Our theme verse is: 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24 May God himself, the God of peace sanctify you through and through and may your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who called you is faithful and He will do it.
This verse is telling us that God wants us whole spiritually, mentally, and physically. Not brokenhearted, not falling apart, not cracked; but whole. We are not divided into portions, but we are a spirit that has a soul that is housed in a physical body. Each part of us is connected and each part must be whole in order for us to be healed.
When we realize that our bodies are not just clumps of cells, but instead a miraculous gift from God, we will begin to treat it with the respect and honor it not only deserves, but demands.
King Solomon is teaching his son about what a person must do to become wise. He uses words like knowledge, understanding, discretion, and instruction as stepping stones towards becoming wise.
What is knowledge and how do you obtain it? Knowledge is education, learning, intelligence and we obtain it by going to school, interacting with others through conversations, tv, reading, listening, etc.
What does understanding mean and how can you obtain it? Understanding is taking that knowledge and grasping its meaning; comprehending it. If the knowledge we receive is understandable by our brain, it is a peaceful experience but if the knowledge we receive is confusing, our brain fills in the details in order to make the information understandable. This is one area that makes a lot of people sick. Why because when we plug in the details, we usually add incorrect information and add preconceived misunderstandings. We would do well to understand that there are some things we will never understand.
What does discretion mean? Discretion means that you take the knowledge, understand it as much as you are capable of doing, and then determine if it will become your truth based on your value system, individual choice, sound judgment and what the Word of God says about it.
Finally, what is wisdom? Wisdom is the accumulation of all the final outcomes of the above steps. It is the Bible based actions that we take when we are tested.
Knowledge is coming at us in every direction everyday. We take that knowledge and try to understand it. We use discretion (based on the Word of God and our value system, sound judgment) and either accept it as our truth or reject it. If we accept it as truth, we are then to apply that discretionary decision to our everyday life and that is when we put this wisdom into action thereby clearing our path of its toxic roots system.
Notice I did not say, we take that knowledge and react to it with emotional responses. When we react to the constant flow of knowledge coming at us with emotions and feelings, we will repeat the same behavioral patterns that we hate about ourselves and consequently, never become wise. Nor will we live blamelessly before God.
Let's review:
Knowledge comes at you constantlyWe respond to that knowledge with some form of understandingIf we choose to respond using our faith based values using the word of God, this is called discretion.
When we take our discretionary responses and repeat them the next time the same situation occurs in our life, it is then that we begin to become wise.
Unfortunately, there are three things that usually surface every time knowledge comes our way that are based on emotions and fear. They are:
- Insecurity
- Selfishness
- Defense
Therefore, they have to go!
So I first recognize the sin and then I am asking God to change me. I cannot change myself without the power of the Holy Spirit that lives within me.
Let me give you an example.
Last Monday, I sat down to prepare my lesson. Meantime, my husband came up with the idea that our house should be wireless, have more channels on the TV, and have a digital phone. That was his “thing” that he wanted to accomplish. It was not my “thing” nor did I think we needed or did I want any of those three costly items in our house.
Mistake #1 I started out rebellious towards his decision and a slight bit annoyed that he did.
I was trying to focus on “my thing” and that was working on the lesson. He is asking me questions like: What is Brighthouse's number? (I think: How am I supposed to know...look it up in the phone book). Where is the phone book, Joan. (I guess you want me to get up from what I am doing and get the phone book?) So I get it. He then asked me where Shara's laptop was. (I guess you want me to get that too?) So I get it. He then asked me where the power cord is to Shara's laptop. (I guess you want me to find that too! I don't even know what a power cord looks like!) I heard the draws opening and the doors slamming and I knew he couldn't find it. So I said, “What does it look like?”
“You should know what a power cord looks like,” he said. “Why isn't it with the laptop where it should be.” “I can't ever find anything in this house!”
Mistake #2 IMMEDIATELY I got defensive! Very defensive! I had just spent the last two weeks organizing closets, bookshelves, pantries and cabinets; had workers in and out of the house, cleaned the entire house and in my wicked little mind I am saying, “and you weren't here to help me.
Mistake #3 I was holding a grudge against him for not being here to help me. I had not come to peace with our whole situation.
My insecurities then surfaced. I assumed that he was calling me disorganized and a bad housekeeper. My heart was racing (which it does when you get upset) and I had a lot of inner frustration bottled up inside. I thought, “I have been managing our house now by myself for 3 years and why didn't he appreciate all that I have done.”
Mistake #4 A need for appreciation from man.
