My Struggle with Negative Thoughts

              I have a confession to make. I struggle with negative thoughts. Yes, I know I have been a follower of Christ for 46 years, in full-time ministry for 30 years, and I am the president of a vibrant growing ministry. Yet, I struggle with negative thoughts at times.

             Most recently, it happened when I had negative thoughts from comparing myself to someone else who has a very influential ministry. If you have ever struggled like me, you have learned that you do not overcome these thoughts by saying to yourself, "Just don't think about it".

             For me, as I look back on my life, this has been a pattern from time to time, not every day or every week. It is what the Bible calls the "flesh". The flesh is a set of patterns through which we have learned to cope with life or to attempt to meet our God given needs for love, acceptance and significance. These are negative ways for me but I also have positive ways. The problem is that both are wrong and sinful.

I do not know about you but it seems like negative thoughts most often come right before I go to bed each night. That was my first clue years ago that this was a spiritual problem.

So, how do you deal with negative thoughts? First and foremost, you need to realize that these thoughts are not coming from you. They are actually a type of temptation. When these thoughts come, they are designed to defeat you, discourage you, or bring you down into depression. You are smack dab in the middle of spiritual warfare. Knowing this, you can defeat these thoughts.

             To deal with these thoughts, you can pray or even tell yourself the truth, "These thoughts are not from God and not from me!" This situation is not my life. These people are not my life. Jesus is my life. (Col. 3:3-4) My needs for love, acceptance and significance are already met in Christ and I choose to believe that even it I don't feel it! (Col. 2:10) So, in the name of Jesus Christ the risen Lord, be gone and leave me alone. Then, I often thank God for how much He loves me over and over. That, more than anything else, calms my racing thoughts. Ps. 50:15

             We have nothing to fear but we do need to recognize we are in a spiritual battle. And most importantly, please realize this.  We already have the victory but need to apply it. Why do I say we already have the victory? Because the Victorious One lives in us!  "Greater is He (Jesus) Who is in us than he (satan) who is in the world!" 1 John 4:4.

Until next time, remember He loves us!


Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder
www.GraceLifeInternational.com
 All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

How George Washington Carver Learned So Much about the Peanut

George Washington Carver was asked by the chairman of the Senate Ways and Means committee in 1921 how he knew so much about the peanut.  Carver said, "By reading an old book." "What book?" asked the chairman.  Carver answered, "The Bible."

Surprised, the chairman asked if the Bible actually talked about peanuts.  "No sir," Carver explained.  "It tells about the God who made the peanut.  I asked him to show me what to do with it, and he did."

He created over 300 products from the peanut!

What could the God who helped Carver with peanuts do with your life if you asked Him?

Live Free In Christ,

 Mark Maulding, President and Founder
GraceLifeInternational.com
 All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

How to Have Enough Faith

     If I had enough faith, I would be healed!   If I had enough faith, God would give me a lot more money! If I had enough faith, I would not be depressed! If I had enough faith....You fill in the blank.

     How many of us have heard that if we have enough faith, God would have to come through and bless us in some way. I have and years ago I fell into the deception. And like many of you, I came away feeling disappointed, confused and guilty. I concluded, "I must not have had enough faith". Have you been there?

     A good friend of mine, went down that road with her husband who had cancer. She believed every promise she could believe about his healing. She did not waiver. Yes, he received medical treatments but over time he progressively got worse. The day he died, she was so resolute in her faith, she was certain God was going to raise her husband from the dead. Yet, God did not do this. I don't know that I have ever met anyone who believed God more diligently than she did. Like many of us, in the end, she was confused and befuddled.

     This teaching that if we only have enough faith, God will somehow bless us is a form of legalism.   It is simply a different flavor of it. The essence of legalism is if we do A, then God is obligated to do B. It is sort of like playing a slot machine. If I believe enough, my faith will pull God's arm down and I will win a big prize.

     Because we live under grace, I believe there is a different way to approach God's promises. First, let me say loud and clear, we are to believe in God's promises 100%. But here is where being under grace takes the pressure off of us and our relationship with God. As we are believing God's promises, we then take any course of action regarding His promises that He leads us to take.  Finally, we leave the results up to God.  

     Do you sense the freedom of this?  Every Christian has enough faith to believe God's promises.  We may not always feel like we believe, but we cannot trust our feelings.  The results of our faith are not up to us having enough faith but up to God Himself.  Read Hebrews 11 about those who had faith.  Some received the fulfillment of the promises they believed.  Some did not.

Until next time, remember, He loves us!

