The same Abiding Word that will set us free will also new our minds. If the Word does not abide in our Spirit Man it cannot set us free or new our minds.
Our Minds are Renewed by the Living Word.
If we are to live a consistent Christian Life, we must renew our minds.
Ephesian 4: 23 And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude], (Amplified Classic)
Romans 12: 2 And 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. (NKJV)
2nd Corinthians 4: 16 – 18 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. (17) For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, (18) while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (NKJV)
John 6: 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. (NKJV)
This Living Word of God is constantly at work in us who believe It.
Mediating on the Word brings Life, Revelation Knowledge, Strength, and Courage.
Joshua 1:8 – 9 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (9) Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (NKJV)
Psalm 1: 1 – 3 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; (2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. (3) He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. (NKJV)
Deuteronomy 11: 18 – 21 “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. (19) You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. (20) And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, (21) that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth. (NKJV)
Psalm 119: 130 The entrance and unfolding of Your words gives light; their unfolding gives understanding (discernment and comprehension) to the simple. (Amplified Classic)
Notice the entrance of God’s Word will give understanding, discernment, and comprehension even to the simple. We all qualify.
Is the Bible (God’s Living Word) a rich treasure to you? Why is it a rich Treasure?
Both Matthew 6: 21 & Luke 12:34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (NKJV)
Psalms119: 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. (NKJV)
Proverbs 3: 1 – 10 My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands; (2) For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you. (3) Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart, (4) And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man. (5) Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; (6) In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (7) Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. (8) It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones. (9) Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; (10) So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.(NKJV)
To adjust your eye, a lens, a TV, or similar item to produce a clearer image.
To fix or settle on one thing; to concentrate.
To focus one’s attention on a specific subject or question.
One of the main tactics that the enemy uses is to try and keep our focus on the wrong thing. He works hard at drawing our focus away from God and His Living Word.
Throughout Scripture we see people who had their Faith and Life focus on God and His Living Word. In order for their Faith to work they had to be Focused on Love, the Word, and Faith. Faith works by Love. Faith is applied to the Word. They corrected themselves, their emotions, and the way they responded to the circumstances of life based on God and His Word. Their life focus was their relationship with God.The same should be true of every Christian.
Psalm 25: 1 – 2 UNTO YOU, O Lord, do I bring my life. (2a) O my God, I trust, lean on, rely on, and am confident in You. (Amplified Classic)
Psalm 27: 1 THE LORD is my Light and my Salvation–whom shall I fear or dread? The Lord is the Refuge and Stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid? (Amplified Classic)
What in your life do you focus on the most? What is Your Life Focus? What we focus on the most becomes who we are.
To be successful in any area of life we must be focused in that area. If we are not focused, we will not be successful.
We must decide where our focus should be. What we focus on goes farther than just being successful in this life. Our life focus will determine our destiny in this life and our eternity that follows.
God gave man the right to choose. He will back our choice. The choices we make determines our focus.
Romans 8: 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (NKJV)
Matthew 6: 33 – 34 But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. (34) So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble. (Amplified Classic)
Our Life Focus must be on God’s Living Word first of all.
Colossians 3: 1 – 3 IF THEN you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, thus sharing His resurrection from the dead], aim at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. (2) And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth. (3) For [as far as this world is concerned] you have died, and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God. (Amplified Classic)
Colossians 3: 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. (NKJV)
Nehemiah 8: 10b … Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (NKJV)
Proverbs 17: 22 A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones. (NKJV)
If we are truly Born-Again, joy is already present in us by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Joy is one of the Fruit of The Spirit listed inGalatians 5: 22 – 23.
Galatians 5: 22 – 23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (NKJV)
(Amplified Classic) But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes]
Joy is a major Spiritual force.
We must choose the Joy and activate it, otherwise it will remain present but in-active.
Joy, like all the Fruit of the Spirit, must be exercised regularly in order for the fruits to develop. We must always be Fruit of the Spirit minded.
When I walk the Love Walk it produces the fruit of Joy and all the related fruit of the Spirit.
When we are praying applying our faith to the promises in God’s Living Word rejoicing in the Lord will bring us to a place of rest in our Faith.
We must Rejoice always in every circumstance of life.
Philippians 4: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! (NKJV)
NOTE: Satan cannot do anything to us apart from fear, any more than God can do something for us apart from faith.
1st John 5: 18b… he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. (NKJV)
Faith moves God because faith is in God. Fear moves Satan because fear is in Satan. Fear does not come from God. There is no fear in God for God Is Love. Fear comes from Satan for Satan is Fear.
1st John 4: 16… God is love (NKJV)
1st John 4: 18… There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear (NKJV)
2nd Timothy 1: 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (NKJV)
(Amplified Classic) [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.
