John 15 is a beautiful picture of the Husbandman’s nurturing and pruning of us as living branches. “Every branch (or, believer) in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” A branch that is not bearing fruit will be cut off by the Husbandman. Another branch, on the same vine, may be bearing fruit but needs purging. The purging is only for the purpose of enabling the Vine to produce more fruit through that branch. Verse six continues: “If a man abides not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” A man seeking to live independent of the Vine is just like the barren twigs of a branch. Both are unhealthy detractions to the fruit-bearing branches.

It is crucial to note that denying self is not self-denial.  Self-denial is to deny one’s self things as a form of obedience in order to project an image of a person who is bearing fruit. But on the inside, everything remains all about you.  If this sounds like you, you may look alive externally, but you are not abiding internally in the Vine.  You look alive on the outside with your sacrifices painting a well kept facade, but you are dead on the inside.

Self-denial is what we choose when we obey rules for the purpose of outward conformity to a set of standards as proof of our righteousness to people.  That is symbolism.  Paul warned us of these type of Judiazers when he said beware of dogs, evil workers and those of the concision (Phil 3:2).  These people groups stressed faith through outward conformity alone.  Outward conformity should not be onlystressed, but rather should be expressed.  Conformity is an outward expression of your inward Possession – Christ.  Outward conformity should originate from what the Word would suggest; our minds are able to ingest so our hearts can digest.  Then our spirit will impress and the soul, at rest, will beautifully express.  Conformity should be an expression.  Not simply dogmatically stressed by leaders.   When it is only externally stressed, it creates a mess in which your followers regress and eventually digress.  Standards are important (self-denial of your preferences to adhere to particular biblical, spiritual, or professional standards.) Self-denial is admirable and profitable.   But still, outward conformity to the God’s law is not denying self.  It’s only selfish denials.

Self is defined best as “one’s own fondness for their private interests whereby they obtain a sense of personal identity.” It is who you think you can be if you could only be what you wished you could be.  Denymeans “to contradict.” To deny self is simply contradicting that person within us that seeks our own private interests over the interests of the Christ living within us.

We find a perfect picture of One denying self in a garden, on a dark and sobering night. One Man found weeping. His agony is so intense that He is literally sweating drops of blood. His crying words must have shaken the courts of heaven, as His Heavenly Father listened to the weeping cry of His only Son—“Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42) He knew the agony of having his own private interests, yet being willing to contradict His flesh and yield to the interests of His Heavenly Father.  There is no better example of One dying to self.

Foreknowing His cross to bear, the Lord Jesus cried out to His inquisitive followers: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up my cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) Denying self demands a death. It is a death to the portion of our branch that doesn’t need the Vine—the self life. It bears no fruit. And if it gains control of our being, our entire branch will be full of its death.  But the branch that will remain connected will not be rejected; its life will not be neglected.  Denying self does not look for deliverance of the impending death of self.  But denial of the self life realizes it is the only way to the Life found after the cross. Denying self recognizes it is for the sake of others who may never appreciate it or utilize the benefit of it. Denying self begins with awareness to the emptiness of self and is fanned by a passion to yield to the greater Life living within.

Any spiritual fire that is struggling for oxygenation is being suffocated by the presence of one element—the presence of self. A suffering spiritual flame is in some form or fashion holding on to a private interest whereby one obtains his sense of personal identity. Whatever it is for you, my suffering friend, it is slowly snuffing out your spiritual blaze. You may know in your head that you need to let go. You know the words to say, “I just trust the Lord.”  But in your prayer garden, your words to your Heavenly Father are questions, wondering why He would allow such a threat to your private interests. Sure, they may even look spiritual. But nonetheless, they are yours. And you won’t let go of whatever it is. Friend, it is such a person who has mastered self-denial, but has no clue in denying self.

This principal of denying self lays the foundation to the Crucified Christian Life. When one has discovered it, he too can proclaim as the Apostle Paul, I die daily! Denying self will keep the embers burning of a consistent flame. Denying self will revive a dying flame. And denying self will keep the barrenness removed from our branches.

Have you ever notices Philippians 4:13 DOES NOT say “I can do all things through Christ WHO strengtheneth me”?  It uses the preposition “which” to claim our access to His ability (doing all things) and His subsequent strength.

