tell their friends they missed the highlight of their trip. So they decided to do the next best thing. They picked up discarded tickets, purchased a program, and bought the musical tapes. In their motel room they learned all the songs and reviewed the program. Back home they sang and whistled the tunes to all of MY FAIR LADY's hits hoping no one would suspect they never saw it. 

There are people who have never really had Christ make a difference in their lives. These folks are active in church. They support all the right causes. But they are whistling tunes that belie what is really missing in their hearts. They admire Christ, they identify with his teachings, but they cannot be said to love him. Don't let Jesus be a stranger in your heart. 

Our Prayer:  Dear God, fill us full of a great love of Jesus. Amen. 


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Please have a blessed day, be hopeful, be encouraged, and know you are not alone.

“God Calling” compiled by A. J. Russell.
“Twenty-Four Hours A Day" Hazelton – adapted.
Ron Newhouse writes The Real Thing
Barry Gray writes A Disciple’s Reflections.