You Have Held Yourself Back!

I have commented that I would rather be physically imprisoned than physically free but mentally bound. To be physically imprisoned would suggest I am aware of the physical restraints that have restricted me simply because it's visible to me.


On the other hand, constantly thinking in the same destructive non-progressing patterns is SELF-MENTAL IMPRISONMENT! In reality, no one is doing to you. Instead, you are doing this to yourself.



Every dislike situation or circumstance you've found yourself in, I can promise you at least 50% of it is due to how you process your thoughts towards it. In fact, you enabled your situation by agreeing with what you DISLIKE. Of course, this is achieved by making comments based on what you see and not speaking or thinking according to what you'd like to see.

Many are in worse situations but have decided to think the best about the situation. As a result, they've positioned themselves to manage what they've been given instead of allowing what they have been given to manage them! To change your situation, you must ignore, dismiss, or revisit the sum total of your thoughts that brought you to this point.

This is why scripture makes challenging statements like bless those who curse you, pray for those who spitefully use you, and say all manner of things against you. Love them that hate you....... The whole idea of these seemingly crazy statements is to CHANGE THE WAY THAT YOU THINK! Which, of course, is opposite to these statements.

Wrong patterns of thinking equate to SELF IMPRISONMENT! In other words, you will continue to circle the mountain of offense, bitterness, unforgiveness, and the like. Life will not get better if you're not prepared to think better. You will not be financially stable if you're committed to a poverty mentality. You will not be healthy if you're constantly mentally processing the thoughts of sickness. Your physical life will always display the fruits of your thought life.

Nelson Mandela endured 27 years of physical imprisonment and never held anything against his oppressors. He achieved this by simply concluding that while he may be in a physical prison which, he had no control. He refused to be a prisoner to depressing, negative, hateful, and unforgiving thoughts! Thus, Nelson Mandela was freed mentally before his physical freedom was ever granted.

I am led to say to someone this morning that unforgiveness, hate, bitterness, pride, selfishness, and the like have held you captive all your life. What folks have done to you is nothing compared to what you've continued doing to yourself. Not only is it self impose mental incarceration. It is also self-imposed mental abuse. I strongly advise you to release yourself from the mental prison you have created for yourself by letting the hurts, disappointments, pain, and whatever else of the past go! Life is short. I beg you to please begin living by releasing those that have hurt you............

LET GO AND LET GOD!

Written By: Kevin L A Ewing
ewinglakevin@icloud.com
kevinlaewing.blogspot.com

Is that who they really are?

"YOUR" Problems are clear indicators in determining how you think and process what your five senses gather or observe. 

This fact is worthy to note and severely important to consider because what your senses observe and your way of processing it or your way of thinking can erroneously conclude something as a problem when it could very well be an opportunity.

At the end of the day, the error did not initiate in our senses, because they are doing the job God intended them to do, such as eyes for sight, ears for hearing, nose for smelling etc.

Instead the source of our conclusions will always be, how we were trained to think. You see my friend, whatever you do consistently, you are in fact training yourself to think that way. Therefore, that (rehearsed) way of thinking becomes right to you! 

What is even more interesting, the human being is wired in such a way that whatever they have labeled as correct or incorrect to themselves, they automatically justify and defend it, in spite of how it may appear to the majority.

Where am I headed with this you may ask? Well, ask yourself the question, What have I been labeling and agreeing to, as right all these years, when the reality of the matter is and always was and will be, that it was wrong???? Who or what was the source of your influence that erroneously enabled you to label what was clearly wrong as right? 

Well more than likely it was someone or something that you honored and respect or spent a considerable amount of time with, that according to the biblical laws concerning human behavior, has automatically influence your beliefs and behavior by altering the way you think. Which will always manifest its conclusions in your actions

One of the Biblical laws in support of this crucial point states the following, "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise" Proverbs 13:20. Suggesting that we don't have to sit and take note or record everything they are doing. Instead according to this principle we automatically glean from them which conditions the way we think. Simply put if they're wise we'll become wise and if they're foolish we'll become foolish.

The second biblical law states, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he" Proverbs 23:7. I find this to be yet so simple in words but very powerful and realistic as it relates to everyday living. I am led to believe that a person's consistent actions is not an act, it's not an attempt to annoy you, it's not an attempt to impress you, their not under a spell. Instead it is clear evidence of how they think and what they really believe and subscribe to.

God wants me to tell someone this wonderful day, that you must make great effort and discontinue in allowing the consistent behavior of others to upset and disappoint or annoy you. For these folks are knowing or unknowingly displaying who they really are and the way that they have programmed themselves to think. So the reality is, they see nothing wrong with what they are doing, because to themselves what they are doing is right!

The truth is, be it your Dad, Mom, Husband, Wife,children, Pastor, Boss, Supervisor that is constantly hurting you, disappointing you belittling you etc. for the most part they see nothing wrong with what they are doing. Due to the fact that they have done it for so long, that it has now, not only become their pattern of thinking, but in their minds it's the correct way.