Next, I was being very selfish because I had to drop what I was doing to help him find the stupid cord.
After all, I was learning about being spiritual so I could teach my class! Do as I say, not as I do!
So, mistake #5 I reverted to the three deadly sins: defensiveness, insecurity, and selfishness.
We spent the next ½ looking for the cord. I was mad, he was mad. He found it and I was madder because I wanted to find it so that I could “prove” that I was indeed an organized person.
The rest of the week was a roller coaster ride. Why can't you understand me. Why don't you talk to me so I can understand you. No matter what he would say, I got defensive. My insecurities were raging. My selfishness surfaced. You are not going to hurt me (defensiveness). I don't care what you think of me, I am OK (insecurities). I am going to do what I want because that is what you do (selfishness).
STOP THE MADNESS!
Back up to what Proverbs teaches and what we learned about knowledge, understanding, discretion, and wisdom in the first four chapters of Proverbs.
Knowledge came my way through Dennie's voice and actions. I received that knowledge with a “guarded heart” that had already formed years ago because of other unresolved “stuff”. I did not understand exactly what he was communicating to me so I filled in the blanks with toxic emotional responses. I reacted to what he did by responding with patterns that I have used since I was a little girl. Don't hurt me, I am a nice person. I am OK. Don't you know? Let me prove it to you. I'll do whatever it takes to make you love me. Why don't you love me? I am organized. I am a good little girl. Mother, please love me. I'll be good. Dennie please love me. I am a good wife. I am a good person. Wow! Where did all that come from? Could it be from unresolved bitterness, anger, rejection as far back as from birth?
1 Cor 13: 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child; I thought like a child; I made plans like a child. When I became a man, I stopped those childish ways. 12 It is the same with us. Now we see like we are looking into a dark mirror. But at that time, in the future, we shall see clearly. Now I know only a part. But at that time I will know fully, like God has known me. 13 So these three things continue: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.
Proverbs Chpt 2:5
I am to Trust (believe, have faith) in the Lord with all your heart (through the power of the Holy Spirit) , and lean not on my own understanding (I am not supposed to be able to figure it all out. I am not to try to understand why other people do what they do).
We can't. We can only choose to take whatever knowledge comes our way every minute of every day and determine if we are going to act with discretion (faith based response) or react with the same exact ways we have always done that do nothing but cause rifts, arguments, hurts, gaps and division. In all my ways, I am to acknowledge HIM (concur, agree with) and HE will direct (make my path smooth, straight and right).
HE is the one who will remove the obstacles that are in the way. Those deep roots that haven't seen the LIGHT of freedom since they began to grow inside us. Roots that have been buried so far down in the darkness of guilt and shame that we don't know if it is possible to ever be free from them; our rock solid heart that won't allow people to love us for fear of being hurt once again, the stumps that remain of old wounds that we hold onto because we have learned to walk around them pretending they are not there.
They are there and God promises us that if we would just agree with HIM, acknowledge HIM, and be obedient to His word that He will direct our paths.
Vs 2:7 Joanie, do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
Joanie, stop repeating that self-hatred, insecure behavior. First of all you are not showing Dennie the love of Jesus when you react defensively, insecurely, or selfishly. You are showing him you.
Proverbs 3:8 Health to your flesh and strength to your bones comes from choosing to respond to the tests of life not pretending that they don't exist but through the power of the Holy Spirit that lives within me.
I cannot continue to do this. I call myself a Christ follower but follow my emotions and the voice of the little child within me. I have been wounded and now I am responding accordingly. That is how the world responds. I am a child of God. I am a child of the King who loved me so much that he sent Jesus to die for my wounded body so that I could spend eternity in Heaven.
I am not an unwanted, unloved child of a human like I have felt for so long. My mother carries those three deadly sins; insecurity, defensiveness, and selfishness in her soul from her Mother. She is not a child of the King. I am! I must break the chain of bondage right now.
What are you holding onto?
Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Psalm 23:29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? We all do!
Your scenario is different than mine, but we all have one. Each day the scenario changes, but the deep roots, rocks, and stumps need to be cleared from our path or we will never walk in victory.
Jeremiah 30:17 For I will restore you to health And I will heal you of your wounds, declares the LORD.
Are you ready to stop running?
1 Peter 2:18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. 19 For this {finds} favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer {for it} you patiently endure it, this {finds} favor with God. 21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, 22 WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; 23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting {Himself} to Him who judges righteously; 24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
According to Proverbs 3:8 how I responded caused my bones to wither, my health to suffer, my days to be shortened, and definitely there was no peace. And regretfully, I did not show Dennie the love of Jesus.
