Thinking Clearly

Proverb 23: 7               NKJV

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

I cannot get this verse out of my mind so we might as well deal with it. Allow me to say, first, that there are several layers of this verse but I am only going to deal with one. That layer is that the thoughts of our hearts determine a great deal about us from our behaviors to our health.

God created a wondrous mechanism when He created us. The Human body is complex and wonderful. It is no surprise that God is the master healer because he created the machinery. He knows how it works. Therefore, we can find much wisdom for our bodies and our health in the “Operation Manual” He developed for us.

One of the things we are learning through modern medical science and quantum physics is that this statement from the 23rd Proverb is powerfully true and at a very basic level. The truth we are all trying to grasp is that the thoughts we have are imbued with the power to make themselves come to pass. Another way to say this is that the way we think in our hearts, the beliefs which we hold to be truth, will be our reality. If I think I get the flu every winter, then I am right. If I think I don’t get sick then, guess what, I rarely do.

If God knew what He was talking about when He had these words penned then we can change our reality by changing our heart beliefs. This is the essence of Heart Physics with Dr. Jim Richards. There is also a book by Dr. Joe Dispenza titled You are the Placebo and much more about the placebo effect and the power of believing.

If we can harness the power of our own minds and mouths, for that matter, we really can change our destinies and our health. I just imagine God saying, “There is healing for this” no matter the problem. Our emotions are impacting our health and everything around us. Our thoughts are controlling us and determining our future.

The question that keeps buzzing around in my brain is, “Father, what can we not do when we cooperate with you?” What if we really became intertwined with the Father. What if He became the Lord of our thoughts and our beliefs? If we could hear Him speak to us daily, what would He say to us? He might show us how to think about our bodies so as to promote healing. He would heal our emotions. He would teach us how to create the realities He planned for us by marrying our thoughts about us with His.

As we think in our hearts, so we shall be. I believe this. I do not believe or mean to say that we are the answer, but I deeply believe that God in us, the integration of us with the Holy One, is the answer to everything. I do believe that our beloved and wise Father built into us the machinery for success at every level including good health. I am convinced beyond any argument that He intended, and currently intends, for us to be healthy. I am also convinced, persuaded, that His intent is for us to be whole in every realm of life. Whole – nothing broken, nothing missing. Could it be that part of our lack, our falling short of the glory He designed for each one of us, is in the beliefs of our heart? Perhaps we fail because we fail to jump into His arms and trust Him for completeness. What will He do for us if we let Him? Maybe a key to today’s verse, and ultimately to everything we need and want, is how a man believes in his heart about God. Maybe if someone could convince us that God is safe and from that point of beginning we could abandon our religious thinking and finally approach Him with all our baggage, we could become the transformed butterfly which He sees when He looks at us. Maybe we could finally jump into His arms and receive His abundance. We would forsake the pew for His lap. Communion would cease being a ritual and would be a meal shared in the presence of and with the Father. If we could have the thoughts about ourselves that the Father thinks about us we could, and would, be truly free.

I hope you will meditate on this verse. I pray also that something in today’s devotional touched you in such a way that you find new and more intimate avenues to your Father. I welcome your comments. Be Blessed my friends, and be whole.

Knowing Truth

John 11: 35

Jesus wept.

No, I didn’t leave anything out above. That is the entire thirty-fifth verse of John 11. Is anyone other than me surprised? There is no possibility of misinterpretation of this verse; there is no gray area. It’s simple. Jesus was a man who wept; a man who was comfortable in his skin; a man who knew how to express honest emotion.

If you have not read You Are the Placebo by Dr. Joe Dispenza, let me recommend it to you. Within its pages you will learn about the most revealing and amazing biology and neurobiology discoveries of our times. Scientists are uncovering the hidden secrets of human function. They are also discovering that we can determine these outcomes. Our thoughts and emotions play a key role in this self-determination. In the foreword Dr. Dawson Church writes, “Joe is one of the few science writers to fully grasp the role of emotion in transformation” and that you can “heal yourself by simply translating thought into emotion.”

There is a reason God gave us emotional capacity. The expression of legitimate emotions is a critical, if misunderstood, feature of a healthy body and mind. None the less, we are increasingly becoming people of limited emotional content much less emotional expression. Whole countries have adopted a stoic persona. Men are frequently heard to say they are not supposed to show emotion and women have become victims of the same bad teachings. It has become a universal problem. We are living a lie. Our emotional lives are one big, fat lie.

I remember making a decision at age three that crying was “bad” and that I was not going to do it. Bit by bit I anesthetized my heart so that I wouldn’t feel. If I couldn’t feel, then I couldn’t hurt. If I didn’t hurt, I wouldn’t cry. People actually taught their sons not to cry. Then these sons married and their wives were constantly disappointed in the lack of emotional connection they shared with their husbands. These same emotionally bereft humanoids created the world of commerce. Then when woman began entering the business world they were increasingly trained to check their emotions at the door. We didn’t create robots. We became them.

If we would tell the truth, though, not all emotions are banned. The expression of anger is very much in vogue. So, we channeled all of our emotions into expressions of anger. Are you tired, sad, frustrated, intimidated, worried? Then throw a fiery fit in order to release those pent up emotions. Yell, scream, cuss! That is the only viable way to release all of the energy those emotions are bringing to you. You see, the truth is, it is only the tender emotions that we have banned. We’ve made it all but impossible to express gentleness, kindness, empathy, love, concern, caring and all the rest.

And while we are telling each other the truth, let us consider sports. We confess that we are not emotional and yet, has anyone watched a soccer match or a US pro football game? Are you going to try to convince me that the spectators are unemotional and cannot express emotion? Really? Perhaps, though, the fact that people can go to a sporting event and emote all over the place explains their popularity. The arts are dying in this country but sports are ever on the rise. Why?

For my part, I am tired of hearing people confess that they are unemotional or can’t express their emotions. That is a lie right out of the pit of hell and if that is your confession my advice is to revise your confession. Why would you continue to confess something that is in direct violation to the person of Jesus Christ?

In my studies I learned that each time we cry the biochemical make-up of our tears is different. The chemical make-up of our tears is bioengineered by our bodies to counteract the chemicals being released into our body. So, the release of tears, crying, is good for your body as well as your heart. It is detoxifying. God knew exactly what He was doing when He created us.

Let’s get a revelation folks. We’ve been played. Our emotions are God given and God inspired. And here is one other little insight; you are going to have a real difficult time getting close to the Father without a healthy set of emotions because He is one emotional dude. He wants to live in your heart and emotions. If you turn them off where does He go?  

There is help, though. When you truly and honestly open your entire heart to God and quit holding onto the lie, He moves right in and brings healing with Him. He will touch you in the tenderest of ways. Don’t be afraid. You are completely safe and He will give you such security and comfort. You were never made to be strong. You were made in tenderness. Take some time alone with Dad and let Him remove the calluses and fill you with love. It is a great way to live!