Think for a moment exactly what this means.  He is not teaching us we receive strength to do everything.  It is telling us we can do anything through Christ and this FACT is “that which” strengthens us.

We ought to find “solace for strength” in this fact:  we can do anything through Christ!  Do we believe that is true?  Do we believe we can accomplish the impossible?  NO!  We cannot get ‘er done, but He can!  He can accomplish whatever He chooses to do and He will accomplish that through us. . . if we will let Him!  How does that make you feel?

It should bring each of us a great measure of strength.  But often the faith of Christ (the seventh of nine fruits living within us) is rejected for self righteous doubt.  We believe we can do a lot of things for God!  We even can do some things for ourselves (or our families, friends or preachers) but how much does He do through you?  If it is not EVERYTHING He wishes then it is our “bouts with doubts” that is hindering His ability.

As long as things are going well, I have found that I truly believe that Christ is all I need to complete my life’s tasks properly.  But when things start getting rough, my doubts attempt to overwhelm me and cause me to get rough when things get tough.  It is at times like this I tend to get creative, for I have rejected the truth “Christ is enough”.

In my self effort to creatively do for Him what He has designed Himself to do for me, I fail and become frustrated.  My interpersonal skills go down and I reject His promptings of joy for frustration.  I become harsh rather than gentle.  Instead of longsuffering, I am a bit quick tempered.  What has happened to me?  Why am I responding so rough toward the things I find to be tough?  It’s cause for me, at that particular time “Christ is NOT enough”.  I sometimes unfortunately conclude “I need more of me.  I must try harder or even work longer.  If I buckle down and iimplement more self imposed rules then decide to read more and pray more. I will become a better Steve!

Christ does not want a better Steve.  He wants a deader Steve!  Unless I die to my own self efforts when things get tough, He will not step in and change my outlook.  He promises in Proverbs that if I will “Commit [my]works to the Lord, thy thoughts shall be established”.

If I would give the tough stuff over to the Lord he will establish my thoughts and His established thoughts will not respond rough over that which is, to me, tough!  Established thoughts will rest in the beauty of God’s presence and power and be assured that He will be enough.

Are you like me?  Do you need to be reminded that Christ is enough?  Then you are no different than many Christians.  Paul indicated he knew how to have all his needs met and he know how to go without any needs being met.  However, through it all he was content because he had LEARNED contentment does not come through resentment.  It comes through being willing to give things over to Jesus and be content with our role of proper thinking and His role of productive doing.

When things get tough, I want to avoid being rough, by recognizing “He is enough”!  With that realization as my meditation it should be something “which strengtheneth me”.

On this Independence weekend, we have so enjoyed our freedom in America and our freedom found only IN Christ.  Both freedoms are a gift from God.  We are truly fortunate people indeed.  If we did not behave that way this weekend, shame on us.  But fortunate we are, whether we meditate and appreciate it or not!

Why are we so fortunate?  It is because we have been delivered!  In America, we have been delivered from the tyranny of a former ruler.  The very words of our original thirteen colonies declared in our “Declaration of Independence” from Britain these words declaring our absolute delivery from tyranny!

Though the pain of these earliest of Americans citizens is surely lost on most all of our countryman, it doesn’t change the fact that our good fortunes are so valuable that no one in the whole wide world, save another fellow American, is as fortunate as we!

We ought also to be thankful for our freedom in Christ.  For in that freedom we have been saved from the tyranny of the devil.  Where would your life be without America and its freedom?  What would your life be like without Christ and His freedom?

Life is good.  But still, though our life has been delivered, it has not been so delivered that we should honor our delivery.  But rather it is our DELIVERER that should be honored and He should be honored for His delivery!

“For me to live IS Christ.”  If you are alive and free today, IS Christ?  Or does He lie dormant in your spirit bound by your unwillingness to give Him access to the life He bled and died for?

Independence from my former dependence is not for me to live it up.  It’s for Him to live it out!

