Christianity Archives - Page 34 of 39

Master of Mind

The mind is the central command center for everything that will happen in your body.

“Let your eyes look directly ahead And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.”
Proverbs 4:25

“Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 1:13

The Spartan Christian believes that the mind is separate from the brain. The mind is the source of consciousness while the brain is a physical manifestation of what man thinks is the source of thoughts. While the brain will be left on earth after death the mind and consciousness endure. The mind is not affected by the various chemicals that are released and absorbed by the brain. Unlike the brain, the mind is not a physical entity.

All emotions can be simplified to various brain chemicals.

Science believes it can link every emotion with a certain chemical or a combination of chemicals. These compounds influence or are controlled by the brain, the physical structure. The mind is above these chemicals and compounds, it can even control them through the application of thought, a phenomenon known as the placebo effect.

The mind has the power to change the very chemistry of the brain and the body simply by altering the thoughts.

Simple but not easy.

The mind is the root of many problems, the majority of which are fabricated and are never realized. We allow ourselves to worry and be overcome by anxiety. We allow the body to be negatively affected by the mind. We entertain thoughts that drain our strength rather than thoughts that give us the mental edge. We have the ability to correct this, we simply have to overcome the initial friction.

The mind creates stress, anxiety, fear, anger, hatred, love, joy, gratitude and peace. Series of thoughts are linked together until they create these emotions and mindsets. In order to create good mental states and avoid negative ones, the correct thought sequences must be created while simultaneously destroying the negative sequences. If you can remove one step from the sequence of negative thoughts, you may be able to stop the entire emotion. If you can then interject a new thought you can translate the momentum from the negative mindset into the positive one. On these two foundational abilities rests the complete control of the mind.

Control the mind, or the mind will control you.

Application

The reason so many people have problems with their mental state is because they are unaware of it. The mind does not gravitate towards higher, nobler places of its own accord. The mind must be pushed to positive states by creating the correct thought environment. If you can master your mind, mastery of the body becomes easier.

By this point you should be an expert in the field of awareness. So as you know, the key to mental mastery always begins with awareness. How will you translate your thinking if you are not aware of the thoughts in your mind? You will not be able to.

Primary Objective I: Derail Negative Thinking.

If we can involuntarily “lose our train of thought”, then we absolutely can voluntarily derail our thinking if we apply effort. Human beings always want change to be painless and effortless. We must purge this thinking from our mind.

If you attempt to derail a train of thought but fail because it requires effort, do not give up. Shifting thought patterns will take focused effort, it will not come naturally because you have not practiced doing so for your entire life. The “Get in shape fast and easy” marketing strategy does not apply in real life, so why would it apply to our mental strength?

The train is derailed by first recognizing the thoughts and taking an objective, detached view of where those thoughts are taking you.

If your thinking is taking you directly to fear and anxiety, it must be averted. Become aware of the thought sequence that is in your mind and accept that it is irrational. Your thinking has no logic and no grounds and will likely never become realized in matters of fear and anxiety. Your fears almost never come true.

Upon this recognition, many individuals will find that they already derailed their train. For many people awareness alone is enough to correct the weak patterns of thought. This is why awareness is vitally important to any type of change.

The thoughts can also be derailed by switching the mind off completely. Note: this prevents you from creating positive mental states. But having no mental state is much better than having a weak, negative one.

If you are a man, you likely know how to switch your mind off unless you have some sort of disorder.

If you have a disorder, you should be a subject matter expert in it.

If you have a fear or anxiety disorder, you should be researching everything you possibly can about your enemy. You cannot defeat it without intelligence.

Lastly, get moving. You can flood your brain with chemical reinforcements if you will get up and train your body. Overcoming adversity and making progress are possible in the physical simulation that is exercise.

While training we are simulating adversity, simulating problems and challenges, and overcoming them in a controlled environment. The experience gained in simulation then transfers to life. The strong mental state you created in physical training then becomes a strong mental state in the real world.

You are already “in the zone” after training, so now it is that much easier to be in the zone in your regular life. There is no excuse to avoid training the body. The fact that training the body also trains the mind is an added bonus.

Primary Objective II: Generate Positive Thinking. Once you are aware of the thought, you can derail it by instantly replacing it with a different thought. This can be done simply by analyzing your situation and distilling the pros from it. This is the “Good” method promoted by Retired Navy Seal Jocko Willink in his text, “Discipline Equals Freedom: Field Manual”. Something terrible happens? Good. Your character improves. Stressed because you might not get the new job? Good. You have time to make a better resume and strengthen your weak faith.

