How many times do I have to be told?
Ask yourself that question before? I have, more than once.
I was at the grocery store just today, and as is my custom, I had great conversations there… with myself. Today’s was about internal direction.
On aisle three I realized I was sensing a moment and I asked myself a question. “Phil, what do you need right now?” I answered, “Clarity. I need clarity.” I then went even deeper than my own psyche and invited the Holy Spirit into the question. “Help me” I said.
Around aisle eight, I found myself still in the question, but in a lamenting way. My past-oriented critic said, “You just don’t know where to go or what to do,” followed by, “It’s the same old, same old.”
Just then, the Holy Spirit said, “Phil, mindset. Think about your mindset.” At that moment, clarity came as I rounded the corner to the dairy section. I am not lost. I have clarity on what I want to do, what I want to be, and how I want to manifest the life I am called to live.
My initial conversation, one of the healthiest things I do with myself, had turned grocery shopping into life affirmation.
Our souls are magnificent, but they can also act maliciously. We are discipled and developed in the standard world system to see lack and fear, and the manifestation of lack and fear in our past, as if they defined us and became our placeholders in life. The past does NOT define your future in Jesus and the development of your soul in peace, courage, and growth.
I am on a daily mission to manifest the life that Jesus Christ offers, develop in his way of life, and enjoy my emancipated possibility by reframing my soul, defined as my internal life consisting of my mind, will, and emotions. To master this life, I realize I have to go all-in on Jesus' way. I am also committed to partnering with you for your greatest life experience in this path. Follow me and let's walk together in the Jesus way.
How? By directing our internal life to be moved more by God’s Word and Spirit than our past, any present fear and anxiety, or any negative voice or influences. This month of March, each Sunday, I am going to send you some clues to going all in. It begins today. Read on, and if you want more, let me know by clicking the button below.
We go all in but turning away from the reminders of our history, the limitations of our environment, and the negative disposition by this reframing we are led to initiate and continue in Paul’s instructive letter to Roman followers of The Way of Jesus. In his adaptation of the New Testament, Eugene Peterson writes it thusly, “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."
Moses, in the book of Deuteronomy, quotes what is the message of God to Israel, saying “But from there [where you find yourself out of sync, unnatural, failing, stuck, and away from God’s plan] you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul."
So, week one, we begin by seeking or pursuing God. Follow this…
Today: Have a conversation with God, saying in your own words, “Creator of my life I am coming after you. I want to know You. I want to know Jesus. I want to follow the Holy Spirit and Your Word. Thank you for telling me that you are not hiding from me, but if I pursue You I will find You. Amen.”
Monday – Wednesday: Pray, in your own way, “Father, surprise me today with glimpses of grace and possibility. Help me recognize what I have so often not been aware of. As I read the Scripture, speak to my inner self. I will know then that I am finding the way. Amen.” (Read the 8th & 12th chapter of Romans daily these three days.)
Thursday – Saturday: Pray with gratitude, “Father, thank You for your patient love. I trust that Your way is the best way for me to live and grow. Show me a vision of what and how I can be in a year by following you. Help me write that vision as a reminder to myself of the work the Holy Spirit will do in me. Amen.” (Read 1st John, chapter 4, each day and meditate on what stands out.)
See you next Sunday. Please forward this email to a friend who might want more out of life. Visit www.philunderwood.com for more resources, articles, and encouragement. Let me know you are walking with me by clicking the button below. When you do that I will send you a new resource to build your life.
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