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!
Steven Curington

Good morning! If you happened to have missed my last posting, allow me to fill you in.  We are in the process of studying a portion of Scripture that has helped my staff and me to realize a previously undiscovered avenue to true Christian freedom!  That’s right, I believe Romans 14:1-5 contains the truths necessary to strengthen and protect your Spirit-filled life and reach a new personal pinnacle with your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Romans 14:1 we saw that there are two basic ways to govern our lives: Liberty and Rigidity.  Liberty is found by adhering to the leading of the Holy Spirit; while rigidity is the rules or boundaries that we or others place over us.  We discussed the role and importance of these two forms of governance as they relate to each other and also established what, exactly, is the source of each.  Furthermore, we learned that it is the responsibility of those of us who strive to live the liberated Christian life to demonstrate, and even teach, the Spirit-filled life found through Christian liberality to our weaker brethren who are dominated, and thus “held back” by rigidity.

That being said, let us now take our study a step further.  In Romans Chapter 14:2, the Apostle Paul tells us, For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. Hmm. . . what in the world is he talking about here?  Well, friend, Paul is giving us a metaphor that demonstrates the fact that being governed by a Spirit-filled liberated life is indeed demonstrative of a stronger faith IN Christ and thus renders a greater measure of freedom from the power of sin!

You see, the “one” who BELIEVES that he may eat all things does so because he BELIEVES that he can-He has FAITH! And not just any faith, but a strong faith that is found only by adhering to the Spirit of God and embracing the liberty that God has set before us!  Conversely, we see “another” who limits himself to only herbs.  Why does he do this, you ask?  Because he believes that he is only permitted to do so-he is the one whom God indicates here has a faith that is WEAK!  This individual has limited his freedom IN Christ by subjecting himself to rules and boundaries that are not consistent with the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Paul clearly shows us the danger of being a rigidity focused Christian.  Friend, the Lord has a wonderful and perfect life custom-designed just for you. . . all you have to do to enjoy it is to be consistently led of the Holy Spirit.   It is my opinion that the purpose of Romans 14:2 is to make us aware of the trap that results from being dominated by rigidity.  By falling into this “trap” we will certainly stymie our ability to experience the freedom that is found through the Spirit-filled life!  Do not allow yourself to become rigid when the Spirit of God is leading you contrary-allow yourself to enjoy the liberality of the Holy Spirit.

Once again, I want to reiterate that the presence of boundaries and rules is indeed imperative in the life of a Christian.  When our faith falters, as occurs to all of us on occasion, it is our character-imposed boundaries that will keep us upright until communication with the Lord is restored.

Keeping that truth in mind, allow me to conclude with this:  The Bible clearly says in Romans 14:2 that the “one” who is focused on rigidity is weak, and the “one” focused on liberty is strong. . . Why?  Because he BELIEVES!

If we will simply BELIEVE the Spirit-filled life, my friend, our lives will change forever!

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord,
Steven Curington

Good Morning!  If there is anything we need a basic understanding of in scripture, it is the laws of power.  You see, man has no power.  We gave it away in the garden and will never have it again.

As a matter of fact, the Bible tells us that power was given to us over all of creation.  It was the old English word dominion.  But we gave that power to Satan when we sinned in the garden.  From that point forward, he dominated man.  Sin was his tool of domination and our only hope was a Savior.

That Savior was Jesus.  When he was tempted by the Devil, He was offered the power of the whole world, if He would but worship Satan.  Jesus, however, knew His role was not to obtain power from Satan for Himself, but to return the power Satan had over man back to God.  He could have had it all to himself, granted by the principality of this world, the prince over the power over the air (waves).  But He chose to suffer to set man free from this satanic tyranny.

Thus, this power was recovered from the enemy when at the cross Grace gave us our freedom. For in Romans we learn that “sin shall not have dominion (power) over you for ye are not under the law (where man does the work) but under Grace (where God does the work).  Satan’s power was seized as sin was relegated from a domination over the soul to a presence within the members of our body.  As a presence, it may influence through outside pressure (oppression), but it no longer has domineering power in the life of a believer.

So what did God do with that power that was taken back from Satan through the sacrifice of God’s son?  He granted it to the Son as a reward for His diligent service.  We read in Matthew 28:18 where Jesus said “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”

God gave the power His Son had secured from Satan back to the Savior himself; that He may use it to redeem mankind not only from the penalty of that sin, but also from the power of sin.

