Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; Philippians 2:6
In the temptation, Jesus rejected power, glory, and wealth. But modern spiritual leaders seek these things above all else. I understand the temptation. It hurt to tell my children that they could not have this or that. I remember one March when I really wanted to get my kids a summer pass to an amusement park. No matter how we crunched the numbers it was simply not happening. I prayed. I declared that God was good. I pleaded and cried but still the numbers simply would not work for me. Looking back, it is funny. My kids survived that summer and not going to the amusement park a dozen or so times did not seem to do much harm.
Don’t get me wrong. Bad behavior will get God’s attention. He will notice. First, He will feel hurt that we, His children, do not really trust in His goodness. Many of the prophets would look at us as adulterers. Our Heavenly Father is heartbroken over our rebellion. He wants the best for us. His one desire is for us to experience more of Him. Our assault against Him means that we can not be in union with Him. Without union there is no healing.
The spiritual leader chooses not to use the weapons of this world to achieve power, fame or glory. As Paul informs us, our weapons are not of this world. In the next section we will look at these weapons. It is in these weapons that we will be able to connect with God. It is in the connection that life long change can take place.
Scripture to meditate upon
| 2 Peter 1:4 | Philippians 4:19 | John 14:27 |
| Jeremiah 29:11 | Isaiah 40:29-31 | Romans 10:9 |
| Matthew 11:28-29 | Proverbs 1:33 | Romans 6:23 |
Do I trust God to ALWAYS come through for me? YES NO
What do I sense God challenging me to do?
Exercises
- First write out a list out your limiting beliefs. Then for each of your limiting beliefs write out a Scripture about what God says.
- Conduct at least 3 self examinations this week
- Journal your self talk this week.
