NEW BEGINNINGS 2013 DAY21

I deliberately did twenty one blogs for twenty one days because of the belief that it takes 21 days to establish a new habit.  I don’t know if this is true or has any “scientific backing.”  What I know is this: 

With God all things are possible.

All things are possible for those who believe.

Permanent change is possible.

Permanently changing is possible.

I know that no temptation is uncommon, irresistible, or inescapable. 

I know that God wants people to change if they want to change, that the very good news of the Lord Jesus Christ is that we can be born again through faith in Him. 

I want a life without regrets.  I fear making irreversible mistakes with life long negative consequences.  But by faith in God, I need not fear.  As it is written,

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  The Prophet Jeremiah

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.  And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”  King David

Because God wants us to begin again, in 2013, and forever, we can be confident that He will bring to pass what He desires, and what we desire.  The only condition is faith based actions.  I pray my words gave you faith to act upon, and to begin again as a new creation.

Amen.

NEW BEGINNINGS 2013 DAY 20

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  James 1:22

I have one more to go, so I’ll make these last blogs personal.

The most effective means to the end of personal permanent change for me is hearing and doing life changing truth!  Every time I’ve heard a mesmerizing truth, one that immediately changes my perception of reality, I apply it to me immediately.  It then becomes a part of me, as much of who I am as my DNA is.  When that happens, I don’t have to think about change or habits or making myself do something.  The change has taken place on the deepest level.  I’ll never be the same.

Think of the most recent life changing truth you’ve heard or read or experienced. Maybe it came from reading my blogs.  Perhaps you saw an impactful movie.  Or maybe you read a novel with a character so compelling that you felt you knew him or her.  Whatever truth made so much of an impact on your life that you forever thought differently, act on that truth, or recommit to acting on it.  Be new, or commit to renew your focus on that life changing truth.

After all, Jesus said those who stayed connected to His words would be His true followers, and the truth of His words would set them free from sin, from addiction, from regret. 

So remember some truth that changed your mind immediately, and choose to act upon that truth right now. What you may find is that your life already expresses this truth without you realizing it.  This should encourage you to believe that you are no where near as far from your goal of change as you thought. 

NEW BEGINNINGS 2013 DAY 19

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24 

Baptism
Unplugged
Red pill or blue pill

What do all of these analogies have to do with reality? Practicality? Changing permanently?

Paul gives yet another picture: taking off old clothes and putting on new clothes. He compares the “former way of life” to old, filthy, torn clothes that need to be taken off AND THROWN AWAY. Now if a man sees his clothes as torn and filthy, throwing them away comes naturally. If a woman knows her clothes are useless, she will want and need a new wardrobe.

Life in 2012 was useless for many. Broken and dirty. Paul describes deceitful desires as “corrupted.”  (The same desires in the previous blogs that are the causes of temptation) The deception breeds a permeation of useless living. The old thought patterns and habits led no where and to nothing. They must be changed. They must be discarded. But again, the only real motivation for change in this situation is necessity. If clothes are really torn and dirty beyond remedy, they must be thrown away and replaced. So it is with the old life and old way of thinking and doing things. Those who are new creations must no longer think like Adam’s children. Why? BECAUSE THEY ARE INDEED NO LONGER ADAM’S CHILDREN. NO LONGER “MERELY HUMAN.”

They are the children of God, and this is how Paul defines them: 

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” Romans 8:14 NLT 

This is the distinction between God’s children and Adam’s children, the new and old humans: The new creation follows the Spirit; the old creation follows the body. Speaking of this practically, to follow the body is to follow the five senses. To follow “the soul” is to be led by intellect, will, or emotion. The spiritual person follows Spirit given intuition. They forsake physical domination, or self-willed tactics of making decisions. Everyone who believes in Jesus and wants to live the new life must deny themselves--mind, will, emotion; they must deny living by physical sensations. 

They must follow the Holy Spirit to live a new life.

NEW BEGINNINGS 2013 DAY 18

The last blog dealt with spiritual baptism, the inner decision of faith to be one with Christ. It is also necessary for a physical baptism to take place, a public act of faith that renounces the old life once and for all. 

In the act of water baptism, the burial and resurrection of Christ is reenacted, showing what literally takes place in the spiritual realm for those who believe in the Lord. They don’t experience the cross of Christ, but instead his death for them on their behalf! They are “buried with him through baptism into his death,” as the Apostle Paul said. As Christ died once and for all to sin, or addiction, or yielding to temptation, those who believe in him and are one with Him share in his death, or unresponsiveness, to sin. 