The mind can also be shifted to something different by forcing a new train of thought onto the same rails as the negative train. Convert your mind to a subject that you are excited about, one that will benefit you later on down the road and your mindset will change.

You can focus on what inspires growth or on what promotes fear. Fear can inspire growth, but wallowing in fear never led to any type of progress.

Focus on your career goals, family goals and personal goals. Start adding to those goals and make them difficult for you to achieve. You will never be more proud of yourself than when you accomplish something extremely difficult. By focusing on goals instead of fear, you create a productive train of thought. Control your mind. Generate wisdom. Win your mental wars.

Dealing With Hypocritical Church Members: Correcting Hypocrisy II

Correct the self first, then correct others.

Included at the bottom of this page is the protocol for dealing with three types of hypocritical Christians.

“Better is open rebuke than hidden love.”
Proverbs 27:5

“As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.”
1 Timothy 5:20

“The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.”
Proverbs 29:15

“Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.”
Proverbs 9:8-9

“Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.”
Revelation 3:19

Three problems have arisen because of the ways people interpret the teaching of Jesus about hypocrisy.

One

No one corrects anyone in the Church because they are afraid of being hypocritical, thinking that they themselves must first be perfect before they can criticize anyone else.

Two

Individuals have acquired the classic “You cannot judge me” attitude, and assume that everyone has some form of hypocritical trait which prevents them from passing any judgment.

Three

People think that they have no beams at all and are therefore free to criticize and rebuke anyone they want.

Let’s break down each of these reasons.

1 – The fear of rebuking and criticizing hypocritical brethren has been a longstanding fear in the Church. The results of this became apparent in the last sixty years with the baby boomer generation and the”no spanking” parenting movements.

Congratulations, not disciplining children resulted in the worst generations to exist.

Men must take the offensive position and correct the wrongs they see in others. We do not have to be flawless to point out flaws. The teaching of Christ seems to point at people who are rebuke others for the same sin that they themselves are engaged in. A drunkard rebuking another man for drinking, for instance.

2 – The world has confused the idea of “judge that you be not judged” with the fallacy of “do not judge at all”. We judge people by our very nature, it is not something we can avoid. Humans are constantly making judgements about our fellow-man based first on how he looks, and secondly on how he acts. We do judge other men, and the reality is that we are allowed to do so. The text simply says that the standard we use to judge others will be used to judge us. There is difference between not judging entirely and using a fixed standard to judge which we also apply to ourselves. Are we measuring up to our own scrutiny?

3 – Some individuals have come to think they are perfect. They are hypocritical, stupid and know nothing. This unfortunately tends to be older women first. Older men maintain a close second place followed by middle-aged women and lastly middle aged men. Young men and women who think they are perfect are simply classic narcissists. It is almost impossible to deal with any of these toxic types.

The purpose of the teaching of Christ is to guide us towards being more self-aware of our own behavior.

We need to conduct thorough examinations of ourselves, taking inventory of our character and of where we fall short. Through this we can begin to improve on these weaknesses which improves our character overall. Through years of this focused application and the teaching we may wake to find ourselves significantly improved from our earlier state. Then others come us for advice and guidance on how to improve their own lives and weaknesses.

Correct the self first, then correct others.

Application

Dealing with the Three Types of Hypocritical Church Members

One: People who are afraid to rebuke others want to be liked, and no one likes the man who rebukes others. This is simply human nature. These people must be instructed on how to deliver a rebuke that does not seem like a rebuke.

The difference between a rebuke that a man will take to heart and a criticism that will cause you to be hated by the man is all in the delivery. The delivery must be tailored to the personality of the person you are speaking to.

Aggressive, egotistical types need an aggressive criticism, because they understand that type of power.

They must be withstood to the face as Paul addressed Peter in front of the whole Church. Peter was a strong, extroverted personality type that would respond best to that type of address.

Quiet introverted people need to be taken aside and spoken to quietly.

An open rebuke would do infinitely more harm than good to the introvert. This is seen with the teacher Apollos in Acts 18. Apollos taught boldly, but he only knew the baptism of John. Priscilla and Aquila took him aside and taught him the Way of God more accurately.

While the scripture might seem to indicate that Apollos was a strong personality type (he taught boldly/refuted vigorously the Jews in public) it seems less likely that he would become a “learned man” as an extremely extroverted person.

To become a “very learned” or eloquent man and one who can debate vigorously requires a great deal of time spent alone in study. Lecturers, professors and people who engage in debate tend to actually be introverts much of the time. Therefore, it seems that Apollos was likely an introvert who would respond better to quiet admonition and instruction rather than a public address.

Tailor the delivery of your rebuke/admonition to the personality of the individual you are speaking to and you will have a much greater chance of being heard.

