Spirit Savvy Network ... acquiring Spiritual Intelligence

by Dale Shumaker

www.spiritsavvy.net

4spirit@gmail.com

4. Acquiring Spiritual Intelligence  

Daily tapping into His Spirit, His Intelligence

For your Magnificent Mission to be manifested magnificently, beyond what the natural mind can do, it takes Spiritual Intelligence. We have four main intelligences: the mind, the body, the emotions, and the Spirit. Probably the least developed is Spiritual Intelligence, according to Stephen Covey, in The 8th Habit, and Dr. J. Robert Ashcroft, college president.

The mind, working at its best, can do phenomenal things. Add Spiritual intelligence, and it moves us into operating in a Super-natural realm, above what the best of our brains can do.  Military operations always gather intelligence before engaging in battle. The more we know about what we face, the better we will do in the battles we face. Only through the Spirit can this be acquired where we can get strategic information that only God knows.

The Spirit, in concert with a mind which is compatible with the Spirit, puts a person's mode of operation into a higher, more sophisticated realm. A Magnificent Mission requires Spiritual Intelligence to accomplish the mission God has implanted in us to do. Spiritual Intelligence is God's all-knowing capabilities of which we can live in partnership with... in all we do.

We can secure strategies and knowledge directly from God's Spirit, attained in no other way except through the knowledge that God's Spirit gives us. God's Spirit is everyone, so the magnitude of this resource goes beyond any other resource. When Joshua accessed Spiritually Intelligence for his battles, which were accompanied by Spiritual Power, his victories were overwhelming. Jesus said about Himself that He could do nothing without His Father in Heaven. Spirit empowers what we know and does more than we know to do ... an inseparable companion to renewing the mind.

Look at the process by Jesus outlined in John 14 through 16. Jesus tells the disciples that He is the way to His Father. As His Son, the Father listens to Him. And through Him we have direct access to God as well (who is All-powerful, All-knowing). The Father is in Jesus and Jesus is in the Father, Jesus proclaimed. And after physically leaving the earth, Jesus said He was coming back, by way of sending us the Spirit to live among us. With this plan, He said we would surpass the works He did on earth...  by believing in Him and keeping His commandments. Our minds can't even comprehend all the possibilities when we engage in Spirit.

The Holy Spirit, our Helper, will lead us to truth. We will know and recognize the truth. He will teach us everything we need to know. So beyond formal education, we will learn from Him. When talking to people, the Helper will convince us and others of the mistakes we are making. He will direct us to Truth to show us a better way. He will even reveal to us the future, what is to come. And His power, the power that created the world and all things, will be with us.

In life, our lives are enhanced to an incredible sphere. We will have abilities to know if someone is being honest or trying to mislead us, help us determine if something is a good idea or not, and show us the best way to handle a matter.

What we don't know, the Spirit will teach us. He is our master teacher so that we know some things without being told or taught by someone else. We learn and grow through the intricate teaching of the Spirit in our lives, and from others who are also tapped into the Spirit. We will figure out what is coming ahead of us and know what to do in preparation for it.

These capabilities go beyond what the mind can do. By living in Jesus, in the Spirit whom He sends to us, we will then be able to do greater things than what is considered possible by human means. What a skill set to have. What an added resource in our lives to be at our disposal, to live in the Spirit, to glorify the Father as we live out our Magnificent Mission… knowing we get Magnificent assistance to help us.

He goes on to say all you need to do is ask for what is needed to get the job done. Jesus said that whatever you ask in His name, He will do it. And then adds, if you love me you will keep My commandments. So, it remains important to renew, reprogram the mind so you do know what His commandments are and follow them.

As we look at the building blocks to living the Spirit Savvy way, we see that our mission is God inspired, faith is built by God's Spirit and the understanding of the Scriptures are enriched by the Spirit, entering and living within the Spirit of God makes all this come alive. With the Helper, the Spirit, we get clarity of His mission for us, our faith rises up beyond our natural abilities, and The Bible comes alive as a living Word. Then we hear, recognize and know His voice. So we can tell the difference between His Voice and other voices that may mislead us. Jesus said those who truly, sincerely seek Him will know His voice.

Because of Jesus, we can enter the Presence of God. (see Hebrews 10) We can go directly to the very presence of God, The Heavenly Father, and spend time there going over things and being refreshed and renewed by Him. It is where we get His Divine ideas and insights, receive His Power to get it done, and  are enriched daily in our Spirit because of the visit.

It is like having daily access to the CEO of a large corporation with time to go over the activities we have. What the CEO orders to happen will happen because he has the authority and the power to make it happen. We feel the comfort and strength in knowing that. The authority of his directive, guarantees it will happen.  A powerful way to live, and joyful way to live. When in God's Presence, we have the greatest force in the world at work in us, for us, around about us.

Do this.

To enter His presence and have direct audience with God and His Intelligence, there are ways to do it. You can hear God's voice, acquire His Intelligence and Power. In the Old Testament we see that the Spirit of the Lord would speak to someone, tell them to do a certain thing a certain way, say something a particular way.  Today, this is a privilege of everyone. We can hear directly from God too, just like the Old Testament prophets did, as Jesus did, and Jesus' followers. How is this done?  

