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.

Dr. Yahweh

Jeremiah 30: 17

For I will restore you to health and I will heal you of your wounds, declares the Lord.

It is never too late to walk in the healing that the Lord has prepared for you. It is certainly never too late to start declaring that your God, your Father, is a God of healing and health. In these times it seems there is some catastrophic illness around every corner. Every winter it seems that there is a new flu that threatens to decimate the human population. In these times, know that our God is a God who heals and who provides health. Even once you have become sick or injured, He is still on the job to heal you. He is a God of restoration. He can take what is broken and mend it. He can restore the diseased and infirm to wholeness. That is the essence of what He has for us, wholeness. He wants to put you into a place where no sickness, disease or lack of any kind is permitted to deprive you. And do not forget that He heals wounds as well as curing sickness. He heals all wounds, even emotional ones. He will remove the scars from you and restore you to the condition that you enjoyed prior to the injury.

For your part, you must first believe that He is a God who heals. Then you invite him to be the Lord over your physical and emotional health. Give to him all the damage in your body and soul. Pray asking Him to heal all of the injured parts of your body and life. If you will let him, he really will meet you at your point of need. He is love and He loves you dearly. He wants to help you with the problems that vex you. Expect Him to do just that and leave the door open for Him to heal you.

Righteous Reward

Proverb 13: 21

Adversity pursues sinners, but the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.

Let’s talk about prosperity for one moment. There are some people who think that prosperity is not part of the Christian ethic or that God is against prosperity. When you read the Bible, though, you find prosperity verses all over the place. It was a given by the time of the New Testament that prosperity followed the people of God. That is why Jesus’ disciples were so surprised when he said that it is hard for a wealthy person to enter the Kingdom of God (Luke 18: 24). They were astonished in fact saying, well, if the rich cannot get into the kingdom, then who can. You see, they had an expectation that the people of God were rewarded with prosperity.

Even in our own culture we have the same underlying expectation even if we have not cognitively accepted it. We expect the Jews to be the diamond merchants, bankers and generally to be people of substance. Why? It all goes back to this verse and others like it. We understand that wealth is part of the blessing of God.

But let us go a bit further. We are so obsessed with financial wealth that we do not receive the fullness of the prosperity verses. Half of us are consumed with the hope and belief that this verse means that we can have money while the other half of us fight against the idea. Ultimately all of us have missed the real point. In God’s eyes prosperity is a much bigger idea than money alone. That is one part of it, yes, but true prosperity is so much larger. In fact, the Strong’s concordance says “in the widest sense.” In other words, prosperity touches every area of one’s life. It is wellness (the state of being well) in every area of life. In truth, prosperity is most fully recognized and expressed in “Shalom” which means everything in place, nothing missing, nothing broken. It is wholeness. Interestingly, if you look up prosperity in your Strong’s concordance and you look up the word peace you will find that both refer you to key word 7965. Looking up word 7965 reveals Shalom – well, happy, health, prosperity, peace, favor, welfare, all is well, wholeness. To be in God is to be in shalom, complete wellness. It means family, health, finances, everything is well. Nothing is sick, nothing is broken. That is the blessing of the Lord. That is the reward of the righteous. And we know that we have become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, not of ourselves, but because we are in him (2 Corinthians 5: 21).

So, we are entitled to financial prosperity. We have not been left orphans without an inheritance. We are also guaranteed wholeness in all areas of life. Don’t deny yourself any part of God provision, of His blessing. Don’t live out in the barn when God has prepared a place for you in the big house. You are an heir, a child of the king. Live like it.

Age Old Wisdom

Job 12: 12

Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?

Have you ever felt or thought that the United States, as a country, is getting dumb? It certainly seems that way at times and now I know why. We have abandoned our aged. We treat them all as if they are all senile, call them “old man” and “old woman” expressing great disrespect. Not only that but they are beginning to believe the propaganda too.

When I was young I remember hearing that older people were the source of wisdom for us. Young people have energy and enthusiasm and older folks have wisdom and experience. When we combine them we have a very good mix. But something untoward has happened in our society. A lie has been allowed to establish itself in our culture and the effects are, frankly, devastating. Rather than older people being honored and celebrated, they have become the targets of derision. This dynamic hurts both the young people and the older people. Worst of all, it has severely damaged our society. Young people think they know everything but I look back at what a bonehead I was and am clear that the wisdom of young people is suspect if not completely absent.

Now this is not an attack on youth. Nor should I be read to say that I believe young people are without intelligence. It is just that we have cut off one of our hands by the way we neglect and denigrate the older segment of our population. This maltreatment of the senior members of our society and our negative thoughts and expectations about their capacity is crippling our society. Its damage can be seen in the family, in our churches and certainly in the main stream culture.

Today’s scripture leads one to conclude that youth is not the repository of wisdom. There is an adage that wisdom comes from experience. That’s true but the real wisdom, that which is infallible, comes from experience with the Father. The longer we walk with God, the wiser we become. So, those who have walked with God for a long time are a tremendous source of wisdom and guidance. And we must learn to take advantage of it which begins with honoring those who are our seniors. Part of honoring them is showing them respect.

Consider, please, a new trend in our society. Once a person reaches 50 or 60 years of age they and others begin to expect their minds to deteriorate. This is even true of Christians. Have we never read 1 Corinthians 2: 16? “We have the mind of Christ.” And I will promise you that Jesus is not senile and he isn’t losing his mind.

This is my entreaty. I would that we would have a renovation of our thinking. It begins with how we think about and act towards our more senior citizens. Secondly, I pray that we would begin to think differently about ourselves. If we expect our minds to begin slipping as we age then guess what, they will begin to slip. If, however, we expect to be strong of mind and body until the day we step into heaven then we will be strong. Remember, Moses didn’t even begin his ministry until he was 80 years old. If you are not yet 80 then you have time yet to prepare for when life begins. You are still in training. Get wisdom. It comes with walking with God. Then you will be prepared for the work that God wants to do with you.

But mostly, stop thinking negative thoughts. Stop expecting yourself and others to develop memory problems. Cease the negative confessions of your mouth. If you don’t desire to be senile then get senility out of your mouth. And for all of our sakes, do not put that curse on everyone around you by spewing that negativity out on them. It is a really, really rude thing to do. If you love your friends and family, speak life to them, speak wholeness. Shalom.