What should I have done? What would I have done differently had I memorized and followed verse 3:3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. I messed up but, the blessing in all this is that I know that the Lord is correcting me (Proverbs 2:12). How? By having me admit this to you. Humbling me as I tell you that God is teaching the teacher as she studies to teach others.
Do you really think I want you to know that I am a defensive, selfish, and insecure woman?
The chain has to be broken. It is time to walk the talk! It is time for me to commit to “the Way” and not live like a hypocrite.
Revelation 20:1-10 1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished
Again, the angel comes down from heaven, just like he did when he let us out of our jail cell, this time the key is to the bottomless pit...or hell. He takes a great chain and binds the serpent of old, the devil, shuts him up, seals him, so that we no longer will be deceived. I forget who wins the battle and act like I am on the defeated team. I am on the victorious team. You are on the winning team with me. I am thankful that God corrects those he loves. Praise Him for that! I want to live victoriously, not in chains.
What else did Proverbs teach me that I did not put into action?
3:17 Her (wisdom) ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace.
3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
I leaned on my own understanding and I did not concur with what His Word said.
3:30 Do not strive with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm.
Did Dennie cause me harm by asking me where the cord was and to want to set up wireless internet in our house?
4:4 I did not let my heart retain His words and put them into action.
4:12 I stumbled on the stumps that I had not allowed God to remove from my path.
4:13 I did not take firm hold of God's instructions thereby reverted back to my old nature.
4:14 I entered the path of wickedness. I did not avoid it.
I know after 21 years of marriage that reacting with emotions does not do anything but cause strife, tears, hurt feelings etc. But I chose to anyway. I needed to PROVE I was right. Seems like I am always trying to prove I am right!
4:22 I caused death instead of life in our relationship. 24 I did not put away a deceitful mouth and 25 I did not let my eyes look straight.
I looked back and the plow went crooked.
Lu 9:62 - But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God
I could spend endless days beating myself up for failing once again. We don't pretend the past didn't happen, we just receive the correction and press on.
Look at 4:27 Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.
Amazing!
One more thing before we leave Chapters 1-4.
Kelly told me that some of you voiced concern because I keep you too late. My first emotional reaction was to get defensive by justifying in my mind that everything that I say is crucial and that you need to hear it. Secondly my insecurities surfaced and I began wondering if I was qualified to teach, thought you didn't want to hear want I was teaching, and on and on. Thirdly I got selfish and thought all kinds of things. The good news is that not so long ago I would have turned that anthill into a mountain, told everyone how ungrateful my class is blah blah blah.
Good thing I listened to God's correction concerning Dennie. I took those thought captive before Satan turned them into poison. I said, “Joanie, why are you feeling this way?”
They are right! You talked too much. I agree with them! That works for me! I was wrong. I didn't take it personal. That is huge for me! Because like I said, I take what I do very serious!
But I learned! Praise the Lord! I'll have you out of here by 8!
Do you know how free that makes you when you just say....You are right! OK! I agree.
Try it!
Now onto our Mental Healing. For the last 4 weeks we have been learning how toxic emotions can create physical problems in our bodies. It is critical that we learn to apply God's Word to our everyday actions and begin to live in obedience to God's word.
Following our syllabus/outline you will see that the next three weeks we are scheduled to talk about: I can only Change Me: taking responsibility for my actions. Well, there needs to be a correction to that title because God has revealed to me that even I cannot change me. Only He can change me. The only thing I can change, is my desire for Him to change me.
God does the changing. I can do nothing apart from Him.
15:5 - "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
Amazing how perfect God's divine planning for this class has lined up. You will begin noticing how healing in our spirit, in our soul, and in our bodies begin to overlap. It is because we are three in one? Body, soul, and spirit.
It will all start to click as spiritual attacks come at us and we struggle/fight ourselves to not act according to how we responded in the past.
Do you think it was a coincidence that God allowed the battle to occur between Dennie and I? The whole Old Testament is about battles. God kept repeated to the Israelites over and over and over. Would you just please OBEY me! That is what He is yelling at me. Joanie, would you just obey me?
Matthew 11:28-29 says: Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls!
Quit trying to do it on your own. You can't. You will find rest for your souls only giving the battles of life over to Him. I am up for some rest/peace and down on the battling. Whenever I find myself battling, it is because I have chosen to fall back on my emotions and my feelings to solve my issues. It will never work and I am going to STOP!
Will I fail? You bet I will. Will I get back up and continue to press? You bet.