God (His Spirit) speaks in most cases through your thoughts.

How do you know if it is God's Spirit and not your own imagination?  When you get a thought that you feel is directed from God, first check to see if it is consistent with the Scriptures. Scriptures are consistent with God's Spirit and it is one way to verify it. By spending more time in His Presence, the more you will recognize the thoughts that are God's voice, words of the Spirit, and not some stray thought running wild through your brain. Keep in mind, if you are angry, bitter or depressed, it may be your emotions over-riding His voice. Be leery of your thoughts as being from God when in a despairing, angry state of mind.

As you read the Scriptures take time to just reflect on what you are reading. Many times you get an impression about something then. A Scripture may have a thought relevant to what you are doing. Use the Psalms for reflecting on who God is, what He is doing in your life, how great He is. Ask Him questions about what you read and what's on your mind, or something you are wanting an answer to. Relax and give time to ponder. When you are settled down, can reflect without interruption, after asking a question, you may have an idea pop into your head. It may be a word, a phrase, an impression. Very likely this is God's voice for you. What we call prayer is an interactive time. It's doing the above and being aware of thoughts that come to mind.

Another way to pray or communicate with God in Spirit is to follow the Lord's prayer as an outline. Take each sentence in the prayer and make a personal application of the thought. Reading a Psalm and then going through the Lord's prayer is an effective way to enter in His Spirit, and turn the mind to His Spirit. The Lord's prayer is in Matthew 6 and Luke 11.

With Christ in the School of Prayer, Andrew Murray has a thorough explanation on prayer called The Model Prayer. It's using the Lord's prayer as an outline when you pray. See this summary of The Model Prayer.

http://jesusisus.blogspot.com/2012/10/with-christ-in-school-of-prayer-4-model.html

Also, in Experiencing God through Prayer by Madame Guyon, she shares how to enter His Presence and hear directly from God. Here's a summary of some of her suggestions.

Guyon says prayer is entering the Presence of God and remaining there for Him to speak, heal, console and just be with you. Start by digesting the Word of God, and then pray the Word of God. The Kingdom of God resides in His Temple and we are now His Temple. We can enter that most Holy and Powerful place… have a direct audience with God.

Look at the Lord's prayer and dwell on these words. Our Father... we are His child. Let Him know your heart's desire. Continue as you ponder and reflect on Your Kingdom Come and Your will be Done on Earth as in Heaven. Ask God to accomplish His will through you on earth as it is in Heaven.

"Give us this day our Daily Bread." Tell Him about your needs, your mission, people you know. God is within you, walks with you, so He cares for you and wants to help with your Magnificent Mission. Simply follow God's directions for you. He will help you fulfill His work.

Forgive those who have hurt you and ask to be forgiven for what you have done that hurt someone else. Ask Him to protect you from being tempted to do wrong, and from those who want to do harm to you. After the Lord's prayer, Jesus admonishes us to forgive others as He has forgiven us. Love for and forgiveness of others are major factors which lead to answered prayer. (see Matthew 6)  

As you pray, have a notebook handy. Write down your thoughts and ideas in the notebook or record them on your smart phone, Facebook, etc. Through the Spirit's thoughts and impressions, you get directives, ideas, strategies laid out for you. The after-time of listening, and writing down ideas that come after you ask questions is very important. It's that quiet time afterward that solutions to problems, insights, His Spiritual Intelligence are made known to you. Consider these thoughts as thoughts from God, His Spirit. That's what hearing from God is.

I then have a confidence in acting on my thoughts knowing His Spirit is at work too. The more you do this, the more clarity will come. You begin to hear His Voice, The Spirit of God directing you, helping you to strategically fulfill your mission. Ask, seek, knock… when you do, you will be given what you ask for, seek God for, and knock on His door for His help. (see Luke 11)

To pray means to be in communication with God, interacting in Spirit with Him, and knowing Jesus is there to help you always.

Consider this.

Jesus went off often to pray the Scriptures say. (Luke 5)

Even Jesus said He could do nothing without the Father's help.(John 5)

He also said All Things are Possible with God. (Matthew 19)
God tells us things we do not know. (Jeremiah 33)

Our lives are so taken up with busy activities, communication devices in all parts of our lives, it is hard to turn them off, and go to a place of quiet and reflection. We all need that quiet place, that quiet spot where we can focus on the beauty of our Creator. As we reflect on The Scriptures, we get clarity, hear His Voice, recognize how wonderfully made we are.

Jesus re-enforced that "My House shall be a House of Prayer." (Luke 19) That House is your body.  We are the temple in which He now resides (1 Corinthians 6), so its primary function is for prayer... communicating, talking, being within His Presence. Here we acquire Spiritual Intelligence, His power is with us to get the job done, to fulfill the Magnificent Mission He has for us.