So how did Jesus determine to do that?  Did he choose to give us the power?  No way!  We blew that assignment in the garden.  This time the Force be us, it would be WITH US!  In the book of Acts 1:8 we read that “ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you . . .”

So we see it clearly now, that our power is not granted from above for us to wield.  But rather it comes to us from above as we yield.  We are not the power source, we are the power cord.

Anyone with a basic understanding of power realizes that a light switch has no power of itself.  It flows from a source that provides power.  When we need light, we “hit the switch”. But the switch engages the circuit and it is the circuit which contains the power necessary to bring us light.

It is the same with you and me.  We need light in the darkness of life.  That Light comes from a Power Source.  That Light shines through us when our switch engages.  The switch “on” is our submission to the Surge within us.  Strong Current equals strong relationship.  Weak Surge equal weakness in our relationship.

When we are closed to the Surge we do not allow our connection to the power to benefit us in dark times.  Or, when we try to do more than the Circuit directs, we may find the Power is not available, we trip a breaker, so to speak and find ourselves stuck in darkness, devoid of power . . . Limitations of energy are the natural result.  This ought not to be.

God’s power was granted to man.  We gave it away and lived a life dominated by the devil.  But Christ returned that power to the Creator; who then gave it to His Son, our Savior.  That Savior, in his love and mercy sends it ahead to us, during times of urgent need through the indwelling Holy Spirit who empowers us to do the difficult.

This Power is found in the supernatural internal persuasion that comes to us from the communication link between God and man: the man Christ Jesus.

If we would only realize how He has” diggedy dogged the devil” we would recognize the absolute Power that we still don’t possess can now be accessed over darkness.  All we have to do is decide to plug it in, plug it in!

“Good morning, Father.  I love you today and want you to forgive me for the compromises I made yesterday.  I know that my days are often marred with disappointments.  But yet you love me anyway.  Today I am determined to limit those disappointments through submission to the daily direction found within my inner man.  Help me to see Your leading in my every decision.  Lead me to pause and pray as I seek your face. Give me discernment and Spiritual intuition that will lead me to the paths of righteousness.  I pray that today you will grant me to be empowered with your Spirit of Wisdom.  I pray these things in the blood stained name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen!”

“Are you waiting for the consequences of something you did wrong to fall on you?  No fun, is it?!?”
Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!
Steven Curington

Whaddya want? Everybody wants something…or do they?  A want is something for which we are desirous but do not possess.  A want can also be termed a “lust” if it is a want something headed out of control.  James tells us in James 1:14, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust (desires), and enticed (instigated to evil—eros: affection that seeks to control).”  

From this verse, we discover that Satan’s standard operational procedure for initiating temptation into our lives is to, first, deceptively draw us away from the Spirit-filled, abundant Christian life. How does he do this? He uses our own lusts, or desires. What else would be so effective other than our own deep-rooted desires that we ourselves have molded into our personal weaknesses over the course of our lives—our very own designer desires?  

Nothing! And, unfortunately, the enemy knows this! Satan then uses intuitively placed stimuli, or outside influences, to entice our desires. To entice means to instigate to evil. Evil is the Bible word for an eros behavior. Eros is a form of false love that seeks to acquire, possess, or control the person to whom it is showered.  So what is this saying, then? Well, the enemy has studied each of us to know what our weak links are, and then places us into circumstances that will make those weaknesses manifest themselves in the hope of spoiling our testimonies through personal gain or otherwise furthering his wicked agenda.  

But, glory to God, the devastation of temptation can be avoided, my friend. Looking back at the verse above from James, we see that up to this point we have only been enticed, or “instigated to evil.” At this juncture, sin has not yet occurred. This all-important pivotal moment is what I call the “meditation of temptation.” But, allow us to look into His Revelation to learn how we can endure the temptation in our meditation and avoid the instigation.

James 1:2-4 says, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.   But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” 

The word count here means to consider. Consider it all joy when you fall into divers–– the same meaning as Peter’s word manifold––or various temptations.  It doesn’t matter how many or how often, we are tempted, we are to consider it a joy.   

