text: – Phil. 3:20 – But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ
  If you are born in the United States then you are a citizen of the United States. If you are born of God, then you are a citizen of heaven.
  – Luke 10:19 – Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
  – Acts 22:2-3,22-29 – When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city… The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!” As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?” When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.” The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I am,” he answered. Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.” “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied. Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.
  Things to notice:
  Paul was a dual citizen, just like we are dual citizens. We are born on earth, but our citizenship is in heaven.
  The Jews wanted to kill Paul and the Romans were going to carry it out for them. Whether we choose to admit it or not, there is a spiritual realm, and demons are there to carry out what we want. We pray and God sends angels to help. But if we curse then Satan sends demons to harm. Life and death are in the power of the tongue.
  Paul knew where his citizenship was. He knew his rights and he quoted the law, and his rights, to the authority sent to flog him. If a demon is sent to harm you, you can do the same. God has given us authority. We can quote the law (scripture) to the demonic authority, and they will not be able to flog or imprison us.
  The commander of the centurion questioned Paul to see if he knew the law. Satan would be that commander. He questioned Adam & Eve, and Jesus during the desert temptation. He will question all of us. Satan knows the word and will quote it to us, but we have to reply with wisdom and remind him of the rest of the law. Paul had another truth for every truth the commander used to try to trip him up.
  The commander said he had to pay for his citizenship. Satan has had to earn and work for his citizenship in heaven, and he still hasn’t been able to get it, but all who are born of God, are children of God and citizens of heaven by birth.
  The commander could not harm Paul once he saw that Paul knew the truth about his situation. When we can see the truth, and refuse to be tricked by Satan, then Satan has to relinquish authority. Paul said, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?” Likewise we need to tell the demonic realm, “Is it legal for you to torment a citizen of heaven, who has been found innocent in the blood of Christ?” The answer is no. Once you have repented and asked God’s forgiveness, you have the right to be free. If you aren’t experiencing freedom, then you need to remind the enemy of your authority as a citizen of heaven.
  – Luke 10:17-20 – “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
  Satan falls like lightning every time you plead the blood of Jesus.
  You have the authority to cause make Satan fall like lighting. Job says he’s before God trying to accuse us, but our Judge knows we are innocent as Christ our attorney gives evidence of his blood shed for our sins.
  Worship: Enemy’s Camp
  I went to the enemies camp and I took back what he stole from me. He’s under my feet. Satan is under my feet. Look what the Lord has done. He’s healed my body, He’s touched my mind; He saved me just in time. Praise Him!
  August 4, 2015 lovedisciple Adam, attorney, authority, birth, blood, captive, centurion, chains, Christ, citizen, citizenship, commander, consequences, deceiver, defendant, demonic, demons, dominion, earth, enemy, evidence, faith, flog, free, freedom, god, grace, guilty, heaven, innocent, jail, Jesus, jew, judge, legal, lie, lightning, money, paul, power, punishment, realm, repentance, revelations, roman, Satan, savior, slave, snake, spirit, submit, torment, works 1 Comment
  Anxiety & Depression – Distorted Thinking Patterns
  Many of us have distorting thinking patterns. We haven’t yet renewed our minds. We have stinkin’ thinkin’ that keeps us in anxiety, depression, negativity, and sickness.
  Below are 10 types of distorted thinking patterns.
  Negative feelings come from negative thinking, so by monitoring your feelings you will eventually be able to figure out which thoughts and beliefs trigger your anxiety. The first step is to identify the trigger. Most people have thought these ways their whole lives, but God says, ‘Take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ (2Cor.10:5).’ Put your thoughts on trial, convict them, and reprogram them with God’s Word. The mind set on the Spirit brings life and peace. ‘Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on the new nature created to be like God–truly righteous and holy (Eph.4:21-24).’ Your thinking is vital to your spiritual life as breathing is to your physical life.
  Distorted thinking patterns:
  1. ‘What if’ thinking
  What if I lose my job? What if I lose my home? What if my children get hooked on drugs? What if my spouse is cheating on me?
