Our friend John Belt gives us some amazing, heavenly insight into what God is doing in this time of preparation and what is next for His Church.
Not only is this a very deep and powerful word, but it offers you and your family some very good practical insights you can all be doing together right now.
Yes, family is the most important ministry we all have...and God is preparing His family to move together as well.
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Be Ready for the Next Season
This is a season of preparation and reprogramming for the next season that God has for us. The book of Romans tells us to not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds (see Romans 12:1-2). I encourage you to spend time with Him in this season so He can show you those things that He wants to do in and through you in the next.
With everything that is going on right now it is easy to get distracted. Don't miss what God is trying to do in this moment. Remember that God is not shocked by any of the things that happen in this world. He's not taken by surprise. All things are a test to see how we're going to respond. Be encouraged to have the mind of Christ right now as you pursue Him.
"For 'who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?' But we have the mind of Christ." (1 Corinthians 2:16)
Receive the Fresh Wind of the Spirit
This is a great time to spend extra time with your families and to be re-established in God in a new, fresh way. I encourage you to take this time to cultivate intimacy with God. Let the Holy Spirit breathe on you a wind of refreshing in your life. We live from the inside out, not from the outside in. We don't live by rules, lists and the externals. God wants to develop that living relationship on the inside of you by His Spirit Who dwells in you. It's not just prayer to God but communion with His Spirit on the interior. (Photo via Unsplash)
God really wants us to get the mind of Christ. I would imagine you want to get the mind of God right now in this season. He has great plans for you. Have faith and expectation in all that He has in store. I believe that God sets up perfect storms in life to reprogram our thinking. There are many things that are being shaken in our world right now. He's going to shake all those things, even in our mindsets, that need to be changed for the opportunity of "reprogramming" our own thought processes.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God..." We bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
The Mind of Christ: Authority & Power
God uses circumstances to show us wrong mindsets so that we see the need to adjust. He says, "I want to reprogram you through My Word and Spirit." Understanding the mind of Christ is knowing how Jesus walked so that we can do the same. There are many facets in how the mind of Christ was expressed. One is how Jesus walked in authority and power. He did things with a command. We need to have that command in our lives.
The Spirit has been impressing upon me that we don't just need to pray to God – which is something that Jesus did. He obviously taught us to pray to God, but when He did the works of the ministry, the works of the Spirit, it was by authority and by power of the Spirit. He would cast out demons with a word. Jesus would do actions that were led by the Spirit – like putting mud in the blind man's eyes.
To have the mind of Christ in regards to authority is important for us today. In Luke 10:19 Jesus says, "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
Created in His Image
"... [P]ut on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him." (Colossians 3:10)
In the beginning God spoke, "Let there be light," and there was light. We have that same power. We have that same authority. He wants us to realize who we are – that we are created in His image. The words that we speak are powerful. Life and death is in the power of the tongue so we want to speak life. (Photo via Flickr)
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit." (Proverbs 18:21)
We want us to speak the decrees and commands that bring life. Guard your words. Begin to speak light and speak life into your circumstances and every aspect of life.
Lately, I've been playing chess with my kids. I was playing chess with one of my boys the other day. He was asking me why I always win. I told him the key is to stay on the offense. He would make moves on the board to put me on a possible defensive place. Instead of being defensive I would look for another offensive place. That would put him back on the defense. This eventually would get me the win. To have victory we need to keep an offensive mindset that looks for the opportunities to score!
When you are on defense you cannot score. If you don't have the ball you can't score points. In the same way, your mind needs to be offensive against the enemy. You have to take the ball back. You have to go in and score! If you have an offensive mindset you are always thinking of ways to score or get the ball back. Some want to hide in a hole or a rock. Don't do that. We are seated with Christ in heavenly places and the highest place.
"...[A]nd raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:6)
Don't abdicate your place seated in heavenly places. Live from that realm of authority and know who you are in Christ. We can do all things through Christ. Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. You are created after His image and destined to win!
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John and Brandi Belt
Belt Ministries
Email: hello@beltministries.com
Website: www.beltministries.com
John and Brandi Belt are the leaders of Belt Ministries. The heart of their message is that God's greatest desire is to indwell His people with His presence. They believe that man was created to be inhabited by God through His Spirit. With a sincere devotion to God through the Holy Spirit, people can live in a place of overflow in His presence. This overflow translates into touching the lives of others through living encounters with God. When John and Brandi minister, the intimate presence of God is manifest – being accompanied with demonstrations of God's power to heal, revive, and restore.
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Like most of you...I, too, am ready for the next season!