Practice the Joshua Principle. Always seek God first, get Divine direction, Spirit-Directed strategies, follow them and you will be assured His Spirit goes before you to assure victory. As Jesus also said, seek what God's Kingdom is about first, and all these things will be added to you. (see Matthew 6)

Over the last couple decades of my life I have seen this as the most important part of my life... to learn prayer, communicating with God in Spirit. As the disciples asked Jesus, Teach us to pray, may we do the same. What's most important is to do it. Establish a routine and do it daily. Then, you will see the greatest miracle of all. Jesus teaches you how to pray, through pray, as you pray.

As we abide in Spirit (see John 15), as a branch is hooked into a vine, our abiding is like the branch that is a direct line to the Spirit's Power. Live connected to the vine. In direct connection with His Spirit all things we ask for will become reality. We will produce much fruit. This section of Scripture in John 15 is crucial for getting Spiritual Intelligence, and being empowered by His Spirit when carrying it out.  

Scripting the Movie

Amos owned two businesses. His plate was always full as each day he had numerous important decisions to make, things that had to get done.

As a routine, early in the morning he would get up, fix some coffee, and sit in his easy chair next to the living room big bay window. It overlooked a grassy green valley, and in the distance the sun would come up between the two small mountains bordering the valley. He flipped open his laptop he had beside the chair, and started going down his favorites he kept bookmarked. First was the Scripture of the Day. Then he clicked to his favorite devotional, he always found himself reading parts and looking out across the valley thinking about it. A thought of inspiration would run across his mind. Logging into his Facebook page, he wrote a thought that the Spirit was impressing on him. He went back to reading.

At the bottom of the devotional link were sections of the Bible to read. By reading this everyday he was able to read through the Bible in a year. A verse would stick in his mind, which raised his curiosity of how it was worded in other translations. Using Bible Gateway, he compared it to some of his most-liked translations: the New American Standard, the New Living Translation, the King James Version. The default translation on the Bible reading page was the New International Version. At times he also looked to see how the English Standard Version expressed something.

As he was reading, many times a thought crossed his mind for a meeting he had coming up. Twice a week he met with the managers of his two businesses. With a legal pad constantly in reach, he wrote the thought down, so he could come back to it later. He told people he got many of his insights for his business while pondering God's Word. As he would read through the Scriptures he asked God questions about what he was reading.

Following his reading time, Amos would pray using the Lord's prayer as an outline. Taking a phrase at a time he would relate it to events in his life. He also prayed for those he knew as The Spirit brought them to mind. He made it a point to pull out the list of all those working for him in his two businesses and pray for God's will, protection, and well-being in their lives.

Sometimes his thoughts wandered, being interrupted in thought about various concerns of the day. Each time he jotted them on his legal pad. On the legal pad Amos had two columns... one was a "to-do" list of things he needed to take care of that day, and another was  "Inspired ideas or thoughts" list. He continued to stay in God's Presence, as he would say it. Amos felt it was at these times that God spoke to him and gave him Divine direction for matters at hand. So he made sure to keep a written record of his thoughts.

After each session in pondering the Scriptures and praying, Amos had compiled a list of ideas, solutions, strategies that popped into his brain during his devotional time. Many of the inspired thoughts he emailed to a small group he called his business prayer network.

These first two hours in the morning went by quickly. He not only felt energized for the day, but Amos got direction to solve many problems and come up with new business ideas he shared with his managers. During the day,  Amos would frequently text his managers an inspiring thought, Scripture or prayer.

A friend asked him, who knew about his morning routine, how he had time to do this every day. Amos said he was so busy, that he needed God's help. During these times he felt he was hearing God's voice with direction for his day and business affairs. When he took time for being in God's Presence, God always gave him strategic direction for the day. The day progressed more efficiently, and when an unexpected problem would come up, he made wiser decisions, and made them more quickly.  Day by day he got done what he needed to within that day with time to be home with his wife, and still catch his boy's ball games, never missing a game.

Amos emphasized he couldn't afford not to do this as he had so much to do, and God always helped him do it better and faster. He went on to say the busier he got, the more time he spent in the morning in God's Presence. There he acquired Spiritual Intelligence on how to get more done in less time, more efficiently.

As for me, it seems when reading the Scriptures I feel sometimes God is saying it directly to me.  Recently a friend in Florida, about 1000 miles from where I live, suggested we do a Bible study over the phone. We happened to pick Zechariah as we were wondering what certain Scriptures meant. We got through the first six chapters. A day or so later I jumped to chapter 8. Then in the morning I went back to chapter 8. Something seemed to be nudging me in my spirit about it. As I was reading verse 9, it just seemed to shout out loud to me..."Be strong and finish the task." As I read on selective parts continued to jump off the page at me... "you were once cursed, ... but now I will make you both a Symbol and Source of Blessing. …

So don’t be afraid. Be strong, and get on with rebuilding the Temple!" The voice I heard in my head I felt was the very voice of God Himself speaking it to me. This is one of the ways I feel I hear His voice. I hold on to what I heard in my spirit very tightly, and go back to it like it was a direct commission from the Holy Spirit.

And in your Magnificent Mission be strong and get on with rebuilding the Temple. You are the temple for the Holy Spirit as Jesus said and the Apostle Paul emphasized. Build what God has set on your heart to do and be equipped with the best training in your field and spirit to work toward finishing the task.

