LeFors Tribe

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Is your mind new? When someone is a born again Christian, converts their old life to God, and is baptized, his spiritual being is new. God has given him a new spiritual being.  The outer body is the same. He looks the same and nothing is different on the outside. This outer body can make us want to do something that we ought not to do. The outer body is also called “flesh” or “carnal”.  Now, for your mind, your thoughts, and your perspective on some things can either follow your new spiritual being or your flesh body.

I would like for us to look into what our job is when it comes to dealing with our mind.

The first point I would like to make: BEING SAVED (born again) DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN YOU HAVE THE RIGHT MINDSET.

Being saved does not mean that you automatically have the right thoughts, right mindset, and right perspective on things. We can see an example in Matthew chapter 16. It talks about Peter and his thought process. In this chapter, Jesus brought His disciples to Him and asked them, “Who do people say I am?” Some of the disciples responded saying, “Some say You are Elijah, some say You are John the Baptist, and so on.” But Peter responded to Jesus saying, “You are the Son of God, the Christ.” Jesus looked at Peter and said, “Yes, you are right.”

Peter’s response of who Jesus is was a revelation from God. It was not Peter’s own thought process. This was when Jesus told Peter that He would build His church on Peter, the rock.  This is a big honor. It is a very nice compliment Jesus made of Peter. Then shortly after that, Jesus began to explain to His disciples what will happen to Him in Jerusalem. Jesus explained that He would be beaten and crucified but in three days He would rise back to life.  Peter heard Jesus and didn’t like what he heard. Peter took Jesus aside and rebuked Him saying, “This will not happen. You will live!” Jesus did not respond to Peter by saying, “Aww…You care for me and want me to live…sweet.” No, not at all did Jesus respond like this. Instead, Jesus said to Peter very sternly, “This is the devil talking, get behind Me!” Jesus did not accept what Peter had to say because it was not from God, but rather from the devil. Read the scriptures.

“Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16)… “Jesus 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.” (Matthew 16:23)

This story shows us that even though Peter did understand God’s revelation that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He will save us. Peter understood that! But at the same time, Peter had a different perspective on the fact that Jesus would be beaten and killed. Peter told Jesus, “No way! You won’t die!” That thought process was not from God. This shows that even being saved (Peter believed in Jesus and that He was the Messiah.) will not automatically make our thoughts correct. We have to work in making our thoughts line up with God. I’ll talk more about that in a while.

There is another story in Acts chapter 8 where a man whose name was Simon and he was a leader in his town or village.  Simon used evil spirits, such as fortune telling and that kind of thing, to keep his “popularity”. He was a con man. But when certain missionaries came to his village to witness to the people in Simon’s town about Jesus Christ, Simon heard the message and was touched by it. He believed in the Messiah and was baptized and began to follow the disciples. Simon watched closely as to how the disciples of Jesus taught and performed. When the disciples began to use the power of the Holy Spirit and laying hands on people. It was making a huge impact on the people in the village. Simon saw that the power that the disciples were using was nothing like Simon had known. Simon wanted that power so he told the disciples that he would pay them some money to have that Holy Spirit power like the disciples had and begin laying his hands on people.  The disciples saw that Simon had a wrong heart. His motive was not genuine and was not of God’s.

“Simon himself believed and when he was baptized, he continued with Phillip, beholding the miracles and signs which were done…” (Acts 8:13) “when Simon saw that through the laying on the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money” (Acts 8:18)

This chapter, again, shows that being saved and being baptized does not mean that your mind is automatically right. It is our job to make it become right.

IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO RENEW OUR MINDS.

It is our responsibility to renew our minds. The word “renew” tells us that we have to change our mentality everyday, keeping our focus on God and making our perspective in the likes of God’s view. This is also by not always believing what we see and hear in this world. Our views need to be like God’s.

“Do not be comformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God’s.” -Romans 12:2

Romans chapter 12 tells us not to become like the world. Our mind needs to be renewed, renewed, renewed, renewed, and renewed. Why is it necessary to renew our minds? So that we can show what is good, acceptable and perfect will of God’s.  To do this, it requires that we renew our minds. This is our part. There is another verse in Ephesians I’d like to share.

“Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God- truly righteous and holy.” -Ephesians 4:23-24

The Spirit that you have inside your body that was given to you by God, let that spirit renew your thoughts, your attitudes, and your perspective. The new spirit that you have is something that you, yourself, need to “put on” so that you can be the same as God- righteous and holy.