Now what exactly is a temptation?  Is it something sinful that you want? Nope. A temptation is a desire to have or do something that you seek to consume upon your lusts.  God doesn’t give you things for that reason, only the enemy does, these imperfect gifts do not come from above nor are encouraged by the Dove!  Peter also taught, as James says, that if you would just count it joy to resist that temptation, you will receive patience.  And that patience will have its perfect work, and you will be made entire or whole.  Don’t try to get it, try to forget it!

When we are able to face temptation with an attitude of joy, we will have the main ingredient to remain obedient.  It is a “perfect” or a spiritually mature person who can endure a temptation.  This person does not “want” for anything, for they realize that Christ is sufficient, and His will is perfect.  Are you pining and whining or resigning and refining?

Do not allow yourself to pine over a deficiency, but rather refine proficiency by considering His Divine sufficiency.  You can then yield to dependency and resign that tasteless tendency!

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!
Steven Curington

   

“I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me.” Song of Solomon 7:10

Good Morning! God world remained undone until man was created. God was discontent with man in an unregenerate state. God is not willing that one perishes.

God thinks of us all the day. The prophet Zachariah says we touch the apple of His eye and the Psalmist said we ARE the apple of His eye. He loves us so much it cannot be defined in human terms.

He has sent a Son to die for us and a Spirit to work for us. Both the Son and the Spirit were from Him, of Him, by Him and for Him. He does not let us die for our sins and He will not let us work for our salvation.

Paul reminded us that we are His workmanship. Not His workers. The word workmanship means “manufactured product”. We are His product that He is manufacturing. He uses many tools to “form us as He conforms us” into His image. We are His and His goal is for us to look just like His Son.

When we awake, we are on His mind. When we sleep He watches over us. When we run, He catches up. When we walk, He wants to be one step ahead, that we may not be weary. When we stand fast His work abounds for we are unmovable.

He is preparing His work within us. He prepares His work without us. He is preparing a place for us. He has prepared a table before us in the presence of our enemies and He is preparing THE table for us to join a great cloud of witnesses for a wonderful supper of Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. HE bids us all to come and dine. In other words, His preparation to receive us unto Himself has been going on for a long, long time, my friend. Yes, indeed, He is getting prepared for us to join Him-it may be today. RU Ready?

He is wondering what were thinking, so he ponders our heart. He is wondering our motives, so He tries our reigns (controls). He is wondering who weare following so He weighs our spirit.

He doesn’t look on our countenance. He doesn’t focus on our stature. He doesn’t consider our comeliness. He doesn’t look on the outward appearance. Thus, give yourself a much needed break and change your focus to inner beauty, perfected by that which is Perfect within you.

Once we have accepted His Son, He looks past our past, past our problems, past our personality, past our procrastination, past our perceptions because we are a part of His people.

He doesn’t care about our possessions, for we ARE His possession. He is our Shepherd and we are the sheep of His pasture. He feeds us, He guides us, He protects us, He leads us, He nurses us and cares for us. That’s not so BAAAAAAd, now is it?

He is everything to anybody who wants to be somebody to “a nobody” that they too may become Somebody’s. And He will do this for EVERBODY. If we will remember just one thing: “your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost . . . and ye are not your own?”

We are not somebody who is “nobody special”. We are Somebody’s special nobody.

“To live for Christ…” What exactly does this phrase mean?  To live for Christ means to continue to have life; remain alive; to last for Christ.  The moment we allow ourselves to have a problem or a worry in life, we have granted outselves the right to live our own life, apart from the life of Christ.  The longevity of our Christian service for the Lord depends on our willingness to live as Christ for Christ, for me to live IS Christ!  However, there is a Bible principle that reveals to us we cannot live the Christ life except we be willing to die.  This is shown to us in John 12:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” If that corn of wheat dies and then brings forth fruit, there can be no other option but to conclude that something must die before it can live.

God has a specific purpose for us to die before we can then live.  This purpose is at the root of God’s eternal plan.  It is a matter of death before life that we might bring Him glory above all else.  We see in 2 Corinthians 5:15 it says, “And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.” Christ died for Christ, for His own ultimate glory!  He died that we might live for Him.

