We can read in the Old Testament that man has always had a struggle with the effects of the curse that came upon the earth after Adam made a very bad choice and listened to what the devil had said to his wife. Bad Choice, wouldn’t you say? We all are reaping the consequences. But, praise the Lord, Jesus came and delivered us from the curse.

If that is so; we all know that, that is true; why then is the curse still evidence in the lives of so many believers? Why is that? So many Christians are still in bondage.

There are open doors to deception

In the first chapter of James, the Word of God reveals a major doorway through which Satan can come to deceive us. In the verse 22 we read: “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

Every time some portion of the Word of God is quickened to your heart and you fail (or refuse) to act on it, you leave a door wide open for Satan to enter your life with some form of darkness. Actually, it is like this word says it; you choose to be the cause of your own deception.

You know. Every time when you read the Word and fail to choose to act on the Word, you are saying by your actions something you would probably never say with your lips, i.e., “I don’t believe God’s Word is true and I have a better plan.”

At that moment, you made a very bad choice because you took the work out of the hands of the devil. He doesn’t have to sow doubt or unbelief in your heart about the integrity of God’s Word. You did it yourself. You made it easy for satan to bring the effects of the curse into that area of your life. James 2:17

You’re right “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” Hebr. 11:6 But without corresponding action, that faith is powerless to help you. In fact, the word translated “hearers” in James 1:22 is the same Greek word translated “hearing” in Romans 10:17.

So, James is not talking about hearing with your natural ears but rather hearing with your heart, which is precisely how faith comes. Yet, by choosing not to “do” that Word, you can still be deceived.

How Can You Do The Word?

First, don’t ever let Satan deceive you into thinking your faith isn’t important. Let’s go back to James 1:22-25 and read on to verse 25 to find the answer.

That verse says, “Being not a forgetful hearer but a doer.” A hearer of what? A hearer of the “perfect law of liberty” or in other words, God’s Word. Thus, you could say, “Being not a forgetful hearer of God’s Word, but a doer.”

Now let’s look at the next key to doing the Word. We find it in the very next verse: James 1:26

Here the Bible warns us of another source of deception. First it told us that deception comes when you hear the Word but don’t do it. Now it adds this truth: If you think you have it all together spiritually but don’t keep your tongue from speaking things contrary to God’s Word, then you’re fooling yourself.

Satan will try to deceive us into believing that thoughts and words are unimportant. Don’t we all eventually say what we’ve been thinking? Jesus said we do in Luke 6:45

The two principle factors which determine whether or not you become a doer of the Word are:

1. What you think upon and
2. What you speak

If you make the choice to meditate on God’s Word and then speak God’s Word, you will tap into the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe. And that power can and will change your behavior. You will become a doer of the Word, not by your own strength and resolve, but by the power of God that resides in His Word.

Consistent doing is always preceded by consistent thinking and consistent speaking. A failure to do the Word, however, leads to deception. And as we’ve seen, deception leads to something very different from prosperity and success.

Tonight I was reading this update of a friend of mine on facebook “Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time”. This New Year is a great time to start!

It made me think, just as it probably makes you think. There are choices we have to make and at the beginning of each year we like to make new resolutions in a  various areas of our lives.

Anybody can fall down, cry and quit. Anybody can fear and hide. If you’ve got God, you don’t have to do that. You can lift your head, set your face like a flint and keep the faith. You can speak to whatever problem is rearing its head at you, resist the devil and get victory. [Read more…]

1. It is will that determines the integrity of the soul.

"Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough". Og Mandino

There is a great struggle in people’s lives and that is the struggle wit the conflicts of the mind. There are things that we want and things that we need in our life, but it seems that they are always affected by our emotions, fears, desires and all the uncertainties of life. We all face struggles of life until we die. This is a fact of life that we need to recognize whether we like this our not.

We as Christians, we love to talk about the power of the Holy Spirit and sometimes even boast about the fact that He lives on the inside of us. Yet, in reality we can fear things that we don’t have to fear; right? Did you know your born—again spirit is not even capable of producing fear? God has not given you the spirit of fear which leads to bondage. In fact, He’s freed you from bondage, and He doesn’t want you going back to it (2 Timothy 1:7)

Every day fear and faith are in an unyielding battle to reign supreme in our lives. When people accept or tolerate fear, they’re unwittingly being lured into Satan’s plan to control their lives. However, using the Word of God to abolish fear creates and develops fearless faith that is bold and unstoppable, and it’s that faith which allows you to obtain the victory God has given you through His Son, Jesus Christ.

We all like to be confident in our beliefs and competent in our responsibilities, but as individuals  we seem to be confused about our plans and purposes. Somehow we have to get our will in full gear and maybe there are some of us have to dust off our will and let it work again. There is something as a passive will did you know that? That is when you always want to go with the flow and do just that what is right in front of you; the thing is though that you will always reap the harvest down the road.

Our will determines the integrity of our soul. That lets us know that our actions have to be in agreement with what we believe in our heart. That is not always easy; sometimes it is even very challenging and might even cost you something. But if you want a change in your life for the good or if you desire that your life goes in a different direction; you have to use your will. It is a gift from God. he has given us the greatest gift; that is our will.

It is a very sad thing if we don’t use our will, because nothing is final or solid then, everything is unstable. We rely on our instinct. Willpower must be developed in our mind, where find dreams, fantasies, hopes, opinions and thoughts about how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us.

Let this article be an introduction to the use of our will; I will be writing more about the topic of “the will” in the coming days. Today we covered one “The Will Establishes/Determines the Integrity of the Soul”. So, I want to ask you to come back soon for the rest of the strategies about the use the will. You absolutely don’t want to miss it. See you then!

The instruction to forgive others who have hurt us is very difficult to keep.  Our natural human tendency is to hold on to the hurt inflicted upon us, to nurse our wounds and hold grudges. Or, at the very least, we separate ourselves forever from the individual who is the source of our pain so that we cannot be hurt by that person again.

There are times, such as in cases of abuse, when physical separation is necessary. When a crime has been committed, justice and forgiveness go hand in hand. The courts of law must hold a perpetrator accountable and God will hold that person accountable in the final judgment, but we must still forgive that person. In these verses, Jesus was talking about the spiritual obligation that we have to forgive each other because we have been so graciously forgiven by our heavenly Father. To refuse to forgive others reveals that our hearts do not understand the level of forgiveness we have received. [Read more…]

Wisdom has built her spacious house with seven pillars.

Proverbs 9:1

James describes these seven pillars of wisdom (James 3:17) and contrasts them to the wisdom that is “earthly, unspiritual, and motivated by the Devil” (v. 15).

First, wisdom is pure. Living a mixed, compromised lifestyle may appear smart, but it is not wise.

Second, wisdom is peace-loving. This attitude is in direct contrast to the world’s envy and selfish ambition, which results in “disorder and every kind of evil” (v. 16).

Third, wisdom is gentle. A wise person practices gentle courtesy and always considers the needs, desires, and feelings of others.

Fourth, wisdom is submissive. A person’s willingness to yield his will to the overall good of the family, community, or local church is a mark of true wisdom.

Fifth, wisdom is full of mercy and good fruit. A wise person will demonstrate obvious marks of goodness, charity, and forgiveness toward those who have injured him.

Sixth, wisdom is impartial, never valuing the face or status of someone instead of that person’s actual deed or need.

Finally, wisdom is sincere. A wise person is not hypocritical, but possesses a deep, inward authenticity. With him, what you see is what you get!

Establish your life on these seven pillars, and you will “plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness” (v. 18).