The moral of the story: You have the privilege to speak directly to God, your Heavenly Father. As it says in Hebrews (chapter 10), you can enter the Most Holy Place, you can go directly to our Heavenly Father for Spiritual Intelligence, getting information that only The Spirit would know, strategies that are powered by the Spirit, direction, comfort, and a heightened sense of well being. When you acquire Spiritual Intelligence and dwell in His Presence, you can expect Him to work on the behalf of your Magnificent Mission… knowing that the Power of His Spirit is going before you.

The greatest gift is knowing the Spirit lives in you. And Jesus is with you always. As Jesus lives in the Father, they also live in you, and you in them. And God speaks to you selectively, specifically all the time... as you ask, seek, listen, and you live His Magnificent Mission for you through your life.

The ingredient that fuels prayer is love and being forgiving. In a spirit of Love, God's ear remains attentive. Have a forgiving heart. To love is to forgive from the heart, and not hold on to anger or bitterness. Love and forgiveness are the keys that keep the door open for the Spirit to flow back and forth. What the Spirit knows, He will show you. What He shows you He will provide the Power to do it.

Your Spiritual Intelligence, wisdom, strategic actions will mature and grow. You will have less stress and strain in your life. Living in the Spirit, communicating and responding to His Spirit, propels your Magnificent Mission.

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Spirit Savvy Network … renew your mind

by Dale Shumaker

www.spiritsavvy.net

4spirit@gmail.com

3. Renew your mind, transform your mind to Spirit.

Our brain is a marvelous creation. It remains one of the most powerful computers on earth. It not only can store great amounts of information, but can make judgement calls, express and understand emotion, and keep what is recorded in it through our whole lifetime, in storage as long as we are alive.

As soon as we are born our senses go to work to pull in everything it sees, hears, feels. We come into the world like a hard drive that has the operating system in place to run our body functions, then as soon as we are born we begin programming our brain. What our eyes see, what our ears hear, what our feelings feel is being downloaded into our subconscious.

The brain begins filling up all the experiences we have and it stores them one after another. Neuroscience says the mind can store over a million gigabytes of information. The subconscious stores everything we hear, see, feel, and categorizes it.

Without conscious effort, the brain programs all experiences and categorizes them in areas most common to our past decisions. How and what we think, feel, act is based on this. We respond automatically and instantly from this information harbored in our brain's subconscious mind.

That's the good news. The bad news is it also stores decisions eliciting behaviors not to our best interest. Then again the good news is that we can control this, and not let the brain have its own way. We spend years in school to organize and respond to this information we store in the best way possible, so we can use it in beneficial, life enhancing ways. Then again what we learned in school, through our experiences may not be to the best interest to our well-being. So again we must decide what is best to be put in our brain.

If we don't deliberating control and guide it, it will set up patterns of behavior on its own. Some are good, some are not so good. The more we repeat an action, the more it becomes an innate, auto-programmed responding behavior. Consequently, whether being happy, sad, mad, motivated, lethargic, has been determined by these past repetitive decisions that become automatic reactors in the brain.

All habits, thought patterns, and behavior are developed from what's familiar… our reaction to past experiences, outside of our conscious control. As we mature as a person, we live as a slave to what becomes the subconscious reaction to these experiences.

We face two choices... we don't take control of this process and live an aimless life without reason, based on programmed outside influences. Or we take control of this process, reprogram our brain to patterns and behaviors that are abundantly fruitful for us.

For the Spirit to work in us, we must be the commander of the brain and implant the Spirit into our brain, replacing the past mind's information with a New Mind of Spirit. The mind must become uniform and consistent with the Spirit. One mind of Spirit. Jesus said a house divided against itself can't stand. When the mind has conflicting sets of information to work from, we have a very dysfunctional person. So we need to renew the mind, program it to the principles of the Spirit.

Today a complaint I hear about those who attend church is they are one thing at church, but totally someone else during the week.  Some say they are hypocrites. The cause behind living two life standards may go back to their lack of aligning the mind to Spiritual principles. Many hold Spiritual principles in their intellect, but have not made it one with the mind. A person may be able to recite Spiritual principles, but not have it as a normal functional part of their lives.

To resolve this mental double standard, the Apostle Paul admonishes us to be transformed by renewing our mind. (see Romans 12) It's essential and crucial to see Principles of God's Spirit being expressed in our lives... as an automatic behavior. We must become one mind, controlled by the Spirit and Spiritual principles. Only then will we live out the Spirit's capabilities, to become the character of the Spirit as being who we really are and what people see. Only then can we fulfill the inspired Magnificent Mission stamped on our DNA by God. When we live without the mind and Spirit in sync with each other, it causes us to feel like something is just not right. We don't know what's wrong; we are just not happy with life, or lack a sense of satisfaction.  Although when mind and Spirit are in harmony with each other, we live in a greater power, are contented and satisfied within.

Consequently, taking calculated, thoughtful action to renew the mind is of utmost importance.

Our mind has been programmed by all our life experiences, ideas, media we hear without our consent. We have allowed it to be a host to a mindset, a way of thinking, that in most cases is inconsistent with the Spiritual principles of God. We can change this, must change this to be a Spirit Savvy person, living out our Magnificent Mission.

