Blameless?

What does that mean?

When I first became a "christian" it was one of the first words that God spoke into my life that I was aware of.

"Be blameless"! It was in context to the current situation then. At the time, my first wife had left with my two kids and was pursuing another relationship. I was convicted of my own complicity in the situation and God said stop giving her reasons to justify her actions. Regret was the overwhelming emotion at the time. It was one of the reasons I "called on the Lord" in the first place.

This "regret" was the result of living a life as I saw fit and God was telling me that to be free of regret I needed to be blameless in all my relationships. It seemed simple enough. At least in concept. Just trust God to guide me in what I say and do and no one will be able to blame me for how things turn out. Yeah, right.

The issues...

• You have to really seek out and pay attention to the Holy Spirit's guidance. There are a lot of reasons we don't do that.
• People tend to blame others for their predicament. Mostly because we give them a reason.
• The enemy is constantly running around making accusations in our minds and in the minds of those around us.

I have come to realize "I am to Blame". But in that realization God's love covers my complicity and by the Blood of Christ I am forgiven. In the same realization I am called to "Trust in Him with all my heart and not trust in my own understanding. To recognize His presence in everything I do, and he will guide me on the path that leads to no regrets" Proverbs 3:5-6.

https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelical-dictionary/blameless.html

THOSE WHO WAIT UPON THE LORD!...

Shall renew their strength!

The operative word here is "strength". It presupposes a strength already attained, that needs to be renewed, bolstered, made greater.

I am reminded of the scripture... "Be transformed by the renewal of your mind". Google it for now, It's speaks of a process of transformation by where your thinking is conformed by truth. This experiential truth, backed up by Biblical witness and refined in the Fire, has every answer to the accusations of condemnation and the perversion of truth that the "enemy" uses to lead us down the path of destruction.

Discerning my thoughts? Competing Voices!

Take every thought captive to the Lordship of Christ. WHY?

Because discerning my thoughts requires I understand that my mind is not a vault (Safe and secure from anyone else) where I bang around my thoughts and try to make sense of my life. But it is a "doorway" to the spiritual realm.

It's important to understand that I can be confused by "spiritual voices" because I think they are "my thoughts". But these voices originate in the spiritual realm from two sources. One voice, that "condemns" or "exalts",  and wants to lead me to destruction. And another voice that is the "Lover of my soul", that knows me intimately and wants to lead me in the way to "become" all that He created me to be.

OVERCOMER comes to mind. That is certainly God's "Will" for you! For all of us.

Be Intentional

Don't be swept along by your circumstance. Be Intentional.

Truth separated from God becomes deception.

There is one truth with a multitude of facets. Together each facet is valid.

As a simple example., take responsibility. Separate it from accountability and you get independance. Highly valued in western society. "I am my own man", "I am self sufficient" we say. This idea that I don't need anyone to be a success is a lie.

By Grace, through Faith...

It's not where you are at, it's how far you've come. It's not what you've been given, it's what you do with it.

"in all your getting, get understanding"

Prov. 4:7. Wisdom is the principal thing;
Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.

So wisely understand this...

Proverbs 3:5-6 (HCSB) Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding;  6. Think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.

Stupify. It's a great word!

I think much of what we do (chose/decide) stupifies God.

Not that He didn't know that it was possible for us to do such a "stupid" thing.

More about a sense of disappointment that we fell short of what He had planned for us

Prayer?

I don't understand intercessory prayer. Isn't God already doing all that He can do?

Then it hit me. Jesus said "I have come to destroy the works of the devil". Intercessory prayer should not be to ask God to do something. It should be to come against the enemy that tries to thwart God's will.

He has given "us" authority to do something. Intercessory prayer is needed to get our marching orders.

What does God want "us" to do?

Endure to the end as you contend for the faith

Phil. 3:12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

"Cognitive Behavioral Therapy" in the Bible.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? Google it! It's one of the latest ideas in psychology. They seem to be realizing the truth of...

Romans 12:2  and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Contend for the Faith!

Jude 1:3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to "contend" earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

Testify

Share what you have experienced, witnessed and been taught by the Holy Spirit.

Your assumptions?

Time to question what you believe and why you believe it.

Truth

Where do I get my ability to recognize truth? What does recognizing truth mean?

Does recognizing truth mean I will respond a certain way? Does recognizing truth demand a response?

Well, truth is revealed in reality. Reality? That's the problem. We all have our interpretation of reality.

There, that's it. The real problem. Our interpretation.

When you trust in your limited ability to comprehend reality you fall into a multitude of opportunities for the enemy of your soul to take you down a path to destruction... And broad is that way.

Truth separated from God (Yahweh of the Bible) becomes deception.

Truth, understanding, knowledge? If we trust in our understanding instead of God's perfect view of reality and then the Holy Spirit's creative guidance, we will be deceived.

RADICAL DEPENDENCE! It's what we were created for.

What Matters

What matters? Are there any clues to what matters? Where can we find them? Where do we look? What do we pay attention too? What do we know? What do we trust? Is what we know and trust really what matters.

The truth is what matters.

Is there more to what I know and trust? What do you know and why do you trust it? The time is now, that you know what you believe and why you believe it.

Question with humble boldness the very existence of God. He will give an answer.

The truth is hard to find but easy to understand once discovered

God's Creative Guidance

There is not a thing that you cannot overcome trusting in God's creative guidance.

Who do you listen to?

Anxiety, fear and panic are the end result of paying heed to the enemy of your soul. He is the author of lies and is committed to your eventual destruction.

Security, trust and rest are the end result of paying heed to the Lover of your soul. He is the author of truth and knows you intimately for He created you in His image. He has called you to be an overcomer.

Spiritual wounds?

The healing of the physical is a shadow of God's purpose to heal us Spiritually. The enemy of our soul uses spiritual wounds from our past to manipulate our present and to hinder us from responding to others with God's love and grace.

God's still, small voice?

"God speaks most clearly to us in this day through His Word. The more we learn it, the more ready we will be to recognize His voice when He speaks, and the more likely we are to obey what we hear."

https://www.gotquestions.org/still-small-voice.html

Present-tense: an attribute of the Holy Spirit.

Now is 'where" God is. Where "you are" is held together (action) by God in the now. He is present everywhere. He calls Himself "I Am". We "are" because "He is".

This all is going on in the present tense. Now!