Christ died. 
They died with him. 
Christ rose to a new life. 
They rose with Him to a new life. 

The practical experience of this happens in two ways: 
1. Believers “consider themselves dead to sin and alive to God in union with Christ.” 
2. They live from the inside out and not the outside in; they follow the spirit instead of the body. 

All of the habits, cravings, addictions, or whatever a person desires to change, are variations on the body ruling the person. They are dominated by the outer world of sensations. But the new life is a life of self-control based upon the spirit’s rightful rule over the body and soul. This happens by union with Christ, by trusting His Spirit who lives in each believer.  The old way of life passes away, the way of living to gratify selfish sensual physical desires. All things become new. 

There is a new perspective on life, a spiritual and eternal perspective, God centered and not self centered. But this new experience, whether in a New Year, new day, or new moment, is a choice. Red pill or blue pill. Plugged or unplugged. Self or God. 

There is no other way to begin again than to be born again. 

(neo‑wakes‑up‑within‑the‑matrix.jpg)

(mikelandrews.wordpress.com)

NEW BEGINNINGS 2013 DAY 17

“If anyone is united to Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things are new.”

The only way to begin again in a new year is to become a new creation. Every other method is bound to fail. This is because unless there is fundamental transformation in what a person is, every attempt at change is superficial. This fundamental transformation is union with Christ. It happens in two ways:

1. Spiritual baptism by faith in the Lord Jesus.
2. Physical baptism, publicly expressing faith in the Lord.

When a man or woman believes in Jesus, he or she becomes one with Him. A spiritual baptism takes place. This means Jesus’ death is their death, AND HIS RESURRECTION IS THEIR RESURRECTION. This is true transformation. Because Jesus is “the second Adam, and the last man,” meaning the new humanity, all who wish to be new must unite with him. If they do not, they remain members of the old humanity, which began with Adam and Eve.

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they became slaves of Satan, of self-centered self gratification. All of their children were born enslaved. (Think the matrix.) Christ is “the one” who unplugs everyone from the matrix that wants to be unplugged, whether on New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, or today!

Every one has a choice: the blue pill or the red pill. But it is ONLY by making this choice that true change, permanent change, can happen. If a man chooses the red pill, he will be “unplugged.” The difference between being plugged and unplugged is absolute! This is a literal new beginning, a new birth. When this happens, the old life in the matrix ends, once and for all. Everything becomes new. 

New thoughts. 
New intentions. 
A new identification.

But the choice remains.

The spiritual baptism is the decision to take the red pill. For all practical purposes, this decision is an internal unplugging. The physical baptism is the act of actually taking the red pill….

 Red pill - Blue pill by ~Pencilshade on deviantART

NEW BEGINNINGS 2013 DAY 16

Once the cause of temptations are avoided, destroyed, done away with, does that mean there will be no more temptation, ever again?  How can there be if the causes are eradicated?

Remember:  There is a Tempter.  Temptation is personal and relational.  It involves the attempted sabotage of free will through mind confusion with the arousal of passion.  In other words, Satan’s key weapon during temptation is deception.  This is the source of confusion.  The tempted doesn’t know what hit him!  The tempter confuses her by hiding himself in her desire.

Remember:  From sinful desire comes every temptation.  So sinful desire is the foremost cause of sin to be destroyed!  It is the right eye that must be plucked out and thrown away!  It is the right hand that must be cut off and buried!

Remember:  Desire assumes an object desired!  Every object desired was created by God.  So evil desire is when a person wants something God promises, but refuses to trust God to fulfill that promise.  He takes another man’s wife instead of trusting God to give his own.  She steals a diamond necklace rather than trusting God to give her true treasure that will last forever.

Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given.”  This is the solution to every temptation.  Instead of lusting, the woman should focus on asking, and seeking God’s answer.  Instead of craving, the man should pray so that God will fulfill his cravings.

Temptations still happen because there is a tempter, and there are sinful desires.  If a man trusts God to fulfill his deepest desires, the tempter will not find an evil desire in the man to tempt.  If a woman prays to God to meet her most pressing needs, then the tempter will be resisted through her trust and dependence on the Lord.  The first and foremost cause of temptation to be avoided is evil desire.  Trusting God to fulfill every desire is the way to destroy the ultimate cause of sin.

For all who begin again this New Year, these are the ways to resist the temptations that will keep them from change!

NEW BEGINNINGS 2013 DAY 15

The divine limitations of every temptation, and the way of escape, are inherent in the nature of the temptations themselves.