In both of the verses, in Romans and in Ephesians, it shows that we have an ACTIVE role, not PASSIVE role. An active role means it is something that we must do on our part. A passive role means “sitting back and doing nothing” thinking that your mind will automatically be changed for you.  We have a responsibility, a job to do and that is renewing our minds as a Believer.  It is your responsibility to renew your minds.

TIPS ON RENEWING YOUR MIND:

Now, TIPS, how do we renew our minds? Here are some things that I would like to share with you that works for me. Please do not be limited to the things that I share. There are many more but the ones that I share are just a couple.

Phillipians chapter 4 explains what we should ponder on and what things should run in our minds. Maybe you’re thinking about how high the gas prices are, or how the Hollywood stars are horrible, thier adulteries, and many more–whatever it is. The Phillipians verse tells us what we ought to have in our minds.

“Dear brothers and sisters, fix your thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” -Phillippians 4:8

What is TRUE, HONORABLE, RIGHT, PURE, LOVELY, and ADMIRABLE are the things that we should allow our minds to think about. Doing this will help your thought process change to what is of God’s. It will become like God’s thoughts, views, and perspective. If you think on negative things or on things that are of the world’s, this will hinder your good thoughts and attitude on life.

Another important pointers would be such as: Who are you hang out with? What kind of people are your friends? What kind of conversations are you having with people? What kind of shows are you watching on TV? What are you letting your eyes see, ears hear, and allowing it to enter your mind? What are you “absorbing” into your mind? These are important pointers.

“Don’t team up with unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?” -2 Corinthians 6:14

2 Corinthians verse tells us we should not team up with unbelievers because it is unheard for righteous to mingle with wickedness and light to mingle with darkness. Righteous and Light are different things from wickedness and darkness. They cannot mix. This is the same for our lives as a Believer. We should not mix our life with people of “good times” who do not desire to know and do God’s will in thier lives. Please do not misunderstand me. I do not mean in a way where we “shut out” those people. We must love them and share our love with them. We must witness to them and so on, after all, we live in the same planet as them. My point was how we spend our time with them– is it a lot? What do we do with our free time? Is it with them? To spend so much time and free time with unbelievers isn’t really a good idea.

1 Corinthians 15 makes an emphasis on this concept. It tells us not to think that it is “a no big deal” and that the unbelievers will have no effect on us. The verse warns us not to be decieved. It will make an effect on us. People that take pleasure in what is not good will have an influence on how you think, your attitudes, your tendencies,  or how you process your thoughts. We have to step up and be strong to take care of ourselves.

“Do not be decieved: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” -1 Corinthians 15:33

Last tip here, if you need help….ask God. Who is a better person to ask for help than God? He is a God who created you. God has said, “If any of you lack wisdom, saying to yourself, “I need wisdom”, go ahead and ask God for it.” God is not a God who practices favoritism. He is not selective on who to give wisdom and who to refuse to give wisdom to. God will gladly give to anyone whoever asks Him in faith. So, go ahead and ask God in faith for wisdom!

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting…”-James 1:5-6

I would like to close this with a quote that I like. “A mind is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master.” This quote is right. If our mind will follow our spirit, our mind will be good. We will be able to be in line with God. Our sprit needs to be the leader and the mind follows. When that is done, your thought process will be of God’s. But if your mind is a master saying to you, “I know how it is done, I’ve seen so many things and I have experiences, etc etc.” Your spiritual being will not be a master, but instead will be behind. Allowing your mind to be a master is not a good. Let’s make it our goal to make our mind a wonderful servant which will then lead you into a position that would be pleasing to God.

Have a good day and be a blessing to other people!  

www.LeForsTribe.com 

HEAVENLY FINANCES 101

I would like to share God’s perspective on financing, not worldly or secular, even from those who are very familiar with stocks, interests, and such. God, the Creator, should be the One to know something about financing.

Let’s see what He says. :-) I will present 5 facts.

FACT #1: 90% is greater than 100% or 90% > 100%

This mathematical statement does not make sense, but God says it is a perfect formula. When we give God our 10%, tithe (or more), God can do much more with our remaining 90% than we can do with our 100% ourselves.

This very much applies to my personal life. When I do my budget, including the cost of food, mortgage, car payment, et-cetera, it doesn’t match my income and I don’t understand how I am able to be financially alright, BUT I know God takes care of us through many different ways because we give Him His tithes back.