I must learn that the purpose of my life belongs to God, not me.  God is using me from His great personal perspective, and all He asks of me is that I trust Him.  I should never say, “Lord, this causes me such heartache.”  To talk that way makes me a stumbling block.  When I stop telling God what I want, He can freely work His will in me without any hindrance.  He can crush me, exalt me, or do anything else He chooses.  He simply asks me to have absolute faith in Him and His goodness.  Self-pity is of the devil, and if I wallow in it, I cannot be used by God for His purpose in the world. Doing this creates for me my own cozy “world within the world,” and God will not be allowed to move me from it because of my fear of being “frost-bitten.”

–Oswald Chambers

So, what does it mean to “die for Christ”?   To die is to become dead to any cause and any circumstances, or to relinquish the soul life of self.  If I chose death, I chose to disallow any circumstance God places in my path to affect me with a negative perspective in my reflective!  My friend, this even includes accepting the action or reactions of “the self-righteous works of the flesh” that brethren in duress may express:  Self-love, Frustration, Worry, Quick-tempered, Harshness, Meanness, Doubt, Discord, or Selfish Control

It does not matter what you do to a physically dead man, it has absolutely no affect on him.  Christ is drawing the same analogy for our spiritual life.  It should not matter what men do to us spiritually, it should have absolutely no affect on us if we have truly died for Christ. Hebrews 13:6 tells us, “So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”

The second part of dying for Christ is to relinquish life.  This deals not with our relationship with others, but in our ability to give up our rights (the only rights we have are those He gives us to give back to Him anyway) allowing Christ complete control, direction, and ownership of our lives.

My life, Lord, is yours to control,

I give you my heart and my soul.

I’ll seek Your will, never mine,

Rich treasure to find.

Give wisdom two choices I make,

Along every path that I take.

So, when I complete life’s race,

“Well done” You will say.

I know this does not look appealing to the natural man nor does it make sense to those who are carnally minded; but to those who want, wish or have the mind of Christ, nothing could be sweeter to the reader.  How important it is for us today to relinquish our rights, diminish our desires, replenish our lives and finish our course with force as His white horse!  Prepare for the battle that IS the Lords.
Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!
Steven Curington

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Does your current circumstance in life seem utterly unfair?  My friend, don’t despair, rather beware lest ye think it unfair as you start to compare! Comparisons can be not only unwise, but downright dangerous!  I have found the best comparisons are those God has given to us in His Word.  These are those comparisons of persons who have been tested and proved aptitude with a heart of gratitude.  When I think of biblical examples of those who overcame adverse trials to compare as models, some of my favorites include Joseph, Job, and Daniel.   All were excellent men of Christian character who endured attacks, troubles, disappointments, and persecutions.  Yet, in the face of adversity, in the most adverse of circumstances, these men yielded to His unending longsuffering and produced an auspicious witness to the lost around them as a result.

Let’s take a brief look into the lives of these three men.  First of all, Joseph, a man sold by his own brothers into slavery and, while in slavery, being accused of misconduct and thrown into prison.  This is pretty much the lowest of the low – a slave and in prison.  Yet, Joseph did not find his circumstance to be anything but God-ordained.

Genesis 39:21-22 reveals, “But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.” I do not believe that Joseph was given this role and authority because he criticized his leadership or complained about his unfortunate accusation landing him in his current situation.  Are you aware that God can uplift you even in a seemingly unimportant role?  I cannot help but think that many of those in prison under his leadership witnessed the true and living God.

As well, Joseph’s forgiveness, when most would struggle with bitterness, is an amazing witness to his brothers.  Joseph stated in Genesis 50:20, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” He recognized God’s hand in the midst.  How are you faring with unmerited accusations you are facing?

Next, I would like to bring your attention to Job.  After Job had lost animals, servants, and children, the following words were penned:  “Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.  In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” (Job 1:20-22)

Wow!  I need an attitude such as Job that everything I have I realize is God’s.  He chooses to give, and He chooses to take away.  Even after this, Job suffered ridicule of his friends and physical sickness in his body.  Job was not perfect in the sense that he never sinned, but he was perfect in the sense that he had spiritual maturity to recognize God’s hand in the midst and accepted his suffering as a witness and testimony for many others after him.