When times in our life are stressful and we allow our emotions to rule our behavior, we do really stupid things. One of them is to eat things that are harmful to our bodies.
It is a domino affect. Testing/battles will come, our emotions will soar, we react based on those emotions, we don't know how to handle it so we eat harmful foods, then we hate ourselves because we are not strong enough to resist the food, then we get sick because we have eaten foods that destroy our bodies, and then we take a drug to take all our pain away. God is whispering in His still small voice.
HALT – STOP the madness. That is not “the Way to Go Lightly”.
Jesus said: Come to Him. Ask Him for wisdom. You who are weary and tired. He will give us rest. I'm weary. Tired of doing life unwisely. Change is difficult but so is the game of destruction.
So what should I have done according to Proverbs Chapter 1-4? What do those chapters look like in real life? How should I have responded to Dennie to show him the love of Jesus?
Can I change the past? No! Can I learn from it and try not to repeat it again? Yes!
Rewind the story. When Dennie said, “Where is the power cord, Why isn't it with the laptop where it should be? I can't ever find anything in this house!"
My reply! TAKE A DEEP BREATH and say: “Just a minute and I'll help you find it” (pleasant)
TAKE Another DEEP BREATH! And silently SCREAM! HALT – HALLELUJAH, I Adore you Father, I Love you Father and I am Thankful that you are going to handle this situation. (you cannot).
I give this to you, Father.
As soon as you feel your heart racing and your heart in your throat it is time to put your hand over your mouth and Deep BREATH again!
Your physical body goes into action just as it would if you were frightened by an attack dog, a car coming at you head on, or a boss who tells you that you are fired. Your body goes into a defense mode an every physical part of you is alerted to keep you from having a heart attack. Calling all adrenal glands. Calling all blood. Digestive system, brain cells, heart.
As you can see, lots is going on. Pay attention to the hair on your arms the next time you are afraid. Or the pupils of your eyes.
Next pay attention to your thoughts. Take them captive before Satan takes control of the situation.
Remember that key we talked about last week which represents freedom in Christ! The chain has been broken, the door to the jail cell has been open and I am free. Immediately remember that I have been freed from the past and that I no longer will depend on my unstable unreliable feelings and emotions to get me through this testing. That beautiful piece of jewelry that Carolyn made each of us is a reminder that we are on “the Way” to growing deep in His truths and that butterfly represents transformation.
Say it again! HALT – HALLELUJAH, I Adore you Father, I Love you Father and I am Thankful that you are going to handle this situation. I give it to you! I cancel (hit the delete button) all the thoughts that Satan is putting into my head about me being an unorganized woman and a terrible housekeeper or anything else negative that entered into my thoughts.
I am not, nor will I ever be all things to all people. I do the best I can. Then I recall the verses we talked about in Proverbs and put them into action. I do not take anything personal or as an attack on my person, eliminating my need to get defensive.
I recall who I am in Christ and praise Him. God says he will never leave me and I know from studying the temple that He is right inside of me and all I have to do is call on Him. I have to believe He is going to handle everything for me. He'll give me the words to say. I will act pleasant and loving. I am an instrument of peace not turmoil. Is it possible? Yes! All that takes less than 5 minutes once you get it down good!
Now you are much more prepared to enter the battle because you are now dressed in the armor of God.
Why do we need to change? It is not because someone doesn't like us the way we are. It is not because the world says what we are is not acceptable to them.
We want to change because we are the only Jesus most people are going to see. We are destroying our witness to a world that is lost and going to spend eternity in a bottomless pit.
We have to start replacing sinful behavior with blameless behavior. This is a lifelong process (remember what sanctification meant? A process) but with honesty and perseverance, we will heal physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Today is the beginning. If you blew it today, tomorrow is the new beginning. His mercies are new every morning! And we must remember that.
Psalm 59:16 But I will sing of Your power; Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; For You have been my defense And refuge in the day of my trouble. Detox your mind!
Just like we talk about detoxing our bodies of the harmful foods that we are feeding it, we also have to detox our souls.
Ask yourself the following really tough questions: Pay close attention to the communication that goes on in your brain as your mind answers the questions.
- How many “could-have,” “would-have” or “should-have” statements do you think or say each today?
- Do you make a decision and then try to convince yourself it was a dumb one?
- How many times do you think “if only”. Is it a part of my vocabulary?
- How many times have you replayed a conversation or situation in your head that pained you?
- How many people have you told that same painful event to in order for them to think of you as a victim? A martyr?
- How many scenarios have you created of the unpredictable future?
- How much time do you spend speculating?