Live Free In Christ, 

Mark Maulding, President and Founder 
www.GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyrighted © 2012 Mark Maulding

How Jesus Can Live through You Today!

Wherever you go today, you can depend on Jesus to live His life through you.  Ask Him to live through you at work today, while picking up the kids from school. while interacting with your spouse, while playing video games, if single, when you go out on a date, while exercising, etc.  Why?  "For me to live is Christ, to die is gain."  Philippians 1:21

Live Free In Christ, Mark Maulding, President and Founder
GraceLifeInternational.com
 All Content Copyrighted © 2012 Mark Maulding

You Can't Mature unless You Believe You are Righteous

        When my oldest son was 15, he was the smallest guy in his high school.  Being concerned, I took him to a Naturopathic doctor who prescribed two amino acids.  Whether it was the supplements or just coincidental, within 5 months he had grown 5 ½ inches!

      This reminds me of a rarely understood Biblical truth stated in the title.  This may sound outlandish but the Bible is emphatic.  We absolutely will be stunted in our spiritual growth unless we believe we are righteous.  We will crash into a wall preventing us from growing spiritually unless we believe we are righteous.  We will hit a ceiling preventing us from growing spiritually unless we believe we are righteous.  

      Hebrew 5:13 says, "Anyone who lives on milk, still being an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness".  Read it again.  Now read it again slowly.   The Holy Spirit gives us an illustration from our human world that we all understand.  Any child who is drawing nourishment from milk only, instead of solid food, is a baby.  The spiritual parallel is that any Christian drinking only spiritual milk will be stunted in their spiritual growth.   We need to go beyond the milk of God's Word to solid spiritual food.  That food is the teaching that we are righteous in Christ.  Only by understanding that we are righteous can we fully mature.  Only by believing that we are righteous can we fully mature.  Only by resting in the reality that we are righteous can we fully mature.  Only by reminding ourselves that we are righteous can we fully mature.  Only by living out our identity in Christ as righteous people can we fully mature.

      On a personal note, when I began to really understand this, sins which I had never been able to conquer were defeated and are no more.   My relationships with people began to improve, especially with my family.  My sense of inner peace was greatly deepened.  And foremost, I experienced God's love in a way that human words are unable to adequately describe.  I also want you to know that I did not stop sinning but I was very different.

       If Hebrew 5:13 has spoken to you, I would like for you to pray this prayer daily, as often as you like.   "Father, because you say I am righteous, I say I am righteous." Are you willing? Then go for it even if your feelings are contrary to it.

Until next time, remember He loves us!

Live Free In Christ, Mark Maulding, President and Founder
GraceLifeInternational.com

 All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

I Know God Loves Me but Does He Like Me?

What an intriguing question.  Have you ever thought about it?  Maybe your mind drifts to how you think God thinks about you.  "God tolerates me".  "God loves me but He has to because He is God."  "God is mostly disappointed with me." "God is going to get me one day."  "God is disinterested in me." "God is impossible to please."  "How could God like me?  I mess up so much!" Etc.

Let's start with something more basic first.  Does God like me?  Several years ago, a young lady went through our Advanced Discipleship Training.  The very last day of the training, she joined us for our "graduation" lunch where we celebrate all that God has done in each of the students.  When she came into the room, all of us were immediately stunned by the glow on her face and her big smile.  We asked her why she was so happy.  She said, "I've known for a long time that God loved me but today I realized for the first time He likes me"!

You see, God does like all of us who are in Christ.  Why? It is because He accepts us.  I was speaking to a group of pastors and Christian counselors several years ago.  I was sharing this same truth about how God accepts us.   When I finished, I fielded questions from the audience.  One astute man in the audience asked me, "If God accepts us as Christians, how does He feel about those who are not Christians?"  I quickly replied, "It is obvious from the Bible that God loves those who are not Christians but He does not accept them."  You see, God only accepts those who are righteous.  And the only righteous people in the world are those in Christ!  (Romans 5:19)

        Think about it for a moment, God not only loves you.  He likes you.  Let me make sure you understand.  You cannot make God like you less through disobedience.  You cannot make God like you more through obedience.  I have had some people say, "If that is true then I can just go out and sin all I want.  Right?" Their question is intended to prove that this can't be correct that God loves us and likes us regardless of our behavior.  That's why it is called "grace".  The answer to their question is answered in that He will love and like us even if we sin. BUT, who would want to displease our God who feels that way about us!  Spend some time pondering over Romans 5:19 this week that speaks the truth that God not only loves you, He likes you.

Live Free In Christ, 

Maulding, President and Founder 

GraceLifeInternational.com

All Content Copyrighted © 2012 Mark Maulding