This 90% vs. 100% statement is very true. As stated in the Bible, God dares us to trust Him and test Him in that regard. This is the only place I know of where the Bible says to test Him.

Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Malachi 3:11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

10% of what we have, we give it back to God and then God will open the windows of heaven and pour out His blessings upon us. Not only will God do this, He will also destroy our enemies that tries to mess up with our finances.

Wow, that’s amazing… what more can we ask for? Now, how does God open the windows of heaven? There are many different methods; by using other people, other family members, by job promotions, by miracles, and many other more. “How” isn’t the point, the point is that God will take care of your 90% better than you can with your own 100%.  

FACT #2: Multiplication is easier than addition

Many elementary and middle school students will disagree with this statement. They will say that addition is easier than multiplication but to God, it’s not. God loves to multiply your blessings than adding them. In KJV, the word “-fold” means blessings multiplied.

In Matthew chapter 13, God says that those who understands His Word and follows it will receive blessings, understanding, improvement in fruits, characteristics, and et cetera. These blessings will multiply, not add. It is not 1 + 3= 4. God multiplies with 100, 60, and 30. The total with mulitplication exceeds faster than addition. It is quite obvious.

Matthew 13:23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

2 Cor 9:10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness…

God chose to use the word mulitply! Wow, what an awesome plan He has for us, for those who have relationship with God, who is a God loves to mulitply.
 

FACT #3:

Statement A: people have needs,

Statement B: God desires to meet His people’s needs,

Conclusion: God meets the needs of His people.

Bonus: According to His riches.

This statement uses logic. Like for example, all desserts are sweet. All sweets are delicious. Therefore, all desserts are delicious. This is the same principality that is applied. We have needs. God loves to meet His children’s needs. Therefore, God will meet His children’s needs. The bonus is, where is the need coming from? “According to His riches and glory.” God’s riches and glory, not ours.

Now, what are our needs? They are like bills to pay, shelter, food, transportations, and etc. These are not luxury, they are needs. Those are what God will meet. They’re needs.

According to His riches…ok, let’s back up a bit. Let’s say you meet someone who has $50 dollars in his bank account and that’s all he has. He tells you that he will meet all of your needs. What will you think of him? Will you actually trust what he said to you knowing that he has only $50 dollars? Will he actually be able to meet all of your needs? He will have already spent $50 dollars within a day or two when he tries to help you out. Will you feel good that this person is meeting your needs? No.

Now, let’s look at God’s. What’s God’s source? What’s His supply? God has a WHOLE lotta–unlimited supply and the whole earth belongs to Him. He says, “I will meet your needs according to my riches and glory.”

This is a good way to visualize how God will meet your needs. God will NEVER run out of supply!

Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Another verse here that shows God’s emotion of how God desires us to be successful.

3 John 1:2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

FACT #4: Receiving is directly proportional to giving

Basically this means if you are stingy with how you give, you will recieve a small amount. If you give abundantly, you will receive abundantly. This is a basic concept of sowing and reaping.  Maybe you will ask, “What/Where/Who do I give to?” Give to whatever God has called you to give to; to his Work, to His Church, to His Missionaries, to His servants, and to anything that glorifies God. This is considered “giving”.

This is the same thing with farming. When you plant three seeds and when harvest comes, you will only reap from three plants. Or, you can plant thousands of seeds and when harvest come, you will reap from thousands of plants. This is a basic concept, this is the same principality with God’s money.  God’s view is when you give abundantly, He will bless you abundantly.

2 Cor 9:6 he who sows sparingly and grudgingly will also reap sparingly and grudgingly, and he who sows generously so that blessings may come to someone else will also himself reap generously and with blessings.

FACT #5: worrying will not help.

This is probably the most important one. Worrying WILL NOT HELP YOU. Being stressful about how you will pay this, that, or whatever….WILL NOT HELP YOU. I want to make myself clear, I do not mean that you ought to just sit down and do nothing, not caring about anything and not doing your part. No, you must do your part.

Worrying is out of your control. Worrying and getting all stressed up is “no good”. The Luke 12 verse is one of my favorites.

Luke 12:25 And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

Luke 12:25 And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? can you grow taller or live longer by worrying?

You will not grow taller by worrying. nor will you live longer! So why bother worrying?

Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

God wants to take care of you in every way. God wants you to be part of His family sharing with you His provisions and taking care of your finances. All you have to do is….let Him!

What more can I ask for? Whoo! Praise God! Have a good day!