- Are you existing in the outer courts of your body trying to hide the pain of what you might “find” should you actually go inside yourself into your inner courts?
- Are you hiding something? Are you afraid others wouldn't like you if they knew your secret. Are you honest with yourself?
- Do you go through the motions of the day, not really committed to a goal, saying one thing but meaning another?
- Is your thinking distorted? Are you forming your personality around a problem or a disease? Do you speak about “my arthritis”, “my PMS”, “my doctor said”, “my rebellious daughter”, “my weight”, “my bad back”.... 24/7?
- Do you ever make comments like “nothing ever goes right for me,” “everything I touch fails,” or “I always mess up”, or “why do I keep doing the same stupid thing over and over”, or “I am such a loser”/failure”.
- Do you talk critically about others to make yourself look good?
Next week we will take a deeper look at how to do this. Meantime, your homework is to take every thought captive and write down what you are thinking.
Write down some of the scenarios that you face this week. See if you can follow the Proverbs pattern for spiritual wellness.
HALT – HALLELUJAH, I Adore you Father, I Love you Father and I am Thankful that you are going to handle this situation.
TAKE A DEEP BREATH!
Study 1 Corinthians 10:3-6
1 Corinthians 10:3-6 We do live in the world. But we don't fight in the same way that the world fights. 4 We fight with weapons that are different from the weapons the world uses. Our weapons have the power from God. These weapons can destroy (the enemy's) strong places. We destroy (people's) arguments. 5 and we destroy every proud thing that raises itself against the knowledge of God. And we capture (catch) every thought and make it give up and obey Christ. 6 We are ready to punish any person who does not obey. But first we want you to obey fully. For though we live in the world we are not carrying on a worldly war, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not worldly but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle to the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
Remember something as you are doing this: Your toxic thinking is just as harmful to your health as a pack-a-day smoking addiction.
Whew!
Commit to “the Way”!
Go Lightly my sisters in Christ!
Physical Healing
I wanted to wrap up our discussion on lowering High Cholesterol that we began last week.
The ingredients that Kelly and I used to make the different dishes tonight all had healing properties to lower cholesterol.
Walnuts, oats, lentils, apples, wheat germ, garlic, onions, peas, broccoli, carrots, celery, kale, raisins, pumpkin and ginger are the main ingredients in the food that you ate. Each helps lower blood cholesterol.
Walnuts contain linoleic acid, the essential fatty acid that lowers total cholesterol and reduces the tendency of the blood to form harmful clots. Almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and soybeans also do the same thing.
Oats, legumes, apples, dried fruits are rich insoluble fiber, which reduces the amount of LDL cholesterol entering the bloodstream. It is crucial that insoluble fiber be combined with a low fat diet in order to lower your cholesterol.
We learned that a high cholesterol level is a clear sign of a raised risk of heart attack and stroke.
High cholesterol levels are caused by an unbalanced diet. The most effective way to reduce blood cholesterol levels is to eat less saturated fat, lose weight if necessary and get more exercise.
Eat more omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids such as wild salmon, sardines, wheat germ, walnuts, canola oil and soybeans.
Eat less meat and dairy products.
Women producing balanced amounts of estrogen are usually protected from having high cholesterol. If your estrogen levels are unbalanced due to menopause, hysterectomies or amenorrhea (no periods at all), you are at a higher risk for high cholesterol levels.
I teach and believe in allowing your body to heal itself through feeding it foods that contain plant estrogens found in dark green leafy vegetables and soybeans, and following the diet created by God instead of taking medications.
I believe we are gambling with our health when we takes synthetic drugs that will cause numerous other problems in addition to the ones we currently. The side effects are not worth the risk.
I also think it is crucial to take a look at your entire person and not single out one thing that is going wrong.
High cholesterol can be caused by a weak liver thereby it is crucial that foods like milk thistle and turmeric be eaten to strengthen the liver.
High cholesterol levels can also be caused because you are angry with yourself over something in your past. If you have a tendency to put yourself down, cut yourself down around others, allow others to cut you down in private or in front of others, this too could be a possible cause that needs correction.
We are looking at the spiritual, the mental and the physical. We are digging deep down inside our inner being, looking for all the things that are stopping us from becoming whole spiritually, mentally, and physically.
If you ever want to meet me one-on-one before class or at another time, please let me know. I am also available to grocery shop with you to help you and your family start choosing God whole foods.
If anyone has a health problem they want discussed next week, please let me know or email me. dlewis115@cfl.rr.com
I pray that you will allow God to change you from the inside out.
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