  ‘What if’ thinking breeds anxiety and fear. Sometimes this even turns into a self fulfilling prophecy. If you treat someone like they are cheating on you, they might eventually just start doing so. If you focus on ‘what if’, your fear grows. If you focus on God’s Word, your fear goes. Learn to replace ‘what if’ with what God’s Word says: God always causes me to triumph. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. If God be for me, who can be against me?
  2. Catastrophizing
  The mind magnifies unpleasant events and transforms them into something more awful, terrible, or horrible than they really are. Making a mountain out of a molehill. It’s like spending $10 dollars on a 2¢ problem.
  Like pouring lighter fluid on a flame, they use extreme words like hopeless, terrible, unbearable, devastating. These words fuel the anxiety. The only way to put out the fire is to eliminate inflammatory words from your vocabulary and replace them with more practical, realistic, and less emotionally charged words, such as unfortunate, inconvenient, or difficult. Stop the drama. I choose faith-building words because ‘we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God (Rom.8:28)’. Practice this pattern of thinking until it becomes automatic, making it a habit and mind-set.
  3. Habitually expecting the worst outcome
  They usually think if something can go wrong it will, and it will happen to me. ‘My boss didn’t acknowledge me today, so I’m sure she hates me and will probably fire me.’ ‘My husband is late for dinner, I’m sure he is having an affair.’
  Realize that when you repeatedly think about something, you create the potential for these thoughts to become self-fulling. Especially if you treat someone as if they are already doing what you fear, it makes them more likely to go ahead and do it. Instead of expecting the worst possible outcome, begin to expect something good to happen to you. Confess God’s Word, ‘No evil will befall my family or me, nor will any plague come newer my dwelling (Ps.91:10).’ Expect God to do something good, and your faith will release a blessing.
  4. Leaping to conclusions
  They mistakingly believe that they know what another person is thinking without having any facts to support it. They repeatedly and habitually make negative assumptions that fuel depression and anxiety.
  You walk in a restaurant and find two friends eating lunch; you see them whisper and immediately assume they have abandoned your friendship and are badmouthing you.
  Begin to identify when you are jumping to conclusions. Challenge yourself to expect the best of the other person. Instead of becoming anxious about things you don’t even know are real, determine to wait until you have more information before drawing a conclusion. ‘I am ever ready to expect the best of every person (1Cor.13:7).’
  5. Black and white thinking
  You can’t see grey. You are probably a perfectionist that thinks their work is flawless or worthless. You see average as complete failure. You think first place is the only winning spot and every thing else is a loser.
  This distortional thought pattern sets you up for failure, disappointment, depression, and anxiety. You will work endless hours to make something perfect, or will procrastinate and never finish because if it’s not perfect, you feel worthless. Also, if you struggle with perfectionism, you will need to watch that you don’t fall into the trap of comparisons. ‘Learn to be content with whatever you have (Phil.4:11).’ Quit focusing on what you don’t have, and start thanking God for what you do have. Choose to love yourself, forgive yourself, and accept yourself unconditionally, even if you make a mistake.
  6. Unenforceable rules
  Trapping in anxiety, they make rigid rules about what should, must, or ought to be done, and tries to put people in a box. The more unrealistic and unenforceable the rules are, the greater the disappointment. ‘They should stop cutting me off in traffic.’ Situations, people, and society aren’t usually going to turn out in your favor. The only should statement you need is ‘I should practice mercy and forgiveness’. ‘Love keeps no records of wrongs’, so I throw out my record-keeping book. Eliminate should statements and use I would like to or I prefer.
  7. Labeling
  ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me’ is absolutely false. We need to eliminate labeling words from our vocabulary, such as idiot, loser, klutz, failure, stupid, pathetic, pitiful, jerk. Labels destroy self-esteem, self-worth, and as a result many never accept love. ‘Life and death are in the power of the tongue.’ Choose to see yourself and others the way God sees them. He calls me ‘the apple of His eye,’ ‘His beloved,’ ‘His child’.
  8. Negative Filter
  This person usually discounts all information that is positive. They discredit compliments. They remember mainly criticisms and negative information. They focus on the bad while the good slips away. These ‘pit thinkers’ usually overgeneralize, taking one bad circumstance and believing its it the trend of how your life will proceed. They use words like always and never. ‘I will always be like this.’ ‘I will never change.’ Stop using absolute words that set you up for failure. Try to enjoy the next compliment you receive. Practice eating the meat and spitting out the bones. Remember that God Himself forgives and forgets our failures. ‘Think about those things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy (Phil.4:8).’ Filter the news, tv shows, music you listen to. If anything falls short of every criterion, refuse to watch, think, or speak it.