Take the three vices discussed earlier:
1.  Anger.
2. Anxiety
3. Adultery

Each of these have specific causes.  And as Jesus said, 
"If your right eye CAUSES you to sin, pluck it out and cast it away from you."
"If your right hand CAUSES you to sin, cut it off and throw it away."

Jesus also taught his disciples to pray, 
"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

Again, on the night Jesus was betrayed, He told his followers, "Pray that you do not enter temptation.  Your spirits are willing, but your flesh is weak."

Therefore, the first and foremost escape from temptations is to avoid THE CAUSES OF TEMPTATION!

Every temptation has a cause, a series of cause and effect relationships.

For example, the apostle Paul said, "Flee sexual immorality."
Solomon says similar things:

"Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men.

Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way."

"Keep to a path far from her (the adulteress),do not go near the door of her house..."

"Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her."

In each of these verses, this truth is displayed:  

Stay away from everything that causes temptation!  

Do not go near them!

Avoid them!

 This of course implies:
1.  Every temptation has a cause.
2.  Every cause is known, or can be known.
3.  Every cause can be avoided.

If the causes of temptation are removed ONCE AND FOR ALL from a person's life, then when Satan or a sinful person comes to tempt, they can easily and consistently be resisted, if not completely avoided. 

NEW BEGINNINGS 2013 DAY14

What is the standard to measure how much temptation a person can bear?  How can anyone know their temptation limitations? 

Two ways:

1.  God is faithful.

2.  There are no uncommon temptations!

In other words, if God’s word is true, then the very promise gives the standards!

First, either the scriptures are true, or they are lies.  Of course, the Bible assumes the existence of the perfectly good, perfectly powerful, and perfectly wise God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the only true God.  If God does not exist, then temptation doesn’t exist, because to be tempted means being enticed to do what is evil.  But without God, there is no good and evil.

Yet because God does exist, and because He is perfectly just, by the very definition of His nature, He CAN’T allow His creatures to be tempted beyond what they can resist, then punish them for yielding to an impossibly difficult temptation.  God is faithful; therefore, He CAN’T allow irresistible temptation.

Second, every temptation is common, according to the same scriptures.  That means everyone can imagine the worst possible temptation for them.  AND EVERYONE CAN IMAGINE THE WAY OF ESCAPE, IF THEY WANT IT!

For example, take Joseph in the book of Genesis, mentioned earlier. Another man’s wife found him physically attractive and propositioned him for sex every day.  “Have sex with me,” is what she said.  Very direct!  Now, the worst case scenario of a sexual temptation may be something like a man being drugged, handcuffed to a bed, and then “raped,” to the extent that a man can be raped. 

But when and how would the temptress drug and handcuff this man?  Whenever and however she planned to do it, THE TEMPTATION WOULD NOT BE UNCOMMON.  The tempted man would have to be in a position to be drugged and handcuffed.  Furthermore, it is highly unlikely an average woman would be able to subdue a man physically to succeed in this kind of temptation, assuming the man doesn’t WANT something like this to happen! 

In other words, because every temptation is common, it can be imagined.  Because God is faithful, anyone who doesn’t want to sin will have God’s protection from situations like the one described above.

The limitation of the every temptation can be known.  So can the way of escape!

NEW BEGINNINGS 2013 DAY 11: TEMPATION (Part 2)

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. 

Three types of people fear New Year temptations: 

The ones battling 
1. passions. 
2. anxieties 
3. and anger. 

Or a combination of all three. 

Apply these to the promise of God: that no temptation will be “uncommon.” 

This means if a man’s vice is sexual passion, for example, he will not be sexually tempted by a woman in a way that has never happened before, or will never happen again. Whatever the seductress says or does to tempt him has been said and done before; it also has been successfully resisted before! Joseph in the Bible is a perfect example. 

If a woman is worried about resisting over-eating, there is no new and irresistible food on earth. Whatever she feels has been felt before, and will be felt again. No matter how strong her temptation, some woman has experienced it and overcome it! 

The man who fears violently losing his temper will not be provoked to anger in a way that has never occurred. Whatever situations he will face that has infuriated him, or will infuriate him, has infuriated many men before him. And many men have controlled their tempers in those situations. 

This truth alone brings encouragement and comfort; one of the Tempter’s lies about temptations is that each is a completely new situation. The tempted man or woman is supposedly alone! No one understands the strength of what he or she is going through, according to the devil. This is a lie that should be resisted. God will not allow this, because He is faithful!

