The pictures in your mind are powerful.

The pictures you hold in you mind have a profound affect on how you live your life. They affect how you see reality, and they affect how you react to circumstances in life.  They form the basis for the basic beliefs you hold in your heart and they play a large role in determining your behaviors: They affect what you believe is possible (The world is flat, you could fall off the edge); They affect what behaviors you believe are appropriate in any given situation (There is no God and no heaven or hell, do anything you want in this life). You will never attempt something you do not think is possible (airplanes are heavier than air so they will never fly), and you will never choose to do something until you believe it is appropriate in a given situation (Once we understood Germs, medical staff started washing hands between patients).

Holding the proper pictures in your mind is critical to your success. The proper pictures can help you deal effectively in new situations.  Ex:  Looks like a bear, it is a bear, I’m at risk so run away.

There are actually two families of pictures that are important:  The first is your understanding who you are, and the second is your understanding of your external reality.  If either picture is incorrect, it will eventually cause problems.

If you see yourself as more capable than you really are, you will not properly assess a real threat and will likely suffer a consequence.  Ex: Yes that is a bear, but I am big and strong so i will stand my ground and fight it.  Or, Yes life has challenges but i am strong and can deal with them by myself, I do not need some God character to help me. 

If you understate yourself in your mind, you will miss huge opportunities in life. Ex: I am just a victim of society, I could never accomplish anything useful, it is not even worth trying. Or, I am just a lowly sinner, my past will always haunt me, I will get what I deserve, I am not worthy of anything better.

The same goes for our pictures of the outside world. If we see the world as dreadful, threatful and risky it will cause us to operate out of fear and behave in a very hesitant and defensive way with a short term focus. If we see the world as exciting and ripe with opportunities and the promise of a bright future, we will be more open, enthusiastic and hopeful.

The pictures in our mind are built by our past experiences, a combination of what we have been taught and what we have experienced up to that point in life. If we are taught the truth in a robust way, we will have a sound picture to guide us.  If we never got formal instruction or the instruction was incorrect, our mental picture will be flawed. 

The only way to change the picture in your mind is to bring new information to the table; Information to help you improve the picture.  I better picture could help you discover that something new and different is actually possible, or it could help you see that doing something different is appropriate in a situation.

When it comes to spiritual things, i have come to appreciate that most folks have some serious flaws in the picture in their mind. Some of these flaws are absorbed from our emersion in a secular oriented society, Other flaws are conveyed from man made religious doctrines which have been introduced over the years. The good news is that the truth is available in black and white, and the Lord will reveal it to you if you ask with an open heart.

I find it helpful to explore the actual pictures people hold to help them accelerate the process of discovering the truth and tuning up their pictures. Once we get a handle on the pictures you currently hold in your mind, you can start to ask questions and He will help you see the opportunities to tune them up. If we can build an improved picture in your mind, you will quickly change your life.  

Your current pictures:

Let’s look at the current pictures you hold with regards to your engagement in spiritual reality:

Are you a lowly sinner struggling to survive in this fallen world, begging a distant God to have mercy and to flow blessings to you, hoping He is listening and wondering if it is His will to act?

—-or—-

Are you a born again child of God; Repentant and Forgiven, Saved by faith 

– Crucified in the flesh, setting aside self-consciousness and selfish agendas, fully yielded to the Lord.

– Living in His love; Knowing He loves you because He sent His son

– Flowing His love; Forgiving others as He forgave you. Loving others as you love yourself, Seeing all others as children of God struggling in a fallen world.

– Holy and beyond reproach through Jesus blood; At peace with Him, in perfect union, Entitled to the promises and inheritance of the saints.

– In personal communion with Abba Father, Drawn close to Him so He draws close to you, 

– Led by the Spirit into the mind of Christ; listening to His voice, asking for understanding, seeing from His perspective, following where He leads you.

– Acting as the body of Christ with Christ formed in you, perfecting His love as it flows through you as you live your life.

– Partnered with Him to rule this world; seated with Him in heavenly places. Committed to continue His work and make the devil His footstool.

-Using the authority He gives you to do the works He did, speaking His will into place on earth as it already is in Heaven,

-Shining as a bright light in the darkness, being a beacon for the kingdom.

Your perspective makes all the difference. Modern man-made religious doctrine can severely limit you and your journey. Ask the lord to illuminate His path for you. Let the spirit lead you into all truth. Let the truth release your potential and transform your life. The fruit will bear witness.

Piece by piece

The following section works through parts of the contrasting pictures aspect by aspect, piece by piece. First how you see your self, then how you see the purpose of your life, then how you connect to God, then how you engage and face challenges in your life.

Who God is

There is no God, The universe and all we see came from nothing VS God created the universe and all that there is with order, structure and purpose

There is no God, How could a loving God allow all the suffering we see VS God gives us free will, We suffer the consequences we created over generations, He sent Jesus to rescue us.

God is distant, He is up in heaven VS He is with us, In us, Operating through us

Who you are / Your identify

I am a good person because of how I live my life VS I am made righteous only through Jesus blood

I am a sinner, not worthy, and must suffer the consequences VS I have repented, I am forgiven, I am saved, I am made whole 

I am separated from the Father by my sin and must suffer VS I am reconciled to the Father by Jesus work, The Father sees me as Holy through Jesus blood, I am entitled to promises and blessings.

I am a sinner by nature  VS I am Born Again; My spirit is brand new and connected to the Holy Spirit, My mind is being transformed to understand and execute His will, and my body is submitted and complying 

I will always struggle with sin VS  The Holy Spirit helps me recognize my sins, I listen and repent,  and then He helps me to overcome them.