Finally, Daniel, what a man of God!  He was a man of prayer.  He was a man who knew the importance of submission to those in authority over him.  However, he was also a man who would not violate God’s commands no matter the trial or the suffering.  When a decree was given that no man should ask a petition of any one save the king for thirty days, Daniel did not stop praying to God.  He even showed his faithfulness to the Lord openly by praying with his window open.

Daniel knew the cost that this witness for God would take.  For not following the king’s decree, he was cast into the den of lions.  God was glorified in Daniel’s suffering as He performed a miracle for him.  “Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.  And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?  Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.  My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.  Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.”

Is your suffering so great that you will not allow God to use it as a witness to bring others to Him?  My friend, you must suffer long if you endure a wrong, for God will use your song as you remain strong to show others they too can belong!

This morning’s quote was once attributed in a sermon I heard to Dr. Bob Jones, Sr.  May I ask you…how have you fared in your thinking this week?  There are two techniques that God uses to stimulate us to a personal examination in order that we may pull down our strongholds.  These techniques are revealed in His Word.

The first is found in II Corinthians 10:5.  It tells us we succeed in our need by, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”

We need not allow our thoughts to create the chaos in our minds.  These thoughts, when in abundance will automatically precipitate turmoil in our lives. We must only take time to discern whether or not the thoughts we are considering will ultimately harm our walk with God, and if they do, we must “rid the heads of them there meds!” Toss them as far as you can. In football vernacular, throw the bomb!

But casting out wrong thoughts is only half the battle and nearly impossible without implementing the second step found herein.  At Reformers Unanimous, we teach the doctrine of replacement.  It is not sufficient to simply rid yourself of evil and allow voids to exist therein.  Rather, we must FIRST replace the space in order to do an “about face”!  That’s right. We must captivate God-honoring thoughts to supplant the wrong thoughts we possess and usually prefer to ponder.

I have heard a lot of people say: “Garbage in, garbage out; garbage in, garbage out.”  My friends, this may work for computers but not for processing the worldly things that poison our minds.  The actual formula for this process is: Garbage IN, garbage ON, and garbage OUT!  That is to say garbage enters our minds via our personally stimulated or demonically instigated senses; it then gets framed (conceived) in our minds and passed down onto our heart’s meditations (James 1).  Finally, because our heart dump is overflowing with garbage, it spews over and out in the form of fleshly words or dirty deeds done dirt cheap (sorry, couldn’t help myself!).

So, again, trash comes into the mind.  It is willingly rested upon our hearts.  At that stage what is resting becomes arresting and it controls our tongue or actions as it flows from our mouths or bodies.  Remember the Bible tells us that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). Thus, we can conclude that when garbage begins to collect upon our hearts, it will eventually be manifested in an ugly display of flesh. We are giving place to the garbage man!

So we see, just as our telepathy trash is processed in this manner, so is that which is quality in its content. This is the second principle upon which we base a proper technique for pulling down strongholds. II Corinthians 10:5 continues, “and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” Herein is the scriptural basis for the doctrine of replacement.  The word captivity literally means the state of being a prisoner.

So, we see we are to cast down our bad thoughts by first taking into captivity His good thought – stimulations that arrive simultaneously “WITH the temptation” as our “our way of escape (I Cor. 10:13).  Simplified, it’s the replacement doctrine.  Casting down bad thoughts without replacing them by captivating good thoughts is like casting down a basketball.  It’s going to bounce right back.    That thought will control your heart again and captivate your emotions once more.  If we resist, it will persist!  Rather than resist, replace that thought!  The game changer is when we roll it away and pick up a different ball.  New Game, but this time, it’s with His ball!  The devil must depart and take his ball home with him!

Trust your heart?  No!  Not one part; lest Satan use a dart that makes our negative thinking start.  Rather, on “His chart” will our thinking start.  These kinds of smarts require ole’ Satan to depart.

RU applying yourself to God’s examinations, or RU repeatedly giving place to the devil?

My friends, let it not be a normality that you are found in regularity experiencing a tragedy through the imagery that you were led to see!

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!
Steven Curington