When you buy a car and follow the manufacturer's directions on how to maintain and care for the car, it will run well and last longer. The same is true for the Spirit.  As you live out the mission you are designed for and follow God's manufacturing instructions, life goes better.

For all this to happen, carefully guide and direct what you put in your brain, and follow the Spiritual principles of your Creator. When your mind is transformed to line up with God's principles on how He designed you, you function phenomenally.

When Jesus said a person needs to be born again, this includes a rebirth in how we think, a renewal and transformation of the mind to be a Spiritual mind, living out Biblical principles, doing things God's way.

It needs to be re-calibrated to the way of the Spirit. It takes a conscious, calculated effort to become Spiritually-driven as a person. The mind must be reborn, rebuilt, realigned with the systems of the Spirit for the Magnificent Mission to reach the magnitude it is made for.

"Study this Book of Instruction(the Bible) continually. Meditate on these words (the Scriptures) day and night and what you set to do will be accomplished." Be diligent to do everything it says and do it well. Then be bold and courageous because the Lord God, the Almighty Spirit of God will be with you.

(see Joshua 1, Deuteronomy 6)

Do this.

Your best time to take in information that goes into your subconscious is at night, right before going to sleep. Read Jesus' teachings, the Apostles letters, the Psalms, as the last part of your evening. Play a Bible audio version as you fall asleep. Then the first thing when you get up read the Scriptures. Go to your Scripture of the day if you have a devotional that provides one. There are also several sites on the Internet with Scriptures of the day. Your church may have a Bible reading plan, do it daily.  

Throughout the day, take a Bible reading break. In the middle of the day, when you have a spare moment read faith promises, Jesus' teachings, etc.. Carry a small New Testament or download an app to use on your smartphone. Listen to faith, inspired teachings as you drive, and do activities around the house.

Talk to a friend and share your Scripture, or Spiritual thought that is going through your mind that day, or something that happened that reminded you of one of God's principles.

I heard a minister say he has a notebook of God's Principles. In it he has over 100 Scriptures that build up his belief in God's Power, and the very character of God's Spirit. Consider doing  this too. Using Bible Gateway, or another Bible site, do keyword searches of the characteristics of God's Spirit, such as faith, belief, hope, love, forgiveness, trust. Make your own notebook (paper or electronic) of Scriptures that inspire or direct you.

Inundate yourself with Inspired Praise Music, the inspiration of the Scriptures, and Inspired teachers. Do this morning, noon and night. A balanced diet of the Psalms, Proverbs, the Prophets, Jesus' teachings, the words of the Apostles... taken in every day will keep your Spiritual Well-Being steady and strong. It takes a disciplined, deliberate, systematic habit each day to keep you tuned into His Spirit and to live out God's principles daily. Create a plan and follow it every day. By having a plan you stay on course. On your days off from work, create an advanced plan, go more in depth in your study of Scriptural principles.

Joshua 1 works today. Mediate on His Words, day and night, and what you do will go well for you.

Consider this.

Jesus prayed that "they be One as we are One." (John 17) To be One with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit deliberate reprogramming is a must. One foot in the world's philosophies and one foot in God's way of doing things will only bring great frustration, create inertia, make a person inept.

To be One in Spirit with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the mind must be one with the mind of Christ. We gain the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2) through the Spirit. Lining it up with God's principles, His Mind, or the Mind of Christ, our influence in the world grows like Jesus' did.

In Leviticus 26 it outlines the blessings for obedience. First it says to have no other idols before you and then to honor the Sabbath rest and show reverence for His Sanctuary. In the New Testament our body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit, His Sanctuary. (1 Corinthians 6)

Consider this, Sunday is one day of seven in a week. Relating it to a day that's one seventh of a day, or about 3.5 hours. If we spent that amount of time daily putting God's Spirit first in our lives before anything else, would not the blessings from obedience come our way. ...(see the rest of Leviticus 26). With that focus in a day, we would most certainly reprogram our minds to be His Spiritual mind, and replace the old programming of this world's inept principles with the Power of His Spirit. We would most certainly see His Spirit work in our lives in a way we have never seen before.

To re-program our thinking to be the mind of Christ requires a daily discipline, it requires constant diligence. As Charles Spurgeon said, "Do not indulge the notion that you can be contented without learning, or learn without discipline. It is not a power that may be exercised naturally, but a science to be acquired gradually." What we do repetitively, daily over time becomes an inherent part of us.

Scripting the Movie.

While preparing to play the role of Jesus, in the Visual Bible series The Gospel of Matthew, Bruce Marchiano memorized all of Jesus' words in this Gospel for the movie (produced word-for-word using the New International Version).  To be Jesus, he spent every hour of his day for seven weeks totally immersed in memorizing every word of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. But more than that he studied the persona of Jesus so he would be the very character of Jesus.

Actors call this characterization. They not only memorize lines, but they study their character's personality, emotions, how the character responds to varied situations.

Actors strategically reprogram their minds as much as possible so they take on the traits of the person they portray. They work to literally become that person. They do this so well, you actually see the other person instead of the actor.  Marchiano said this absolutely changed his life. Living, thinking, speaking Jesus' words transformed who he was.

