For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17 (NKJV)  As a believer, there are two sides to your relationship with God: a legal side and an experiential side. Both are crucial to understand.  To understand the legal side, you need to know what happened from the cross to the throne. When Jesus died, was buried and rose again, He established a new covenant. Under this legal agreement, not only are your sins forgiven, but you step into a new inheritance as God’s child. You are now entitled to all the rights and benefits Jesus won for you. Because you have this righteousness, you can stand before God confident and unashamed.  Unfortunately, some believers focus only …

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.  Romans 8:5 (NKJV)  Believers sometimes make the mistake of teaching new Christians that life is going to be easy and God is going to look after everything now that they’re following Jesus. The problem is, when trouble hits, these new believers easily fall back into the same things that controlled them in the past.  Now, it’s true that God has promised us blessing, protection and an abundant life. But the promises aren’t the whole picture. There’s another part of the process that is our responsibility—renewing our minds.  Romans 12:2 (NKJV) tells us not to be conformed to …

For who has known the mind and purposes of the Lord, so as to instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ [to be guided by His thoughts and purposes].  1 Corinthians 2:16 (AMP)  Let me ask you a question: was Christ good at outwitting the enemy? Yes, He was. And today’s verse says that as born-again believers, we can have Jesus’ mind and be guided by His thoughts.  That’s an incredible gift because we have an enemy constantly trying to deceive, confuse and prevent us from following the paths God has prepared for us.  It brings to mind one lady who started coming to our church years ago. She had a phenomenal testimony and bubbled over with joy for Jesus. Then one day, someone …

…Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.  Romans 12:2 (NLT)  Believing a lie can cause incredible damage. Once you fall for one, you’ll begin to make incorrect decisions and head in the wrong direction.  Satan is well aware of this, of course. We know because it’s the same tactic he used on Eve in the Garden of Eden. And he continues to use this approach against us today.  For example, if he wants to bring strife or division to your marriage, he won’t necessarily attack it outright. He might just keep throwing the same lie repeatedly at your mind for months to see if …

Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil. Psalm 119:133 (NLT) As you walk out your destiny, what you see and how you react to it is vital. Now, I’m not talking about your eyes. I’m saying that your thoughts and your beliefs affect how you perceive situations.  That’s why it’s crucial to keep your mind consistently renewed with the Word of God. Otherwise, an incorrect view will cause you to misinterpret conversations and circumstances, make wrong decisions and run off course.  It reminds me of a story I heard about two competing shoe salesmen. Their respective companies sent them to a country where they’d heard there was a phenomenal, untapped market for shoes.  The first salesman got off the …