  9. Emotional reasoning
  This person feels like their feelings are facts. If they feel hopeless about an exam, they might not even show up to take it. They give up because their emotions make them feel defeated. The healthy thinker separates emotions from their overall self-worth. They realize that despite how they are feeling, they can change the outcome of the situation.
  Realize that negative feelings are a sign that you are thinking negative, depressing thoughts. You need to immediately tune in to the thoughts or beliefs that are at the root of the emotion and simply change the channel of your mind to the one of gratitude. I will not be influenced by my emotions or feelings, because ‘the just shall live by faith (Heb.10:38).’ ‘Let us not weary in doing well: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not (Gal.6:9).’
  10. The blame game
  Many are stuck in a trap of blaming others or God. This creates a vicious circle of thinking and feelings that leads to anger, resentment, bitterness, depression, and anxiety. People with a victim mentality fit within this group of faulty thinkers. They feel like everything bad that happens to them is someone else’s fault. Blame locks you into the past; it prevents you from examining yourself, recognizing, and removing thought patterns and mind-sets that continue to sabotage your life. Learn to take responsibility for yourself, forgive yourself and others, and refuse to blame anyone. Forgiveness is a choice not a feeling. ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.’ Refuse to rehash any hurt or pain.
  Testimony: I remember when I started trying to reprogram my mind. Every single thought I had was negative. I put a list of these 10 concepts on my dashboard, and memorized them. I started pinpointing them and trying to refuse the negative thoughts. In the beginning I could hardly keep out a negative thought for a whole second. Just like any goal, you have to do some work. Lifting weights will wear you out, but the next time you go, you are stronger. You can work your way up to 2 seconds without negativity. Maybe you can start to think one positive thought; try to convince yourself that it is true. At least believe that God’s Word is true and quote those over yourself. Keep going! It’s been a year, or two, and I am completely changed. I can’t stand hearing a single negative comment. After coming out from under nearly 25 years of negativity, I truly have a distaste for it. I am free, positive, and know God’s plan for me is good. I can see myself through His eyes, and I can see bad situations through His eyes. IT. IS. SO. WORTH. IT. Don’t give up.
  Worship: Emma, by Jason Upton: Trusting The Angels
  Prayer: God, thank you for creating us and saying ‘It is good’. Restore us back to our factory settings. Help us once again submit our will, ways, and thinking to your ways which bring health and wholeness. Thank you for being the great physician, our healer, and therapist. Thank you Spirit for being our counselor and teacher. Thank you Jesus for setting the example and giving us authority. Help us take dominion over our own minds and submit them to your kingdom instead of this world which bring such distorted thinking. Everything out from under your authority is in rebellion and chaos. We want to overcome the enemies of anxiety and depression. Go to this generation now and tear down the spirits exalted above it. Let the knowledge of you cover the earth as the sea. Stay the death angel and deliver your people from their slavery; free their minds. Bring them out of bondage. Let this generation x, that the world thought would be the dog, rise to be the head and not the tail. Bring transformation to their minds, and to the world. Wrap them up in a cocoon of your Words and see them through this transformation where they will no longer crawl, but sprout wings, in Jesus name, Amen.
  For more on this topic get the book:
  July 21, 2015 lovedisciple Abuse, anxiety, author, average, best seller, bible, biblical, black, blame, book, captive, catastrophizing, Christian, clipnotes, compliments, conclusions, cure, death, depression, disappointment, distort, Don Colbert, emotion, examine, expectations, failure, faith, filter, forgive, god, grey, hate, health, help, Jason Upton, Jesus, label, leap, life, love, MD, medicine, mercy, mind, mistake, negative, new york, notes, outcome, pattern, perfectionism, positive, procrastination, psychology, reasoning, renew, responsibility, review, rules, self, sick, stinking, think, thinking, thought, victory, what if, white, words, worst, worthless 7 Comments
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