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Cleansing
(Meaning: In a spiritual sense, it means to be purified or to be
purged from anything and everything that is ungodly. So obviously its a
process).
Just as our material things require cleaning and our physical bodies need
to be cleaned, likewise, our personal spiritual life necessitates cleansing
and subsequent safeguarding of it.(Ps 51:2) Wash me thoroughly from
my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. (Ps 51:7) Wash me and I
shall be whiter than snow.
If we sin, our sin always stands before us (Ps 51:3). Whatever sin it may
be, when we sin, its only against God, that we have sinned and done evil
in His sight (Ps 51:4). This is why we need Cleansing. Moreover, God
desires truthfulness in our inward being as well as in our hidden areas
of life (Ps 51:6). This is also why we need Cleansing. The Psalmist asks
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God to create a clean heart in him (Ps 51:10). Do you desire to have
such a clean heart?
Only the Lord Jesus Christ can Cleanse us from all iniquities and sins
and grant us pardon and resulting blessings.(Jer 33:8,9) I will cleanse
them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and
I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which
they have transgressed against Me.
9 Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all
nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they
shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I
provide for it.
We must willingly confess the sins wed been doing, to the Lord Jesus
Christ.
(1 Jn 1:9,10) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word
is not in us.
We can all receive this Cleansing, through the Word of God (Ps 119:9)
How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to
Your word.
(Eph 5:26) That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of
water by the word.
We can also receive this Cleansing, through the Blood of Christ
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(Heb 9:14) How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the
eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your
conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Forgiveness
What is the meaningof Forgiveness?
Whosecharacteristicis Forgiveness?
Examplesof Forgiveness:
The Bible very clearly declares, that unforgiving persons will have to face
the righteous judgment of God deserving death (Rom 1:31,32). Remember, God will not forgive us, if we do not forgive others (Mt 6:15;
James 2:13). Having hatred and unforgiving attitude towards anyone
isnt really worth it! Are we still waiting for others to repent? Why dont
we take the first step of repentance to forgive others, as they are
eventually enabling God to workout true repentance in their lives?
Well, thats what you wanted isnt it? Believe it, it works!
ably.I know that only You can give me the grace and strength to forgive those whove hurt me. Forgive me Lord for being so unforgiving.
From this moment onward embolden me to forgive those in the past,
present and even in future. Thank You Lord, I already feel a sense of
lightness within myself right away! In the Name of Jesus, I pray
Amen!
We know; man is made up of spirit, soul and body. The flesh, is that
part of the body, which can either take side with Christ or with the devil.
The Bible says, Christ was born according to flesh (Rom 1:3; 9:5; 1 Jn
4:2); The Word became flesh (Jn 1:14); Lord Jesus Christ manifested
His godliness even through His flesh (1 Tim 3:16); His flesh did not see
corruption (Acts 2:31); and Our flesh must be crucified with Christ
(Gal 5:24). If not, the fleshbecomescarnal in nature.When it does, it
keeps on manifesting (Gal 5:19). In other words, it keeps on working
contrary to our well-being of life in Christ.This is what is meant by the
Works of the Flesh!
The Word of God has given us a clear and comprehensive listing of these.
Everyone who does these, will not inherit the Kingdom of God (Gal
5:19-21).
1. Adultery: unlawful sexual relations between men and women, single
or married (Mt 15:19; Mk 7:21; Jn 8:3; Gal 5:19).
2. Fornication: incest (1 Cor 5:1; 10:8); idolatry and adultery in honor of
idol gods (2 Chr 21:11; Is 23:17; Ezek 16:15,26,29; Acts 15:20,29; 21:25;
Rev 2:14-21; 14:8; 17:2-4; 18:3-9; 19:2); natural harlotry (Jn 8:41;
1 Cor 6:13-18); spiritual harlotry (Ezek 16:15,26,29; Rev 17:2-4; 18:3-9;
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19:2); male and female prostitution (1 Cor 6:9-11; Heb 12:16; Jude 1:6-7;
Rom 1:24-29; 2 Cor 12:21; Gal 5:19; Eph 5:3; Col 3:5).
3. Uncleanness: whatever is opposite of purity; including sodomy,
homosexuality, lesbianism, pederasty, bestiality and all other forms of
sexual perversion (Gal 5:19; Mt 23:27; Rom 1:21-32; 6:19; 2 Cor 12:21;
Eph 4:19; 5:3; Col 3:5; 1 Thess 2:3; 4:7).
