We do not have to fret about bad thoughts -- at all.
What would cause me the greatest consernation was that the bad thoughts would come and go, and just when I thought that I was freed of resentment, hurt, anger, or other deleterious feelings, then the bad thoughts would surface again.
A sense of anger and outrage would take over in my head and the headaches would follow.
I spent a great deal of my time trying to prevent bad thoughts.
I had so much more to learn about Romans 8: 1:
"There is now therefore no condemnation in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1)
None whatsoever. Not a bid, not a smidgen.
We do not even have to feel guilty or feel condemned about what we are thinking.
Our thoughts are now His thoughts, for we are no longer in ourselves, but rather in Christ.
If we find ourselves meditating on something bad or something wrong, if we have lustful unhappy thoughts about times past or times to come, the answer is the Cross.
We are no longer trying to get rid of the bad thoughts, but instead we are called to receive more of His righteousness and grace into our lives.
This may seem like an obvious idea to some, but for all of us, especially those like me who grew up under such heavy legalism and cult teachings like Alcoholics Anonymous, this revelation meant so much to me.
I had spent so much of my time trying to fix, block, stop, hide the negative thoughts I was thinking.
I was too busy trying to stop the bad things that were going through my head.
What needed to be focused on, was the truth of the Gospel, that in Christ I am justified from all things, and that the law of Moses has been put aside and fulfilled for me.
The mind control and mind games of the Alcoholics Anonymous cult cannot be underestimated.
It is a cult, and a dangerous one, too, which teaches people that they have to control their thinking, watch out for what they say or do, or they could find themselves cut off from "The Sunlight of the Spirit".
Oh, I cannot relate enough times the mental pain that this awful cult has brought me and other people into.
The notion that you have to watch your thoughts and catch them before they tread down a certain path. Just terrible.
One of the most outstanding revelations for me especially was that He restores my soul. Not me -- He! Jesus Christ!
He causes us to prosper, He causes us to walk in His ways.
It has been a hard transition for me, no question about it. I have wanted to fix what I was thinking, have nothing but good thoughts going though my mind. It is a fight that I still want to fight much of the time. Resting in God's goodness is a hard thing to do, but it is not impossible.
In fact, He gives us more grace.
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