And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. - Philippians 4:8-9
Is it just me, or is it totally insane how many lies fly at me in a day's span? These lies are not always blatantly obvious. Sometimes they have a kernel of Truth in them, making them so easy to believe. They slip right through my shield of faith, like a hot knife through butter.
Wicked aim.
I know who they come from and it is NOT our Father.
Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! - John 8:43-45
The enemy, he has absolutely nothing in common with my Jesus... unless you count the fact that they're both the same, yesterday, today and forever. He'll always be a liar. Always.
I have a little formula I use to combat the lies. I'll share it here with you in hopes it will help you to refocus on the truth on the hard days.
The first thing to do is to identify the underlying thoughts that are causing me fear. I write them down. This does two things. It gets it out of my head so I don't feel the need to keep reminding myself of it, and it gives me an outline of what to look for in the second step.
The second step in my formula is to get into the Word. I use either a good concordance or an online program like Bible Gateway. I choose keywords from my list of lies and fears, and then I read all that God's Word has to say about it.
When one gives me chills because it rings so true and powerful, I write it down in a different color underneath the lie. Sometimes I find one promise, other times I have multiple truths. This list gets read each and every day for at least a week, until the lie is firmly replaced by the truth.
My next step is to praise. It's the most powerful weapon I know of. Sometimes this praise comes out in my writing. Other times I sing praise songs. Choose your favorite way of praising and just do it. I promise you will be strengthened by it.
The final step in focusing on truth is to take it to God in prayer. My friend likes to envision kneeling before the cross and nailing each lie or fear to the tree. That ensures we leave our troubles there with the One who can redeem them with the truth.
“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” - John 8:32
Let the truth set you free, Dear One. Don't just recognize it. Don't just pull it out in the tough times. Live in it.
Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ—the Son of the Father—will continue to be with us who live in truth and love. - 2 John 3
Precious King, the beautiful truths found in Your Word, they keep us afloat. We can never thank You enough for Your true love toward us. We love You. In Jesus' Name...
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May God Bless You,
Shelly
The post Fix Your Thoughts on Truth appeared first on Renewed Daily.written by Shelly Hendricks
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