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  Rushing Streams Ministries

Thinking out loud

The Power of Doubt - John the Baptist

8/26/2016

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The Power of Doubt
    Doubt: it is the place where understanding and faith collide, where spiritual chaos is created.

    Doubt that is contemplated is always destructive to your spirit.

    “When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” “Matthew 11:2-3

    It seems like an unthinkable question from a man whom Jesus called, “Greatest man born of women,” Matthew 11:11.

     Prison was John's place of restraint, a place where he had to endure and was powerless to act.  
​     All he had was time for contemplation, time to ponder, and he began to doubt.


    “Should we expect someone else?”

    What a forlorn question.

    “No!” would not suffice; he needed evidence to put his doubts to rest.

    Jesus gave him balm for his spirit - the words of Isaiah,  "…the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised us, the poor have the good news preached to them."
​

    If you look for Messiah or the Kingdom through your interpretation or how you want it to appear, you miss the King. 

    Even though John had a revelation that Jesus was "The One,” his expectation of how the Messiah must look and behave were a stumbling block to his belief.

    "Are you the one who is to come…" 

    What a desperate plea from a man who spent his life announcing and preparing for the moment of Messiah’s revelation.
     When Jesus  began to reveal God's nature, it was not what he expected, and he doubted.

    
    The world had decided what Messiah would look like. Not looking beyond their expectations, they missed the moment of visitation. 

     
Jesus did not and does not conform to the expectation of man.

    They were looking for someone who fit their understanding of God, and their understanding blinded them to the very one who would give them sight and hearing. 

    Even John, the herald of the new king and kingdom missed it.
    
    “Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
John 1:32-34


    When you question and become uncertain, not unlike John, you will lose the heavenly perspective and rely on an earthly view of what Jesus the Messiah would do and look like, and you move into doubt.

    That which is of the flesh is limited to the flesh and open to doubt.
​

    Unless you are empowered by Holy Spirit to see things differently, you do not have the ability to do otherwise. 
     You must be born of the Spirit to see things in the Spirit.
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Avoiding the Enemy's Traps

8/19/2016

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Avoiding The Enemy's Traps

​    ”Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.”  Galatians 6:1


    Temptation is an enticing lure the enemy uses to trap and capture his victims, but more than that, he then uses these victims to draw others into the same trap.

     The danger for those who try to free the captive is that they can easily be ensnared by the same lure.
     Therefore you must be free from mindsets that hinder you and any sin in your own life that can so easily entangle you.  Hebrews 12:1

    Otherwise in your attempt to free others from the trap they are in, you can be easily deceived and taken captive by the very arguments that captured the “victim” you are trying to help.

    “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”  Colossians 2:8

    Unless you are fully submitted and secure in your relationship with Christ Jesus, you become easy prey to an enemy who often knows you better than you know yourself.

     Your only measure security and strength is the presence of His Holy Spirit in your life. 

    In your quest to set the captive free, you must be immune to his ways, or the enemy will spring the same trap on you that he has used so successfully in the lives of those around you.

    Your immunity to capture lies in the depth of your life in the Spirit.  Which is the evidence of the fruit we manifest; Love, joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

    “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”   Galatians 5:24

    Against such things there is no tactic the enemy can employ, there is no law the enemy can use to ensnare you.              
     Life in the Spirit is a most effective tool to set the captive free.
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The Enemy Within

8/12/2016

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The Enemy Within, The Fear that Shapes

     You are shaped by your thoughts - those internal beliefs and ideas taught by parents and teachers and formed by circumstances and the fears that often result from painful encounter with others.       

     There is a warning about this kind of fear:
     "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.”
 Proverbs 29:35

     Your driving force soon becomes, “What will people think?  The snare is now set.

     This creates  great distractions in your life. 

     Criticism, rejection or failure, opens the door to the fear of man and occupies your attention and fills you with anxiety.  
     As  the fear grows, your mind comes more and more under its control. 
     You soon find that this fear creates most of the problems you face in life. 

    When your fear is magnified, the offenses and problems in your life will also increase.
    
    Your words and actions reveal the fear that now influences and shapes your life.
    As long as you leave God out of the solution, you will find that your problems grow as you submit to their claims. 
         
    The level and power of your anxiety is inversely proportional to your faith and trust in God.
    Whenever you believe and embrace a lie about God, you move into anxiety.
    
    Magnifying, thanking and praising God greatly reduces the fear and the control your problems have over you.
   You must recognize that the problem is not with God, but with the influences, attitudes and beliefs you now carry.


    Ask yourself, who taught you to think the thoughts you have about yourself, others and God?  
    Were those thoughts life-giving?

   Your thoughts are mostly the result of someone else’s influence, which is often not life-giving,  but is the worldly pattern of thinking.
    
  What is the familiar voice in your life: “You are a failure, a sinner?” or is it the truth, “You are more than a conqueror, a child of the most high God?"    

   Magnify God, not your fears.
   The voice you listen to will open the door to your identity and destiny, either death or life.
    You choose! 


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You will Never Fail

8/5/2016

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     “For if you have these things you will never fail.”  2 Peter 1:10

     The promise is incredible, but it comes with a condition.

     “… make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, …, you will never stumble.” 2 Peter 1:5-8, 10

     This is our mandate: to increasingly make these virtues the ingredients of our life. Then we will not stumble or fail.

    When goodness, moral excellence, is displayed in and through us, we will continually look for the hidden excellence in others and nurture it.

     We can only do so by continually growing in deeper knowledge and manifestation of Christ in us and through us.

     To do so requires submission to Jesus in all we do. This becomes the hallmark of our lives. Our submission leads to Godly discipline that brings the flesh under control.

  Our discipline, self-control, in turn gives us the strength to persevere, maintaining a steadfast and patient endurance, with a trusting expectancy that God will work all things out for good.

     This trusting perseverance develops in us an intense loyalty towards God’s ways above all else; it brings a hunger for Godliness into our lives.

    Once loyalty is established, we cannot help but develop a genuine affection for those God loves. We grow in brotherly kindness in all circumstances where cherishing one another becomes our priority.

      With these qualities we cannot help but grow in Christian love for all that God loves.

     If we have these Godly characteristics in increasing measure, we will “..receive a right welcome into the eternal kingdom of Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:11

     These are our great weapons. With them we can fully trust the promise that “No weapon forged against us will prosper.”
     In this place our position is so secure the enemy will have no strategy against us.
     We become faithful servants who have the trust of the Father in all we do.
     What a magnificent promise.
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    Thinking Out Loud

    These are short meditations on some of the thoughts and ideas we receive as we read, study or ponder the things of God.
    They are short blogs meant to cause us to think, explore, meditate or simply delight in the things of the Lord.


    Author

    In a counseling career spanning over 30 years, author and teacher Martin Frankena has shared the life-changing power of Christ’s redemption with individuals and churches in America, Canada, South America, and Europe.  Martin's heart is to further the Lord’s mandate of releasing people into freedom from bondages to experience greater wholeness and fulfillment in life. A major focus of the ministry is healing from generational issues.

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