We can do the same. Following the process actors use to form a character, we then can bring our minds into a harmony with God's Spirit that works in us. Being in Harmony with His Spirit, we don't need to work at it, because it is naturally who we are.

Knowing this, and being trained in education, psychology, and theater, I applied it to making the Scriptures be who I am. Like the actor Marchiano, I felt to live like Jesus I had to be like Jesus.

My spirit was willing, but my mind needed to be transformed and retrained in ways of the Spirit and the Scriptures. I initiated a personal brainwashing process.

I begin reading the Scriptures as much as I could throughout the day. The first thing in the morning I spent an hour or two with my only exposure to the Scriptures. I would read a verse of the day, read an Inspired devotional, go to the Bible and follow a reading plan. Many times I would go off somewhere where it is quiet and just think about what I am reading. I deliberately would not watch the news, read the newspaper or anything of the earth's origin at these times.

When in the car instead of listening to the radio, I would play a CD series of the Bible. All day long, when I had a moment I had my Bible with me and I would read it whenever I had those "in between" times. Over several months, I continued this.

When I had lunch during warm weather, I would go off to a quiet place, park the car and reflect on the Scriptures. In the evening, many times I would watch a movie from the Bible, that was produced using the Scriptures from the Bible. This included two or three Jesus' movies, taken directly from the Scriptures. As I was falling asleep, I made it a point to turn on an audio series from the Bible.

Frequently I would put on Praise and Worship music as I was going to sleep. It's proven scientifically there is power of taking in information while falling asleep. The subconscious mind is most receptive to information when you are in the twilight state between awake and asleep.

From studying psychology and advanced education principles, I knew that this enhanced our abilities in recalling information, especially when impressed on the mind  in a very relaxed state between being awake and asleep.

What you imagine then becomes fixed in your mind. This makes it easier to recall when awake. It also forms a pattern in our behavior, in that we live out what we program in our brain without having to think about it.  During the going to sleep and waking up times, I get creative ideas, solve problems, get direction on what to do, and I feel I hear more clearly what the Spirit is impressing on me.

While in the process of waking up, driving, or falling asleep, you learn easier, faster, and come up with ideas. It is an ideal time to implant in your mind the ultimate vision for your Magnificent Mission.

The moral of the story:  To live as Jesus, it's necessary to be like Jesus, to be Jesus. Jesus sends us His Spirit to live in us. Although, we must transform our minds so we spontaneously think and reason in line with Spiritual principles. So our mind and Spirit are One. Then the way we think, talk, act is consistent with the Spirit, and it's an automatic, top-of-the-mind way of thinking, talking, and acting. As we keep putting His Scriptures in our minds they become the forefront of our thoughts.

How you think and act is programmed into your subconscious by the world through the experiences you have every day. Deliberately and diligently inundating yourself daily with The Scriptures, will override the world induced way of thinking.

You create a Spiritual mind, a renewed, transformed mind of Spiritual power. As Marchiano said, this changed his life. Doing this will change your life, so you become a magnificent person for your Magnificent Mission.

(see Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 2)

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Spirit Savvy Network ... With faith all things are possible

by Dale Shumaker

www.spiritsavvy.net

4spirit@gmail.com

2. With faith all things are possible                             

"Nothing will be impossible for you" with faith. Jesus said it. It's a very bold claim. And Jesus is the son of God and He is telling us when we even have very small faith, nothing will be impossible. When Jesus says this He was explaining to His disciples why they couldn't cast out an evil spirit from a person.  He said it was their lack of faith. With Faith, "nothing will be impossible for you." (Some manuscripts add with prayer and fasting. See Matthew 17.)

This is a tremendous declaration by Jesus and most certainly worth thoughtful consideration, but  more than that, daily reliance on. What we are about, our mission begins with faith, believing it can, and it will happen.

God gives us a Magnificent mission. It is bigger than us. If you master this one quality, Faith, all things will be possible for you, when you believe. What God asks you to put your energy, time, talent to, it will be done... when you master Faith.

Will I find faith on the earth when I return, Jesus asks. Did you have faith, belief, undeniable belief that what you see and hope for will happen? Faith is the trigger that fires the powers of Heaven to earth. (see Luke 18)  

Faith is having belief in the vision of your mission that God has given you. It is seeing it in your imagination, and believing it will certainly happen. We all can dream something, but the belief it will happen takes faith. We believe it can happen when we are certain God's Spirit gave us the idea, commissioned us to do it. When we are absolutely certain of this, His Spirit goes before us.

Your Magnificent Mission is driven by faith. Faith is seeing the outcome of your mission, in its most ideal form. You see it vividly in your mind. You live in the excitement of what you see can and will happen. You think about it all the time.

Faith is seeing your life through God's eyes. Seeing what He has made you for, what His purpose for you is, and what mission He designed... just for you.

When we live only in the limitations of our own ability, we may lose heart in anything we set out to do. When we live in God's vision for us, see that vision, and see Him there helping us, it ingrains courage and feeling of being unstoppable. Sometimes we may not see progress but with faith in His Spirit we continually keep forging ahead.