God said to tell you, let this be the year where you change your strategy by shifting your prayer from against that person and instead begin praying against the spirits and things that has influence that person/s to think and behave the way that they do. If you continue to tolerate, play the victim role or condone such behavior it will only be a matter of time before you become the very thing you hate, that's being done to you.

It is said that insanity is doing the same thing, the same way all the time and expecting a different result........... Well you have just been given the antidote to insanity my friend!






Written by: Minister Kevin L A Ewing
kevinewing@coralwave.com
kevinlaewing.blogspot.com

Putting The Pieces Back Together

As a child, I recall the moment my brother and I accidentally broke one of my mother’s figurines; it instilled immediate fear in us. The fear was two-fold: a) what she would do to us if she found out, and b) how do we put this figurine back together after being broken into so many pieces?

The above scenario is very similar to life, when things become broken in our lives. We face an immediate fear that, in some cases, paralyzes us both physically and in terms of solutions. Secondly, our minds amplify the pieces of our situation, making it seem impossible to put things back together.

In today’s teaching, I intend to renew our minds in this common area of negative thinking, which relates to things being broken that have disabled us in our process of moving forward. Things being broken suggest people or things not operating in harmony with their purpose. Purpose is the original intent of someone or something.

In the book of Esther, we learn about Queen Esther, a Jew, being informed by her uncle Mordecai of a decree that the king was tricked into signing, which called for the destruction of all the Jews. Mordecai also told her that she needed to appeal to the king on behalf of the Jews to resolve this issue. In Esther’s mind, she began to see and verbally express all the negatives about the broken pieces that appeared before her. She said, “It is against the law to approach the king without him first summoning an individual via the stretching forth of his golden scepter, which is punishable by death.” She also added that she had not been called by the king within the last thirty days.

Esther’s behavior exemplifies how we often react when faced with seemingly insurmountable or overwhelming challenges. This mindset drains our energy and narrows our focus, making it hard to see potential solutions. It becomes easier to accept the situation as it is, believing there’s no alternative path forward. However, this is a false belief, because many solutions are available — we just need to take action to find and pursue them.  

Mordecai had to quickly remind Esther that if she did nothing concerning this matter, she would not escape this pending massacre, and that deliverance would arise from elsewhere for the Jews. He then went on to say, “For who knows if you were not called to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Mordecai was explicitly communicating to Esther that a portion of her divine purpose within her earthly realm was to exercise spiritual authority, which is the sole unifying element necessary to restore the fragments of a shattered life.

I am telling you, my readers, that the broken areas in your life serve as signs from God that you lack spiritual glue. That broken relationship, family, job, finances, and the like are in serious need of spiritual healing before they can be permanently restored. Trying to put them back together without God is essentially demanding a repetitive action that will only produce the same unsatisfactory results. At best, it can only offer a temporary fix. Facts show that after several temporary fixes, discouragement is inevitable.

Maybe you’ve messed up in your Christian walk, you’ve fornicated, committed adultery, or whatever. You feel so condemned that you’re not worthy to continue. Here me and here me well! This is absolute nonsense. GET OUT OF YOUR SELF-ASSIGNED STATE OF CONDEMNATION AND PROCEED FORWARD. Those who have condemned you are more than likely doing the same thing they’re condemning you for, but have not yet been caught, so they feel the need to appoint themselves as judge, jury, and prosecutor, HYPOCRITES!

The Bible clearly states, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). When restoring things, there are five essential points to remember, which are:

• Confession and repentance of all sins
• A made-up and determined mind
• Divorcing yourself from the negative opinions and suggestions of others
• Begin building your confidence and renewing your mind by reading your Bible
• And finally, pray with great expectation that what you’re praying for will happen

As I shared earlier, my brother and I started brainstorming ways to piece this figurine back together. We also thought about blaming each other or hiding the figurine, but we realized that wouldn't really help. Rebuilding the pieces reminds us to focus more on finding solutions to life's challenges rather than dwelling on the problems themselves.

My advice for you this morning is this: instead of asking, "Why is this happening to me?" consider asking, "What is my purpose in all of this?" Start to view yourself as a problem solver, recognizing that you are in this situation at this specific time to effect a change that no one else could bring about. Like Esther, dismiss that defeated attitude and move forward with confidence and boldness, ready to take control rather than be controlled.

Say to yourself and convince yourself: I AM A WORLD CHANGER. I HAVE BEEN CREATED TO EASE, COMFORT, AND BRING DIVINE ORDER TO THIS SITUATION. For I am not alone in this; God is upholding me by the right hand of His righteousness. This is the day I've decided to be different, think differently, and perform differently, all in an effort to achieve a different result!

Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your word, for Your word is the power that holds all things together. Your word declares that You are the true vine, and we are the branches, and we can do nothing without You. My prayer is that You inspire us, Your branches, with the ability to put the pieces back together in our lives and the lives of others, this time with You being the beginning and the end of the process. We acknowledge that You were the missing ingredient that led to our failure. Please forgive us and reveal Your glory in and through us in the powerful name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen!

Written by: Kevin L. A Ewing

ewinglakevin@icloud.com

kevinlaewing.blogspot.com

www.kevinlaewing.com