The problems of my past hold me back VS I am free from my past and focused on moving forward

God is either mad at me or He doesn’t care about me VS I am a Child of God, God loves me, God has plans for me, God is working to help me achieve them

Your purpose

My job is to get myself into heaven someday VS My job is to bring Heaven to others while I am here

I am working to find and fulfil MY purpose VS I am focused on His purpose for me

Life is long, it must be tolerated and endured VS Life is a very short time to make a difference, and every moment must be cherished and leveraged.

I am doing religious things so God will think favorably and I can get into heaven someday VS I am transforming myself so He can use me to bring Heaven to earth for others around me here and now.

i am adopting Christian values where convenient VS I have yielded myself to Christ, It Is Him living through me

I try to comply with the commandments as i try to fit in to society in this fallen world VS I separate myself from this fallen world, I am in the world but not of it, I present myself as a vessel worthy of the holy spirit, I repent when the Holy Spirit convicts me of sin, The Holy Spirit helps me transform and overcome Sin by renewing my mind, I never let sin against me become sin in me.

Life is a drag, I am just trying to survive VS Life is a gift, and I make the best of every second and shine as a light in the darkness 

I am watching on the sidelines VS I am engaged executing His commission for the kingdom

I am hiding privately in isolation VS I am shining as a bright light, a beacon in the darkness

Knowing God / Your relationship

God is distant / way up in heaven  VS God is with me, Working in me, Working through me

God is abstract and unknowable VS I have an intimate personal relationship with Him

I talk to God and hope He listens VS I have an ongoing dialog: I talk to God, I listen to His voice

God is a mystery VS The mystery is revealed through the Son and the Holy Spirit

I believe what others tell me about scripture VS I learn the Truth from the Holy Spirit 

I am Led by the flesh and my reasoning VS I am Led by the Holy Spirit

Your authority

I pray to God way up in heaven VS I am seated in heavenly places with Jesus

I am a victim of the devil VS I execute authority over the devil, nothing will harm me

I beg God to take action VS He already took the action, I am now receiving it. I am speaking His will into place on earth.

Only certain people can initiate miracles VS The works Jesus did I do and more

Signs and wonders are no longer relevant VS I am a believer, and these signs shall follow those who believe (Cast out demons, Lay hands on the sick and they shall recover)

I pray once and hope He heard me VS I pray fervently, Speaking His will into place on earth until it is complete.

Scriptures to help you draw improved pictures:

Your identity:

Once we have Faith in Jesus, We are born again, washed and renewed, regenerated as a gracious gift of mercy.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.” (1 Peter 1:23)

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:5)

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ (John 3:3)

You are loved, Know God loves you because He sent His son,  Love God because He loved us first.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

“We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)

“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.  And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:14-16)

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37)

You are God’s handy work, chosen, beloved, blessed

“But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8)

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit…” (John 15:16)

“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved…” (Colossians 3:12)

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” (Romans 8:28-30)

Knowing God / Your Relationship:

Get to know God personally, and follow His commandments. it is the only way to eternal life and heaven

“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3)

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven (follow His commandments). Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ “(Matthew 7:21-23)

Ask the Holy Spirit to come into you to guide you and teach you

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13)

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” (John 14:26)

The Holy Spirit will help you overcome sin if you let Him.

“I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” (Ezekiel 36:27)

Live a life worthy of the price He paid, Be a vessel worthy of His presence, Able to be useful for the kingdom

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

“God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world.” (1 Corinthians 7:23 NLT)

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed…” (2 Timothy 2:15)

“But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” ( 2Timothy 2:20)

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

He will manifest in you as you get to know Him and follow His commandment

“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—  the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:15-17)

“At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:20-21)

The Holy Spirit gives us access to the mind of Christ:

“These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For ‘who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:13-16)

We are the body of Christ:

“Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” (1 Corinthians 12:27)

We are to be led by the spirit, not the flesh or our own reasoning

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14)

Your purpose:

Your job is to leave a legacy that brings glory to God.

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” (John 15:16)

Become Love like Him, Love others as you love yourself, Forgive others as He forgives you

“Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5)

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” (1 John 4:7)

“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17)

“…You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39)

“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

Get over yourself and let Christ live in you and through you:

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

“To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)

We need to yield ourselves and our self-centered interests, and focus on Christ’s purpose for us

“He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:39)

Your purpose is to transform and pursue the kingdom of God, shine as a bright light, bear fruit in this life, and leave a lasting legacy which brings glory to His name

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

“…do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2)

Your authority:

When you embrace Jesus as lord of the universe, and receive Him as your Lord of your life, You become a Child of God.

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the [a]right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12)

We have been raised up and are sitting (ruling) with Christ:

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-7)

We have all authority and power over the enemy:

“Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19)

He expects us to use that authority to bring glory to His name:

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” (John 14:12)

“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” (Mark 16:17-18)

“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” (James 5:14-16)

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” (John 15:7-8)

We must speak God’s will into place:

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.”(Proverbs 18:21)

“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.  Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.  And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.” (James 5:17)

Always test what you know and what you are being taught. Know correct teaching by its fruit:

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” (Matthew 7:15-20)

Conclusion:

Explore the pictures you hold in your mind.  Ask yourself is they are right.  The Lord will help you improve your pictures if you let Him. 

Happy to discuss your current pictures and help you build better ones. 

Have a wonderful day.