God with us is a powerful sustainer, regardless of trying circumstances, faith in Him maintains us,  keeps us on course. Jesus said He would be with us always. Jesus said He would sent the Spirit to help us. The Bible has claim after claim of God being with us while we are living out the mission He inspires us to do, has prepared us to do, has made us to do. His mighty, unmatchable Spirit will be with us as we do it.

As you cultivate your mission, faith is the key to keep you going regardless of what is going on around you. The Scriptures say the righteous live by faith, living in the excitement of His vision for you. We see it so strong, so clear in our imaginations, we are driven by what we know it will be and can do for mankind.

Obstacles don't cause us to give up, they may delay us, but we never give up. The noble nature of what we are doing energizes us to continually advance forward when life throws obstacles at us. Actually, setbacks and challenges build our faith as we work through them. In them we build faith muscle. We get stronger in faith to conquer even bigger challenges that we may face ahead.

It's a vigorously-strong, ever-growing force that moves our minds, fuels our spirit, keep us moving up to higher levels when things go well, and inbreeds in us an unexplainable capability to overcome when things may go wrong.

The Devil's scheme is to make us dwell on the fear of failing. In Outwitting the Devil by Napoleon Hill he says the devil's two secret strategies to defeat us are fear of failure, and not having a clear view of our direction in life. The devil wins when he can get us off track, and discourage us so we quit. If we don't quit, we win.

Faith overpowers fear and aimless living. To outwit the negativity of the mind (our devil), we fill it with vision of what can be, and are driven by the power of the image of what our Magnificent Mission will do when accomplished. What we believe and ask God for will come about when we can see it, know it, feel it actually happening (in our imagination before it happens), that's faith. (see Hebrews 11)

With Faith, we don't have to know how, we just know, with complete confidence in God, that He will. 

George Muller was a man of great faith. He built several orphanages in the mid to late 1800's on faith. Here's one acclaimed story about his faith.

"The children are dressed and ready for school. But there is no food for them to eat," the housemother of the orphanage informed George Mueller. George asked her to take the 300 children into the dining room and have them sit at the tables. He thanked God for the food and waited. George had an unbudging belief God would provide food for the children. Soon there was a knock at the door. It was a baker. "Mr. Mueller," he said, "last night I could not sleep. I felt an urgency to bake some bread for you. So I got up and baked three batches for you. I will bring it in."

Shortly thereafter there was another knock at the door. It was the milkman. His cart had broken down in front of the orphanage. The milk would spoil by the time the wheel was fixed. So he asked George if he could use the milk. He would give it to them. George smiled as the milkman brought in ten large cans of milk. It was just enough for the 300 thirsty children. (from Christianity.com)

Do this.

Write down your Magnificent Mission vision, make it clear on paper, or your computer. Email it to a few trusted people. Tell others about it. The more clearly you see it, the more conviction you have in sharing in it. The more you share it with others, more your conviction builds, building faith. Be careful at first to only share it with trusted friends who love and support you.( see Habakkuk 2)

Meet with one or two others on a regular basis to talk about your mission, pray about the vision. Share the inspired thoughts you get after praying. In faith, act on it.

To build your faith, go to a Bible website (e.g., Bible Gateway) and type in the word "faith or believe or trust" in the keyword search. Note all the places it comes up and how it is used. Write down or store in your cell phone some of the verses that inspire you, that impress on you how Great God is. Recite them often. Read them frequently, memorize them and recite them to yourself daily. Our faith is based on God's Power. Keep reminding yourself it is by His Power and not just yours. It's by His Spirit all things are accomplished.

Create a daily Bible reading plan. Take time each day to read the New Testament, Psalms, the prophets in the Old Testament. Many daily devotional books have a daily Bible reading plan. Read the selective Scriptures they recommend. I like Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost for His Highest." On the Internet version, it has a selection of chapters in the Bible to read each day. I click on them and read them too as part of my devotions.

Of highest importance is invest in a Study Bible. Read the comments, background for the verses and sections of the Bible. Many excellent translations exist that have Study Bibles. This will be one of the best investments you can make in your life. Buy a good one, refer to it regularly, and have it as your reference guide throughout the day. (Also, many have an app for your mobile phone.)

A key to building faith is to focus on faith-building Scriptures, have a daily Bible

reading time, establish pondering sessions daily, listen to those who speak faith.

Your Magnificent Mission may seem beyond you, your means or abilities (as you see them now).  For it to happen, it would take great faith. The first step in your mission is believing in God, that He is with you and He will help you. Believe it will happen, and begin what you feel impressed to do.

A magnificent mission so often seems bigger than you. But given by God, it is something that only His Power can do, and you must have faith in Him who is much bigger than you for it to happen. Start by believing it can happen. And with the Power of the Spirit it will happen.

Consider this.