Two

People who think the Text says “you cannot judge me” are narcissists who only see what they want to see in the scriptures. They want to live their own life in the way they desire and still sneak into heaven at the end. This type of individual is usually a young person, as you will rarely heard older people tell you not to judge them.

It is extremely difficult to instruct this type of individual because they are likely the result of lax parenting. The primary way to get your message across to them is to first strengthen your relationship with them. People deal better with criticism when it comes from someone they have a relationship with and when the delivery is properly tailored to their personality type. Open rebuke does little for those individuals, they will just hate you for embarrassing them. Be strategic in your approach.

Three

The classic narcissists who think they are perfect need open rebukes. They have constructed a false self-image that needs to be shattered.

The old need to remember they are not perfect.

Relationship is not necessary here, for these people also think they themselves can criticize others without having a relationship with them. They need to understand their own position and they need to be instructed as to why their criticisms of others are not taken to heart. They are the Medusas who must be shown their own reflection. Give them a taste of what they give out, because they have forgotten what their reflection really looks like.

Some will humble themselves and repent, others will simply find another church that will tolerate their narcissism. In this way you have purged you assembly of these self-absorbed, hypocritical parasites and judged with righteous judgement.

Weak Faith Versus Faith Confusion

Is your faith weak? Or do you have no idea what faith is?

“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6

“The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’”
Luke 17:5

“He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.’”
Matthew 17:20

Is your faith weak? Or do you have no idea what faith is? What many individuals in the Church have done is they have confused faith with an emotional state.

Faith is not emotion, it is action.

Action then in turn creates the emotions commonly associated with faith. Do not confuse what you feel for genuine faith. In the same way that you should not confuse what you feel emotionally towards another person for genuine love.

You think your faith is weak because you have thousands of questions about the nature of God.

You wonder why He is the way that He is.

Why He chose to destroy people in the Old Testament or execute a furious vengeance on people who did not obey Him.

You question your own salvation and wonder if the grace of God is enough to save even a soul like yours.

You are not sure if you will be saved because you are confused by God’s justice and the way it differs from man’s justice.

You wonder if you are wasting time in the Church, wasting time in your faith and giving up on pleasures of life solely for the purpose of faith.

All these thoughts are the attacks of the enemy on your faith.

You hold fast to the faith even when you do not feel like it, when you do not want to or even when you think everything about it is wrong. You hold fast the faith through discipline and focus because that is how a disciple behaves. This is true faith. Staying in the Church when your emotions pull you away from it is faith. Doing what is right even when it is inconvenient is faith. Faith is trusting in God’s plan even though it looks wrong to you. Faith is maintained despite everything you feel. Real faith is not an emotion, it is an attitude combined with an action.

Faith is the attitude of relentlessness, knowing you will never give up the faith. Then following it up with the action of maintaining that faith. Christianity is very difficult, very Spartan. It is not for the faint-hearted. Modern culture has made it possible to have a weak faith and be faithful because there are no real consequences to being faithful right now. When the times arises for the true warriors of Christ to rise and resist a violent persecution, the weak will fall away. The strong and faithful will remain.

All of your questions will not be answered in this world.

You will not get to the bottom of the way you feel and you will not know if your sacrifices in life have been worth it until the very end. You will not know if giving everything up in life was worth heaven. You do not even know if you yourself are going to heaven.

This is not weak faith, this is a faith that is being refined by fire.

Your faith is tested and tried through all of these assorted evils. The most faithful will survive to the end of the gauntlet and be rewarded. Maintain your faith. You do not have weak faith, you have a faith that is under assault, there is a huge difference.

Faith is action and Attitude.

Application:

Recognize that every thought, fear and worry you have in your mind regarding your faith is merely a test. The strength of your character, mind and discipline are being tested against the evils of this world.

You have to make large sacrifices of pleasure in order to hold the faith. You will not know if it is worth it, but you must maintain the faith nonetheless. You must hold fast to the disciplines that you know and blot out the evil thoughts of the adversary that pollute your mind. This life is a game of endurance, all you have to do is endure to the end and you will be victorious.

Do not question your faith if you are having great difficulty in your life, for this is merely the fire that is turning you into the strong individual that you want to be.

Every great person that you admire, whether in the faith or in the world, has undergone this transformation. A valuable gold cannot be refined without a hot furnace. Endure those moments of refinement and you will understand that your faith is not weak, it is being built into something great.

Prepare your mind for the siege of the enemy. Gather together positive thoughts and ideas that you will contemplate when you are attacked by the enemy. Create the best possible mental image of heaven to motivate yourself to that goal. Resist every evil thought of the evil one. You can win this war, it is only a matter of time.