4. Lasciviousness: licentiousness, lustfulness, unchastely and lewdness.
Its translated lasciviousness (Mk 7:22; 2 Cor 12:21; Gal 5:19; Eph 4:19;
1 Pet 4:3; Jude 1:4); wantonness (Rom 13:13; 2 Pet 2:18) and filthy
(2 Pet 2:7). Lasciviousness is the promoting or partaking of that which
tends to produce lewd emotions, anything tending to foster sex sin and
lust. That is why many worldly pleasures have to be avoided by Christian
believers, so that lasciviousness may not be committed.
5. Idolatry:image-worship (1 Cor 10:14; Gal 5:20; Col 3:5; 1 Pet 4:3).
Idolatry includes anything on which affections are passionately set; its
extravagant admiration of the heart (Eph 5:5; Col 3:5).
6. Witchcraft:sorcery, practice of dealing with evil spirits; magical
incantations and casting spells and charms upon one by means of drugs
and potions of various kinds (Gal 5:20; Rev 9:21; 18:23; 21:8; 22:15).
Enchantments were used to inflict evil, pains, hatred, sufferings, and
death, or to bring good, health, love and other blessings.
7. Hatred:enmity (Lk 23:12; Rom 8:7; Eph 2:15-16; James 4:4); hatred
(Gal 5:20). This is the bitter dislike, abhorrence, malice and ill-will
against anyone; with tendency to hold grudges against or be angry at
someone.
8. Variance:dissensions, discord, quarreling, debating and disputes
(Rom 1:29).
9. Emulations: envies, jealousies; striving to excel at the expense of
another; seeking to surpass and to outdo others; uncurbed rivalry spirit
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1. Stand fast in the liberty of the gospel with which Christ has made us
free and do not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage (Gal 5:1-3).
2. Maintain justification in grace and obey the truth (Gal5:4,7).
3. Walk in the Spirit (Gal 5:16,17).
4. Be led by the Spirit (Gal 5:18).
5. Crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts (Gal 5:19-21,24).
6. Demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in daily life (Gal 5:22,23).
7. Live in the Spirit (Gal 5:25,26).
8. Be watchful and prayerful (Mt 26:41; Mk 14:38).
You can do all of these, right? Just take a step of dedication and
determination, youll find God taking every step to see to it, that He
fulfills your hearts desires in conquering every works of the flesh!
Loving Heavenly Father, Thank You Lord for expounding these practical Truths about all the works of the flesh! I never knew allsuch things
and the fact that they existed within me. Forgive me Lord for being so
ignorant. My eyes of understanding have been opened, by Your grace!
From this minute,I deeply dedicate myself to effectively do all what it
takes to successfully overcome these carnal virtues in my life. Thank
You Lord once again, making me conquerstraightaway! I pray this
prayer in Jesuss NameAmen!
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Pride
John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and
the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the
world.
Psalms 138:6 Though the Lord, be high, yet hath he respect unto the
lowly, but the proud, he knoweth afar off.
And God does hate pride. He sees it. He knows it, and will not bless us,
when we have it.
Please read the following indicators with the help of the Holy Spirit and
determine honestly if you have pride:
1. Pride, is Not admitting you are wrong. Or even the possibility, you
could be wrong. Not open to hear, not open to listen, not open, to
receive Not correctable at all.
2. Pride, is Not allowing any one to correct you.
3. Pride, is Looking down on others, thinking you are better than
someone else. You look at others, and judge them. You see yourself, as
holier than thou.
4. You have pride, when You are Rebellious.You know what is right, from
wrong, but you choose to do your thing anyway and dismiss truth. That
is a characteristic of pride.
5. Pride will be evident, when One is Jealous of someone else. Ex of
their accomplishments, or their attributes, even the way they look.
6. Pride is Thinking you deserve the Best and not someone who you
think is not worth. When someone not as talented, or smart or
influential as you receive a blessing that you are awaiting, you cannot
tolerate it. When someone gets a better house/car/spouse/children/travel
etc
Are you thinking low of some person in your mind who is better/lesser
than you in various areas of life. For example, in their Faith walk,
Education, Wealth, Family Blessings, Social Status, Talents, Color of
Skin, Beauty, Possessions like Car, Count of any achievements
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Tongue
James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire! The tongue represents the world
of wrongdoing among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the entire
body and sets fire to the course of human existence--and is set on fire
by hell.
James 1 :26 If you claim to be religious but dont control your
tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.
Colossians 3:8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath,
malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
Let us consider some sins of the tongue as we find them revealed in
Gods word.