Sometimes our faith wanes. Sometimes we grow weary in sticking to our mission. Before Jesus died, He said He would come back when He did die. The disciples weren't so sure after Jesus was crucified. In fear, they locked themselves in a room fearing they might be the next ones to die. Although, in spite their fear, Jesus came to them. They even locked the doors, locking him out. Miraculously, He came to them through the walls and appeared to them. (see John 20)

Consider the soldier with a sick child who told Jesus he believed but asked for help about his unbelief. In compassion and love, Jesus will come to help you even when you lack faith. He is the builder of our faith and knows our human tendencies for being discouraged, and giving up. (see Mark 9)

When you put your trust in God and His Holy Spirit, in your weak moments He will send someone to lift you up. When Jesus invited Peter to come to Him on stormy waters, Peter began walking to Jesus on the water. When his eyes got off Jesus, he saw the choppy waves of water around him, his faith faltered. He began to sink. Jesus reached out and saved him from drowning. Jesus spoke out, Oh you of little faith. Keep in mind that although Peter lost faith, Jesus still saved Peter from perishing in the storm. (see Matthew 14)

When you put your trust in Jesus in your mission, even when your faith fails, Jesus' love for you will not let you drown. The Spirit is compassionate, and His Power will be with you as you build your faith in All That God can do through you. In every obstacle, challenge, or set back you face, when you overcome through faith, you grow stronger in your faith for greater things ahead.

Remember the words of Jesus, whatever you ask in prayer and believe you have received it (that it is already accomplished as you speak), it will be done for you. Faith in prayer is seeing the answer on its way the moment you ask, and in faith you see and know it is accomplished. (see Mark 11)

Faith is the building block of strength necessary so you persevere in your mission. Your faith is what makes it possible to accomplish incredible results as you journey through your Magnificent Mission.

Scripting your Movie.

The righteous ones live by faith. Everyone mentioned in Hebrews 11 had a vision of a mission beyond what man would see as possible. In obedience to the vision of the mission God gave them, they moved ahead without any doubt of their mission being accomplished. They lived working in certainty in what they saw, in the vision of the mission God gave them, in a concrete conviction it would happen. Each had faith that if God gave them an assignment, God of all things possible, will make it happen. Without question, each knew he could count on that.

As expressed in Hebrews 11, God created the universe from nothing. What we see now was created out of what was not seen, and His Spirit made the invisible become tangible. This is a key power of those who live by the Spirit's power. What is not seen as tangible, but is seen in the imagination, can by the Spirit's Power become visible. Anything is possible through faith... seeing it, believing it, and living as if it exists.

By his vision of the mission God gave him, Noah began building a big boat that would save mankind. He began building it in a country not known for very much rain. He did it without a chainsaw or engineer-verified blueprints of a ship that could be seaworthy, and with no experience in such a thing. It took him over 100 years to build this giant boat. And he did it while being constantly ridiculed by those who lived nearby. (see Genesis 6)

Joseph had a dream. In his dream he saw sheaves of grain bowing down before him. He told his brothers they  were the sheaves bowing down. This angered his brothers so they sold him to some sojourners on the way to Egypt. After being sold again as a house servant for one of Pharaoh's captains, things got worse. The captain's wife tried to seduce him and when he refused, she accused him of trying to force himself on her. The Captain put Joseph in prison. While in prison he interpreted a dream for a cupbearer of Pharaoh also in prison. Joseph made the cupbearer agree that if Pharaoh liked the interpretation, to ask Pharaoh to release him too. Pharaoh liked the interpretation, but the cupbearer forgot about Joseph. Joseph was left in the prison.

Some time later Pharaoh had a dream he couldn't figure out. He learned that Joseph could interpret dreams, so Pharaoh sent for him. Joseph interpreted the dream. Pharaoh was so impressed he put Joseph in charge of administering his crop production. Being in this position of authority, Joseph was able to save the Israel nation when a famine hit the area. God used Joseph through all his ups and downs to save Israel from starving. He was also reunited with his father and family. But it was only through Joseph's trials that he was put in a place to save his country. (see Genesis 37-46)

The moral of the story: Noah was given very detailed instructions on building a ship that would keep mankind alive. Noah remained faithful through the many years it took to build the ship. Because of his perseverance the ship saved the existence of man. Joseph, although probably the most gifted of his brothers, faced setback after setback before he was placed in authority to save his nation. In God's plan each setback was not a setback at all, but a stepping stone to where he needed to be to fulfill his Magnificent Mission. Each setback served as value to prepare him for the position of trust and authority to save his family, and his people.

But then the fall back. After Joseph died, the Israelites fell into slavery. Sometimes to save ourselves, we can fall victim to a greater demise. The slavery of Israel that followed was worse than the famine. Learn the walk of faith, and to not be dependent on other men. Learn to live within your means and don't sell yourself short, for a short-term gain. If necessary, live humbly until God opens the doors for your mission. But continue to study and prepare for it.

Faith is a long journey sometimes. It may take several life episodes, with many maybe seemingly unrelated, to bring us to the mission God has assigned us to do. But when the rewards come they are exceptionally outstanding.

With your vision of your mission, have faith through all that may come against you, or divert you. In faith, see the result even when you have no idea of how it will eventually work out.

Faith is the invincible foundation your mission is built on that withstands everything that may try to tear it down. Faith is the power that advances you to greater things... your Magnificent Mission.

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