Wisdom that I am Reading

Well, today, I was just going to post a quick picture, but the uploader isn't working. So instead, I thought I'd share some things that I thought were interesting from my book, Victory Over the Darkness. I'll try to just post a picture tomorrow. That way if you don't have time to read this all today, you can finish it tomorrow. :)

*"You don't change yourself by your perception. You change yourself your perception. You change your perception of yourself by believing the truth. If yo perceive yourself wrongly, you will live wrongly because what you are believing is not true. If you think you are a no-goo bum, you will probably live like a no-good bum. If, however, you see yourself as a child of God who is spiritually alive in Christ, you will begin to live accordingly. Next to a knowledge of God, a knowledge of who you are is by far the most important truth you can possess.
The major strategy of Satan is to distort the character of God and the truth of who we are. He can't change God and he can't do anything to change our identity and position in Christ. If, however, he can get us to believe a lie, we will live as though our identity in Christ isn't true."

"I believe that the greatest determinant for how we treat people is how we perceive them."

"Studies have shown that, in the average home, for every positive statement, a child receives 10 negative statements...These studies go on to point out that it takes four positive statements to negate the effect of one negative statement."

" ...We are not supposed to recognize Christians for who they were in Adam, but for who they now are in Christ."

"Too many Christians are trying to show that the bible is true by the way they live. It will never work for them. We accept what God says is true and live accordingly by faith, and this abundant life works out in our experience."

"we should be able to say every year, 'I am more loving, peaceful, joyful, patient, kind and gentle than I was last year.' If we can't honestly say that, then we are not growing."

"We live as though the kingdom of darkness does not exist. Our naivete in this area is exacting a crippling toll that keeps many Christians from experiencing their freedom in Christ."

"We must learn to have enough self-awareness to know when we are living according to the flesh and to assume responsibility for our own attitudes and actions. We need to walk in the light and learn to confess our sins, which means to consciously agree with God. When a deed of flesh becomes evident, mentally acknowledge that to God and ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit. the more you practice that simple little discipline, the more you will live according to the Spirit."

"If you want your faith in god to increase, you must increase your knowledge of God."

"Those distortions often arise when the church is not living to its potential. Consequently, many people think the church is an infirmary where sick people go. We limp along in unbelief, hoping the rapture will come soon and take us out of this miserable defeat. The church is not an infirmary; it is a military outpost under orders to storm the gates of hell. Every believer is on active duty, called to take part in fulfilling the Great Commission (see Mat. 28:19-20)
Thankfully, the church has an infirmary that ministers to the weak and the wounded, but the infirmary exists only for the purpose of the military outpost. Our real calling is to be change agents in the world, taking a stand, living by faith and fulfilling our purpose for being here."

"The primary truth you need to know about god for your faith to remain strong is that his love and acceptance are unconditional. When your walk of faith is strong, God loves you. When your walk of faith is weak, god loves you. When you are strong one moment and weak the next, God still loves you. God's love for you is the great eternal constant in the midst of all the inconsistencies of your daily walk."

"Walking by faith simply means that you function in daily life on the basis of what you believe. In fact, you are already walking by faith; you can't not walk by faith. People may not always live what they profess, but they will always live what they believe. If your behavior is off, you need to correct what you believe because your misbehavior is the result of your disbelief. The writer of Hebrews said, 'Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. (13:7)"

"Happy is the man who wants what he has."

"We can't directly control our feelings, but we can control what we think."

"...take 'every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor 10:5). Practice threshold, first-frame thinking. Evaluate every thought by the truth and don't even consider tempting, accusing or lying thoughts. Should you rebuke every negative thought? No! That is like being in the middle of a pond with 12 corks floating around you, and your entire life's purpose is to tread water and keep the corks submerged. Ignore the stupid corks and swim to shore. Choose the truth and keep choosing it until it becomes the normal pattern of your life."

"your emotions play a major role in the process of renewing your mind. In a general sense, your emotions are a product of your thought life. If you are not thinking right, if your mind is not being renewed, if you are not perceiving God and his Word properly, it will show up in your emotional life. "

"Remember, if what you believe does not reflect truth, then what you feel does not reflect reality."

"The order of Scripture is to know the truth, believe it, live accordingly by faith, and let your emotions be a product of your trust in God and your obedience to Him."

"Emotions are God's indicators to let you know what is going on inside. They are neither good nor bad; they are amoral, just part of your humanity. Just as you respond to the warnings of physical pain, so you need to learn to respond to your emotional indicators."

"...unforgiveness is the number one avenue Satan uses to gain entrance to believers' lives."

"Forgiveness is to set a captive free and then to realize you were the captive."

"God is fully capable of cleaning His own fish. My responsibility is to catch them and love them the way Christ loves me."