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Love...
thinks no evil
1Cor13:5b After being born again and being Spirit-filled, the two most significant experiences in my Christian life were being delivered from fleshly spirits and gradually moving over the years from an active life to a more contemplative life. These two experiences have formed much of my present Christian life giving me victories over the flesh and sin. When I was born again I was a mess. Lust, anger, fear, and anxiety were the major obstacles. Reading the word of God I knew I was not where God wanted me to be. It took me years to learn how to deal with those fleshly spirits. But at some point I began confessing scripture dealing with the flesh like “I crucify my flesh with its affections and lusts” and “I mortify the deeds of the flesh”. So much of evil thinking surfaces from the flesh and unless we are delivered we cannot help but entertain evil thoughts. Speaking scripture out loud helps us hear the word of God (faith comes by hearing) but if we get delivered from those fleshly spirits, we can get to a place where we do not even entertain the thoughts at all and when we do, simply recognizing the path that we going down and confess “I am a new creature in Christ and those thoughts are not of God”. “I am strong in the Lord and in the power of his might”. “I am strengthened with might by the Spirit in the inner man”. Consequently one day about five years ago I was delivered and about a week later the Spirit came into my room like a mighty rushing wind and entered my body. The other significant change has been this gradual movement to silence, stillness, and contemplation. When you are in a state of peace, a state of grace, evil thoughts are no longer present. “Seek peace and pursue it” St. Peter and the psalmist tell us and as we grow deeper into this peace we overcome this stream of consciousness which drives us from one thought to another, one fear to another, condemnation and judgment, anger, bitterness and resentment. There is such a lack of peace in the Christian community, not dealing well with the interior life of the soul and the need to slow down. Communing with nature, listening to soft instrumental music, praying in the Spirit, meditating on the word of God, and stillness and solitude become channels for redirecting the soul from negative thoughts to positive ones to silence. The contemplative life is not easy initially and may be unattainable if you have not dealt with the flesh. But if you begin this journey and allow the Spirit of God to make you free then you will be free indeed and the possibility of thinking no evil becomes real. Once you have entered a state of grace exercise awareness. Recognize when you are moving away from a state of peace to a negative place and go back to where you came. There is much here for you to pray about and consider. Choose the narrow path and think no evil!. Amen |