The Application of Biblical Knowledge to Receive God’s Blessings

God desires you to receive fullness and purpose in your life. You are a work in progress, and He desires you to grow daily into His image. This is your sanctification process. No one who grew up on planet earth has escaped without experiencing something that caused painful, personal wounds. These experiences and wounds produced the core beliefs, or mental strongholds, that drive what you feel, speak, and every life skill choice you make in your daily life and in your relationships.

 The Bible says in Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”

 Your experiences produce messages, and these messages produce your thoughts. Your thoughts then form core beliefs, (mental strongholds) and these core beliefs are what drive your emotions, speech patterns, and life skills. The result is consequences – the fruit of your life.

Aligning Your Agreements To God

 Experiences  ? Messages ? Thoughts ? Core Beliefs ?

?                        ?                    ?

Emotions , Speech Patterns, Life Skills

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Consequences and Fruit

Pause for a minute to ask yourself how many of your core beliefs are in agreement with God’s Word? Do your thinking patterns send you in the wrong direction when it comes to your emotions, speech patterns, relationships, and choices?

If you find your thinking patterns sending you in the wrong direction, you are not alone!

 We all must allow God to do work within us to become the overcomers He has called us to be.

 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord , “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

 Does this Scripture feel true to you?

• You may intellectually agree with this Scripture, but do you respond in agreement in your daily knee jerk reactions to life’s challenges?
•  Many of you would answer “No it doesn’t feel true.”

You may be struggling with relationship issues, addiction, depression, anxiety, poor self-image, anger, and abuse, (verbal, emotional, physical, sexual, and spiritual) or any number of things. Whatever difficulty you are facing, it does not negate this Scripture. It is still true; God desires for you to walk in freedom, overcoming everything that has oppressed you.

 Many of you, as Christians, have received the gospel message, but you are not experiencing the fruit and benefits of the gospel on a daily basis. On the cross Jesus paid for your freedom, healing, peace, and joy, but you must apply what He has done for you. That begins in your thinking, which then affects your emotions, relationships, and life skill choices.

Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

His Word is truth and His Blood was sufficient to purchase your success.

Knowing the truth of His Word is not just head knowledge. Knowing the truth is thinking and agreeing with the Word, entertaining its principles in your thoughts, and believing the truth to the point of responding in your daily knee jerk reactions so that your behaviors follow your beliefs. For example, you may know that you can trust in a loving God, but when faced with a difficult situation the belief is not visible in your turbulent emotions and fearful reactions. If Christians have biblical information and believe it is the truth, then why is it the norm, rather than the exception, for Christians to be struggling with addictions, abuse, unhealthy relationships, divorce, depression, anxiety, and so much more?  We are taught in church to seek God first, to trust God and not fear, to take our thoughts captive, to obey God, and to not sin in our anger. We are taught to refrain from the works of the flesh, such as drunkenness, sexual immorality and many more, so if we know all this, why are we not walking in it?

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4: 6

 It is because of our lack of knowledge, and application of that knowledge, that we are not experiencing the full, godly life we desire. Our lack of knowledge reaps destruction in our identity, hope, and many other areas of our daily lives. We know in our heads what to do, but we often have a lack of knowledge because we don’t have a clue ‘How To” do what we are taught. It is only through the application of God’s principles that we receive and experience God’s blessings.

• How do you take your thoughts captive and align them to God?
• How do you identify the roots that drive you?
• How do you control your emotions?
• How do you discern when to use boundaries?
• How do you change what you speak over yourself and your situations to bring life?
• How do you respond, and not react, with destructive behaviors and anger?
• How do you identify addictive and compulsive patterns, and respond appropriately to encourage restoration?
• How do you know the difference between codependency, grace, and forgiveness?
• How do you support others without enabling and rescuing?
• How do you recognize and respond to abuse, especially the more subtle types of verbal and emotional abuse?

The Bible has all the answers, but you have to use tools, connect the dots, and apply the truth to every area in your life.

 You need the “How To” tools so that you can apply God’s truth.

 In your home most of you have a tool box full of screw drivers, sockets, hammers, and many more tools. You understand that you need the right tool for the job. The vacuum does a great job cleaning the carpet, but it can’t put a nail into the wall to hang a picture; you need a hammer for that job. Likewise, you need a tool box full of tools to navigate through your thoughts, emotions, relationships, and life skills.

 Here are some examples of the type of tools you need:

 Tools to identify the root system and how life’s messages have affected you.

• Tools to identify your faulty core beliefs and tear them down.
• Tools to restore your God identity.
• Tools to control your emotions and reactions.
• Tools to identify red flags in relationships.
• Tools to operate in healthy communication, coping skills, and conflict resolution skills.
• Tools to set boundaries.
• Tools to identify unhealthy systems: addiction, abuse, and codependency
• Tools to be assertive and do healthy confrontation.

 God’s heart is to equip you with tools that agree with biblical principles.

The Word of God contains the answers and holds the picture of these skills.

You have to pursue God to learn these skills and apply them in all areas of your life.

 “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.” Ephesians 1:17

One of the words for wisdom in Hebrew translates as “applied skills.” I encourage you to be a work in progress, grow daily, and learn and apply these skills. God has shown me the “How To” knowledge to transform your thinking to agree with the Bible in your daily knee jerk reactions.

“This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:

In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength…” Isaiah 30:15

Repentance in Greek means change your mind, and includes changing your attitude and heart. All of us have been wounded by our past and we need to heal the wounded places and fill in the development that was not completed because of the pain, rejection, and traumas we experienced. God can and will heal you from the root system up. You can be made 100% whole.

 When you repent and change your mind, you align your thinking with God’s Word. Then, your life and relationship skills will reflect Jesus Christ. You can experience all the blessings God desires to give you. So I encourage you to keep learning and growing. I desire to provide you with tangible tools to help you accomplish your goals so that you can receive God’s …

“…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 

Copyright © 2013 by Michele Fleming Ph.D.