ourselves. Previous to this work of the Spirit in him, the prophet Ezekiel was lying prostrate before the Lord of glory, incapable of moving. So the Lord gave him a command and then enabled him to do it. The same concept is repeated over and over again through this Gospel of the Kingdom. He commands us to heal the sick, when we have no ability to do so. Yielding to the command to do the impossible is what connects us to the enabling grace of God. Abiding in His love enables us to love.
James highlights this concept with this statement: “In humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). Where is salvation’s ability? It is in the Word. This is the best picture of the process of grace. Humility is thecondition of the tender heart. It receives seed, the Word of God. It is the word of grace that brings the capacity to perform what is commanded.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I love Your voice and am alive because You speak to me. Thank You so much for Your generous word of promise and hope. Help me to recognize the times You have spoken to me things that I know I cannot do but am being “graced” to do. I do not want my small thinking to cripple my potential when You see things differently from me. I receive your Word with humility, confessing that all breakthroughs are for Your glory!
Confession
I confess with Mary, when she faced the most impossible assignment ever, “Be it unto me according to Your word.” The impossible is now possible, because my Father commands me to do it. I embrace His Word with a humble heart that I might present to Him the fruit of the impossible. And I abide in His love for me, which in turn enables me to love, for the glory of God.
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Faith
The way you think either expresses faith or undermines faith.
F aith affects our thoughts. Our thoughts also affect our faith. Winning the battle over the mind is central to developing the Christlike lifestyle. It would be a grave mistake, however, to think that faith comes from the mind. It does not. It comes from the heart.
Faith is not intellectual in nature. The Scriptures say, “By faith we understand. . . .” It is not the other way around. Faith helps the mind grasp things that would normally be out of reach and sets the mind up for development in a healthy way. True faith is superior to reason. Yet the renewed mind is also important—it enhances the life of faith in the way that banks of a river affect the water rushing past. It provides a course defined by divine purpose.
Faith affects my thoughts because my thinking is consistent with and shaped by God’s promises over my life. In that case, fear no longer defines me, as I live with the conviction that God has an answer for every situation. But it does not stop with the conviction that there are answers to difficult or impossible situations. I must also think differently about myself and others, according to His heart. Faith corrects perceptions and aligns uswith the heart of God for others. This allows us to do as Jesus did when He called the zealous, but unstable, Peter a rock. Jesus saw correctly. Others did not.
A renewed mind sees from divine perspective. In our lives, it is the result of repentance, as repentance basically means to change the way we think. It considers realms of possibility that are not natural, or perhaps more accurately are beyond nature . Those without Christ at the center of their thinking live within a prison of restraints that God never intended. Fear often dictates how people think, but fear never bears the fruit of the impossible. Wisdom should address more than survival; wisdom should lead to Kingdom-orientated breakthroughs.
How would your thinking change if nothing were impossible, if there were no regrets haunting you from your past, if you had unlimited resources to accomplish all your purpose on the earth? Faith affects human reasoning by removing the boundaries and obstacles we have become accustomed to. It is
Nikita Storm, Bessie Hucow, Mystique Vixen