Isaiah. 54: 14 – 15 In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you. (15) Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake. (NKJV)
God Is Love, Light, and Faith.
Satan is Hate, Darkness, and Fear.
What is faith? What is fear? Faith is a Spiritual force. Fear is a Spiritual force. They are directly opposite each other. Both are governed by Spiritual Laws.Faith is governed and works by the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. Fear is governed and works by the Law of Sin and Death.
Romans 8: 1 – 2 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (NKJV)
Romans 8: 5 – 6 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. (6) For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (NKJV)
John 15: 1 – 12 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. (2) Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (3) You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. (4)Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. (5) “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (6) If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. (7) If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (8) By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. (9) “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. (10) If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. (11) “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. (12) This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (NKJV)
My Father is the Vinedresser (Husbandman or Gardener)
A Vinedresser (Husbandman or Gardener) is one who cares for, watches over, prunes, cultivates, brings to harvest, and harvest.
John 14: 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.(NKJV)
John 15: 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (NKJV)
Branch (Webster) The shoot of a tree or other plant; a limb; a bough shooting from the stem, or from another branch or bough.
It is the abiding Word that brings forth fruit. As it brings forth fruit it also brings refreshing.
Our union with God through His Living Word brings Life. That Life which flows from the Living Word brings refreshing. If we are not connected to the True Vine, there can be no life or refreshing.
We must be abiding in the True Vine for the Living Word to bring forth Living Fruit.
John 15: 1 – 12 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. (2) Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (3) You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. (4)Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. (5) “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing… (NKJV)
If Jesus is the True Vine then there must be a false vine.
Since Jesus said He was the True Vine singular then that would mean that there is and can only be one True Vine.
In times of weariness, we can obtain times of refreshing from the Lord.
The Living Word can bring times of refreshing in the midst of the storms of life.
God wants us to be refreshed continually and not become weary. He has already made provision through His Word for us so that we do not have to become weary.
Isaiah 40: 28 – 31 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. (29) He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. (30) Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, (31) But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. (NKJV)
The Living Word brings rest. We can and must entering into God’s Rest. He has opened the door to His Heart for us. We must respond and come.
Matthew 11: 28 – 30Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.](29) Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls.(30) For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good–not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne. (Amplified Classic)
Colossians 3: 10 And have clothed yourselves with the new [spiritual self], which is [ever in the process of being] renewed and remolded into [fuller and more perfect knowledge upon] knowledge after the image (the likeness) of Him Who created it. (Amplified Classic)
In order to be strong in The Lord, we must stir ourselves up. Note that I said stir ourselves up. That’s our job not God’s. There are many Christians asking and waiting for God to stir them up but according to the Word we must stir ourselves up.
He paid the price and gave us everything needed to stir ourselves up, but He will not do it for us. It must be our choice. He will teach us how and will strengthen us so that we can stir ourselves up, but it must be our choice to do so.
2nd Timothy 1: 6 – 7 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. (7) For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.(NKJV)
In order to stir ourselves up we must remove the things that hinder us from being stirred up.
As soon as we start to stir ourselves up the Holy Spirit within us joins in with us as we continue to stir ourselves up. He strengthens and refreshes us as we stir.
2nd Timothy 1: 6 – 7 That is why I would remind you to stir up (rekindle the embers of, fan the flame of, and keep burning) the [gracious] gift of God, [the inner fire] that is in you by means of the laying on of my hands [with those of the elders at your ordination]. (7) For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.(Amplified Classic)
Hebrews 12: 12 – 13 So then, brace up and reinvigorate and set right your slackened and weakened and drooping hands and strengthen your feeble and palsied and tottering knees, (13)And cut through and make firm and plain and smooth, straight paths for your feet [yes, make them safe and upright and happy paths that go in the right direction], so that the lame and halting [limbs] may not be put out of joint, but rather may be cured. (Amplified Classic)
Philippians 2: 13 [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight. (Amplified Classic)
Isaiah 41: 10 Fear not [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My [victorious] right hand of rightness and justice. (Amplified Classic)
1st John 5:14 – 15 (Amplified Bible) And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us. (15) And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him.
Matthew 21: 22 (Amplified Bible) And whatever you ask for in prayer, having faith and [really] believing, you will receive.
Ephesians 3: 14 – 21 (Amplified Bible) For this reason [seeing the greatness of this plan by which you are built together in Christ], I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (15) For Whom every family in heaven and on earth is named [that Father from Whom all fatherhood takes its title and derives its name]. (16) May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality]. (17) May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, (18) That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God’s devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it]; (19) [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]! (20) Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams] (21) To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen (so be it).
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