Strengthen your mind.

American Collapse Will Not Happen in One Day

Rome did not fall apart in a single day. The fall came over time, fueled by decadence and hedonism.

People are panicking about the state of the country. That is fine, the concern may actually be a good thing. But there is much more hope than people realize. There are still thousands of individuals “who have not yet bowed to the Baals”. If American collapse is coming, it will not happen overnight.

We will not wake up one morning to overwhelming tyranny and government regulated living and think, “I wonder how we got into this situation”.

The majority of countries fall apart slowly over time.

They decay slowly instead of combusting spontaneously. This is how Rome fell: slowly over time, instead of overnight in mass hysteria.

Historians have generated hundreds of theories as to why the Roman empire fell. The real reason could be any one of those theories or any possible combinations of various theories. However, the primary point to be noted is that Rome did not fall apart in a single day. The fall came over time, fueled by decadence and hedonism.

The citizens focused on pleasure and the enjoyment of life, causing them to become soft and weak. The empire was only as powerful as its people. The people only as powerful as their minds allowed them to be. The fall happened slowly.

The fact that there is panic about the state of the country actually provides some positive facts.

1 – We the People are Aware of what is going on in the country.

We are aware of the decadence and the destruction of core values that made America a world power. As long as we are aware of the problems, we can stave them off. Destruction and death happen to the people who are unaware of them. Countries are destroyed by apathy and stagnation.

The American people are fully aware of the condition that the country is in and the direction that it is headed. Because of this awareness, there is hope. Awareness is the foundational principle and key to all improvement and change. As long as we are aware of the evil that exists, there is still plenty of time to change it.

There also seems to be a delay in how nations decay when they have solid religious foundations. Many historians are shocked that the Roman empire lasted as long as it did. It could be because of the heavy Christian presence there. Just speculation, something to think about.

When Rome fell, Christianity went elsewhere, finding a home in other European countries.

Britain would become a world power much later in time, and Christianity would find its base there. It seems that whatever the world power is, it is infused with faith. And this faith preserves the nation because the nature of God is merciful.

God would have spared Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of 10 people. That is less than 2% of the population of those two cities alone, not counting the other two cities that were destroyed (if historians are correct about the population of Sodom and Gomorrah being around 900-1200 people).

The American country will be spared as long as there is righteousness in it. And as long as we the people are still panicking about the state of the country, then we have enough righteous souls to spare the nation. We are aware enough of the evil to keep it at bay for a few more years. There is hope for the country yet.

Correcting Hypocrisy: Garbage Intake

“There is nothing wrong with watching the news and being politically aware, but when it starts to negatively impact our faith, we need to consider taking a step back.”

Colossians 3:2 – “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

John 15:19 – “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

We have been told for years to be wary about what we put in our minds.

Older Christians have made it a point to tell us this and to tell us to guard our hearts. The information that enters our minds through our senses is going to determine how we think. Our actions are the cumulative effects of our thoughts, therefore we must be very mindful of those thoughts.

The older generations have warned us about the effects of music and other media on our perceptions and thought processes. They have warned us about the fact that we will become like the people we talk to and hang out with. They give us all this valuable information yet they live in hypocrisy.

The older generation sits in front of the television set watching the news constantly. They take in all the outrage media outlets and become extremely emotionally involved with their perception on the world. They do not realize that they are only getting a brief glimpse of the world through the filter of whatever news station they are listening to. Through this they become entangled with the world and depressed about its state. They think the world is coming to an end, just as older people have thought for decades now. They are disillusioned to the state of reality.

Even in all their wisdom, the older people do not realize that they are committing the same evils that they have warned against.

They are allowing the state of the world to affect their faith. There is nothing wrong with watching the news and being politically aware, but when it starts to negatively impact our faith, we need to consider taking a step back.

Remove any impediment to God that exists.

Application

You may find yourself living in hypocrisy. You tell others to avoid putting garbage in their mind because you know it will damage your faith, yet you still put different garbage in your own mind.

Reduce the amount of negative, outrage media that you ingest. The world will keep spinning even if you pay a little less attention to it. If you are too deep in an addiction to outrage (which is why many people watch the news in the first place) then you need to fast from media for a determined period of time. Maybe a week, maybe a month, it depends on how severely you have twisted your mind. You have forgotten that God is in control and nations will rise and fall based on what He has determined to be right.

Remember that everything that will happen is already known in the mind of God. Remember that we know how our story ends, with good as the victor and with all evil eliminated.

Correct your thoughts.

Purge your mind of worldliness.

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