Page 52 - The Prosperous Way _ (APRIL 2024 v3)
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THE PROSPEROUS WAY

          Will this kind of thought or talk bring about success? Remember the
          Scripture; “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”

          If the first place that success begins is in our minds, then similarly, a life
          of defeat also begins inwardly and works itself into our outward reality.
          If we know this to be true, then one key thing that we must do as we
          embark on our journey is to change our inner thought life.  We must
          prepare  our  minds  to  prosper  by  re-building  our  self-perception.  We
          exchange  what  we  think  about  ourselves  and  our  inadequacies  for
          what God thinks about us, which He speaks to us through His Word.

          2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us that we are to “demolish arguments and every
          pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and take
          captive  every  thought  to  make  it  obedient  to  Christ.”    This  Scripture
          requires us to consciously and actively control our thought life, and to
          demolish misperceptions that oppose or contradict what we know to be
          God’s truth about ourselves, our purpose and destiny.

          Can we do this in our own strength? Well, the world attempts to control
          the thoughts of the mind through theories of positive thinking and self-
          talk psychotherapy. However, as Christians, we know that the weapons
          with which we fight are not the weapons of the world, but spiritual
          weapons  that  work  powerfully  to  pull  down  strongholds  (2
          Corinthians 10:4). And it is with the weapon of the Word of God that
          we pull down the strongholds, the fortresses of wrong thinking and self-
          doubt, in our minds.

                        FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE

          One  of  the  most important  truths  from  the  Word  in  which we  must
          ground ourselves and condition our minds to accept is that we are each
          “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). That means we are
          each uniquely made, and God didn’t make a mistake when He made us
          the way we are.

          Psalm 139:13 tells us that, from the time that we were in our mother’s
          womb,  God  formed  our  “inward  parts.”  The  literal  translation  of  the
          word used here for “inward parts” is the kidney. But figuratively it means
          much more than your vital organs (your kidneys, your heart, etc.). It is
          referring to your inmost being, your interior self (your personality and
          natural talents).  Each of us has been uniquely crafted by God,  and  He


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