Who Are You Feeding?

(photo courtesy of analyticalarmadillo.co.uk)

We feed our children.

We feed the birds that frequent our birdfeeders.

We feed the homeless through soup kitchens and outreach ministries.

We feed our minds. (Remember this: garbage in – garbage out!)

But, do we feed our doubts?

Our pastor tells us that when we feed our faith, we’ll starve our doubts to death.

Yes, we can feed our faith, but sometimes we’re too busy feeding our doubts.

This reminds me of the old Indian story about two wolves. I’ll paraphrase:

An old Indian chief taught his grandson, telling him of two wolves that fight for his soul. One is mean and greedy; the other is kind and gracious.  When the boy asked which would win, the grandfather wisely told him, “The one you feed the most.”

So, how do we feed our doubts?

We feed our doubts by rehearsing our fears over and over again, allowing them to paralyze us. We feed our doubts by worrying and complaining, by watching movies, videos and televisions shows that paint immorality, corruption, and sin in general, as acceptable, numbing our brains. We feed our doubts by reading that same type of material. We feed our doubts by hanging around people of little or no faith, people who applaud the things our God abhors.

One of our favorite ways to feed doubts and fears is through negative self-talk, which becomes so commonplace we fail to see it. Too often, we beat ourselves down with critical and condemning thoughts and wallowing in guilt and shame until we convince ourselves we’re worthless. We reinforce the lies of the enemy, the great deceiver, the one who hates us for nothing we’ve done, but simply because God loves us. Before long, we doubt that we’re loveable, then eventually, the doubt becomes the false-truth we believe about ourselves.

What a subtle enemy. What a patient enemy.

We become what we believe we are. Our god becomes small and helpless, even pathetic, as we believe one lie after another, feeding our doubts their favorite junk food.

But, remember the other wolf.

We can also feed our faith. By reading and studying God’s Word, our faith grows. When we praise God, when we refuse to gossip or curse, when we pray and think on the good things (Philippians 4:8) our faith gets stronger. We also feed our faith by hanging around faith-filled people who search out the Bible for every treasure hidden there for them.

Which plate will you fill today?

“…whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise,

think on these things.”

~Philippians 4:8 (KJV)

Ezer Rising V

Okay, so some of you didn’t find yourself in the last post. You read your Bibles every single day. The angels are celebrating your commitment. I rejoice with them. What a way to seek after the heart of our Father!

This post isn’t aimed at everyone either, but to those who read the Word out of habit, like they take their vitamins every morning. I think some people even read their Bibles out of the superstitious feeling that if they don’t something will go wrong that day. So is it a good-luck charm?

Today I want to challenge you to examine your motives when you read God’s Word. Are you looking for something? That’s okay. But be ready to receive what God’s desiring to pour into you, as well. If you’re looking for a ‘word in due season’ – something to provide encouragement for your day or the answer to a question, great. But be open to the idea that God may be pointing you toward something you didn’t go there for.

When you’re looking for something you’ve misplaced, isn’t it great to find something else you thought you’d lost forever, or discover something you didn’t realize you had in the first place? God has nourishment and blessings and instructions and commands and even correction for us that we might not have been looking for when we opened our Bible covers. I love digging a purse out of the closet to discover there’s money in it I’d forgotten about. I love finding a note I’d written to myself with a nugget God gave me, refreshing me once again. But I love it best when I’m reading God’s Word and I find that He’s talking about me, that He’s written something there just for me, that I need right now. He knew I’d need it today since before I drew breath!

He’s good like that!

Look at your routine. Is it just a routine? If it is, you’re missing a lot.

Ezer Rising III

Discipline. Kind of sounds like a cuss word to the lazy person.

I bought the book The Art of War by Sun Tzu, a Chinese military general that lived at least 500 years before Jesus clothed Himself in flesh. In it he reveals his mind set for war. A lot of Christians don’t see the warfare we’re involved in, and most of those that do are still learning this mind set. Amidst his warfare strategies, General Tzu says: All war is deception. We need to see that spiritual warfare in particular, is built upon deception. Of all the things Pastor Mark has been teaching us lately, this resounds in my mind.

The discouragement the enemy rolls out before us like a red carpet, compelling us to ‘walk this way’ is based on deception. The ridicule he throws at us, intentionally, is steeped in deception. Every lie we fall for is intended to deceive us into thinking about our lives from any viewpoint that doesn’t line up with God’s. This is why it’s so important to investigate and search out what God says about everything. The enemy of our soul doesn’t want us to know God’s point of view, because there we will find truth; absolute truth.

You’ve heard it said: fact is stranger than fiction. Well, lies can be easier to swallow than a truth pill. If I’m sly and cunning and have access to your unguarded mind, I can hide the truth from you. And Satan has had eons of time to practice the art of deception; he’s watched and learned the vulnerable, soft spots in the human mind. He notices when we drop our guard and sees when we’ve not been taught how to guard our minds in the first place. He is merciless and is out to steal, kill and destroy – his purpose, in a nutshell.

John 10:10 (NKJV) The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Come back for more………………

Ezer Rising II

So we all know what discouragement is. If you want to look into it more, check your favorite dictionary – you’ll find you’ve been there if you’re not sitting in the middle of it right now.

Take inventory. Do you see discouragement having its way with you? Whether it’s subtle or overt, it’s probably lurking there. If it’s not, you’d better be commenting on these blog posts and helping the rest of us out!

It might even be good to pull out a notebook and jot this stuff down. Sometimes things take hold better when we’ve thought enough about them to put them into actual words. If you’re anything like me, you’ll need notes for reminders anyway.

Now, what does God’s Word say about your situation? A concordance will come in handy if you take the time to search it out. If you don’t take the time to see what God has to say about it, you’re sitting on the bottom end of the teeter-totter with no playmate. You’re not going anywhere. Sitting there all alone makes you too easy a target for the enemy. If you don’t have a concordance – here’s a great tool for you, and there are many others like it. I use www.biblegateway.com to search scripture and read commentary. Explore it.

Prepare your heart to renew your mind. Our battles are waged there. And discipline will take determination. How much is it worth to you to get the devil off your back? You have to come to a place where you accept and believe that God is right about everything, even if/when He disagrees with you.

Now we need to apply the ‘Balm of Gilead’. It does us no good to have a prescription filled and in hand, if we refuse to use it.

Stay tuned……