NEW BEGINNINGS 2013 DAY 9: EVERYTHING NEEDED

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  2 Peter 1:3 NIV

New beginnings seem hard when people feel they don’t have what it takes. They feel they must acquire qualities that don’t come naturally. Failure is inevitability. Each think, “If only I had what I lack, what I need to succeed in changing!” But God Himself provides this need. He has already provided! 

1. His provision is unlimited power. 
2. It is for life and godliness. 
3. It comes through intimate connection to Him. 

The issue is a lack of power. Whether motivation or ability, some feel they just don’t have it in them. But what if they did? What if the issue wasn’t power, but simply a choice to act? God gives this! By trusting in Him, the issue is never power, but the choice to believe God is all powerful. His power is for their life and the change they seek: godliness. Wherever a person is in life, he can know that God has already given him power in that very circumstance. God always supplies for His will. 

Everything in life that is God’s will already has God’s power. God’s will is godliness: that she may be like Christ would be in her situation. So whenever her goal is godliness, she can assume that God has already empowered her. Perhaps she is a mother, and needs patience. The power to be patient is already hers, the power of God Himself to be patient! If she prays for patience, then acts by faith, then she simply needs to act AS IF SHE IS ALREADY PATIENT, as C.S. Lewis said, 

“Very often the only way to get a quality in reality is to act as if you had it already.” 

She must act after prayer if she wants to feel the power already there. She must also stay intimately connected to God, the only source of unlimited power. 

In scripture, to know someone means intimate connection, not mere intellectual knowledge. By intimate connection with God, a man who needs self-control will have the power. He is a plug in a socket. As long as He stays connected, the power is there. 

God already provided everything needed for life and new beginnings.  Everyone has the power they need, and they have no lack of power! Success is natural. Failure is not inevitable. It is not hard because they have what it takes: God’s unlimited power, available through prayer and acts of faith!

NEW BEGINNINGS: 2013 DAY 7--NOW!

“There is no other day, all days are present now.  This moment contains all moments.”

An angel in C.S. Lewis’ “The Great Divorce”

Some focus solely on the future when it comes to changing.  They feel that if they can just hold out for 21 days, or a month, or a year, THEN the change will be real and lasting.  But 21 days starts with 21 seconds, 21 minutes, and 21 hours.  In other words, change starts now!  In fact, it is ONLY changing NOW that matters at all!

True, a future goal is necessary, and the desire to establish new habits is crucial.  But again, habits begin on this day and in this moment ALONE!  When people who strive to be different from last year focus on next year instead of this moment, they inevitably miss this vital truth: 

God only promises to help people NOW!

Jesus taught his followers to pray for their DAILY bread, not their monthly or yearly provisions.  He commanded them not to worry about tomorrow because each DAY had enough trouble.  The scriptures teach that TODAY is the day of salvation, NOT TOMORROW.

This is comforting and encouraging because people have perfect control over themselves RIGHT NOW!  At this moment everyone’s mind can be focused on whatever they choose.  Right now, everyone can be whatever they imagine!

For example, take a man who wants to control his temper this year.  Yes, he should be prepared for future provocations.  But the best focus is being a gentle spirit presently, when there are no provocations.  If he must be concerned with the future, RIGHT NOW he can practice in his imagination resisting provocations.  This is beneficial because the mind will learn even when provocations are merely imagined. 

“Very often the only way to get a quality in reality is to act as if you had it already.”

C.S. Lewis

Again, people become what they habitually imagine in different situations.  The angry woman imagines arguments before they happen.  If she imagines patient responses in situations RIGHT NOW, she will change her responses IN THE PRESENT, and in the future. 

Yet it is only changing now that matters at all!  A twenty one day goal is good only if it is forgotten for the sake of present moments.  Real, lasting change begins today, not in the future.  Every habit begins in today’s imaginations. 

Today!

Now!

This very moment!

NEW BEGINNINGS 2013 DAY 6 (The Chair Where You Sit)

Here is the chair where you sit.

In that chair sits your body.

In your body lives your soul.

In your soul, your mind is inflamed!

In your mind a passion burns.

That passion's fire is fueled by your will.

From your will beams the light of a new spirit.

The light of your new spirit reveals a new beginning!

A new beginning in your new spirit,

A new spirit in your new will,

A new will fuels your passion's fire,

Passion's fire consumes your mind's focus,

That focus is in your body, the body that sits where you are.

Here is the chair where you sit,

where you sit today,

in this moment,

right here,

right now!

 (Inspired by Susan Marie Swanson's "The House in The Night")

(Images from Google Images)