Proverbs 25:18 says, A man that beareth false witness against his
neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow. So a lying tongue
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The Bible also speaks of the proud tongue. Psalm 12:3-4 says, The
LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud
things: A proud- tongued Christian is hard to teach or reason with
because he thinks he knows everything. Allow the Holy Spirit to use
your tongue in the way of humility and kindness because pride will only
quench Gods Spirit and damage your testimony.
Some people sin by simply overusing their tongue. Ecclesiastes 5:3 says
that a fools voice is known by multitude of words. People think they
appear smart by much talking, but the Bible states just the opposite.
Ecclesiastes 5:2 says, Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart
be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou
upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. God doesnt like a blabber
mouth.
Some people are guilty of speaking too swiftly when they really need to
wait before saying anything. Gods word says the following in Proverbs
18:13: He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and
shame unto him.
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Proverbs 18:8 says, The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they
go down into the innermost parts of the belly. Leviticus 19:16 says,
Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people. . .
Every Christian has the duty to deny his own desires and seek to
edify other Christians (Rom. 14:19; Philip. 2:3). Talebearing runs wholly
contrary to Christian edification. Talebearing (carrying and telling tales)
spreads all sorts of hurtful information around, and Satan uses such
information to hinder and tear down Gods work.
Prayer:
Father, today, I will search my heart, and your word, concerning my
tongue, and all the words that proceeds from my mouth. Like Isaiah,
clean my lips and wash it that it might speak only your word and
glorify your name. All things are possible with you and I know that
you are able to deliver me and start using my mouth as a instrument in
your hands. Amen.
Most of the times, as Gods people, we may not actually commit sin by
our words or by our works. Nevertheless, we may often times have evil
thoughts within ourselves. We may be aware or unaware. But all said
and done, such foolish devising and ungodly mind-setting deep within
us are also real sins, in the sight of the Lord.(Prov 24:9) The devising
of foolishness is sin. Therefore, we need to be cleansed deeplywithin
ourselves.
What areUngodlyMind-settings?
Its not too difficult to prayerfully analyze, whether we still harbor any of
these!
What areGodlyMind-settings?
The Bible also lists out godly thoughts of our minds, which God
emphasizes and encourages us to own.
Same Mind (Rom 12:16)
Sound Mind (2 Cor 5:13)
Willing Mind (2 Cor 8:12)
Ready Mind (2 Cor 8:19)
One mind (Phil 1:27)
Peaceful Mind (Phil 4:7)
Simplicity of mind (Phil 2:3)
Mature Mind (Phil 3:13-15)
Heavenly Mind (Col 3:1,2)
Focused Mind (Is 26:3)
Rightful Mind (Prov 12:5)
Come what may, we ought to be very sure to guard our minds with such
divine thought processes.
Rectifying
Our good Lord already knows our thoughts (Ps 94:11; Mt 9:4;12:25;
Lk 5:22;6:8). So, God searches our minds (Rev 2:23). How does God
search our minds? He searches by our indwelling Holy Spirit (Rom
8:27). Hence, God clearly knows our unstable minds (Ex 13:17).
Therefore, He tests our minds (Ps 7:9).
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For this reason, we need to ask Him to examine our mind (Ps 26:2).
When God examines and reveals our thoughts and intensions to us, it is
by committing our works to the Lord, which establishes our thoughts in
Him(Prov 16:3).
Renewing
At times, we are under the thinking that we can never change our deeply
hidden ungodly thoughts. People have the ability to change their minds
for good (Acts 28:6).
This is why we ought to seriously renew our mind-settings, to fulfill
Gods Will for our lives (Rom 12:2).
Well, how do we do this? We do this by being renewed in the spirit of
our mind (Eph 4:22-24).
But then, how to do this?This we do, by putting on our new nature in
Christ in true righteousness and holiness.
Its not enough that we just have a cleansed mind! The Bible reveals
Gods heart that God wants to put His commandments in our minds
(Jer 31:33). So we must renew our minds,in line with the Word of
God (Heb 4:12).
Would you like to pray now, for our Lord to cleanse your mind?
My gracious Heavenly Father, I come to you in Jesus precious Name.
Now I have come to understand my own self, a little better. I sincerely
acknowledge Lord, that knowingly or unknowingly I had entertained
many undesirable, ungodly, unwanted thoughts in my mind. I really
require a deep cleansing in my inward being. Give me Your grace to
clearly discern such ungodly thoughts and refrain from them. Fill me
with your Holy Spirit to rectify and renew my mind always with Your
Word that I will be enriched with godly mind-settings. Now I am fully
confident and strongly believe Lord, that I also have the mind of Christ
in me!
In Jesuss Name I prayAmen!
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