Friday, October 28, 2016

Rational faith and seeing through illusions


Here is the final set of email exchanges with Claudia Fernandes from Rio, as she sought counseling for a lifetime of rejection and humiliation. I’m happy to include her final response, which I just received this past week. To read from the beginning, click here for the first post, and here for the second to better understand what Claudia was going through and how far she has come.

>>12 February 2015 07:06<<

Hi Claudia,

The first paragraph of your email reveals an attitude that I want to help you destroy. What is real? Is what we see and feel real? We can’t see God, but He is close to us and is more real than anything we see. We can’t yet see the fulfillment of God’s promises, but they are more real than any of our problems or traumas. The chair you’re sitting in could appear more real than God because you can physically touch it, but it’s not. He is more real. The spiritual world is much more real and rewarding than the physical world.

What I want you to understand is that your thoughts become reality. Faith is deciding that the word of God will become reality, regardless of how you feel or what you see. We’re not lying to ourselves when we do this. We’re not deceiving ourselves. We’re simply deciding that the promises of God will become the new reality of our lives.

The devil is like a Hollywood producer. He creates a scene around us to convince us that our lives are going to be a certain way. Like a Hollywood scene, it isn’t real, but is seems real. We need to open the door for God’s reality to become our reality, and the only way to do this is to believe in His promises with every cell of our brain.

There is much more I could say about this. It’s a big subject. Next time I’ll tell you more…

Is what I’m saying clear?

I corrected your positive phrases (below). I want you to start to repeat these phrases to yourself EVERY day. It may seem silly, but it isn’t. When a child begins to speak for the first time, he only makes noises. He doesn’t know what he’s saying. But with time he develops the ability to speak the language fluently. These phrases may appear silly in the beginning, but they are the truth, and the more you say them and believe in them, the more they will become your new reality.

Remember, being a tither means putting God in first place. This means giving God the first ten percent of your income, but it also means having faith and rebuking doubts.

THE OPPOSITES
1. I can do anything. Things will be easier than I think they will be, but on the other hand I’m not afraid of difficult things because the victory is mine!
2. People like me. I am not alone. God is creating family and friends for me.
3. Even when I don’t see anything, God is at work. He is transforming both me and my situation.
4. I don’t only give my tithe, I put God first in everything! Prosperity, which is my revenge on the devil, is on the way!
5. God believes in me even when nobody else does. My faith is opening doors for me that were never open before.

We’ll talk again soon…


>>20 October 2016 16:17<<

Good afternoon Bishop,

I write this to glorify God for your life.

After I learned how negative my mind was, and how this blocked me from receiving the promises of God by faith, my life finally changed. Bishop, it has surpassed all expectations. Today I’m the owner of a house that I bought a little while ago, and have another house that’s in construction in a private housing development. I’m taking possession of all I have a right to.

As soon as I received my college degree I was promoted to manager, and now I am a full analyst in the company. I received 2 promotions in less than a year and my salary practically doubled. My self-confidence has grown, I’m exercising, competing in charity runs where I’ve won medals, and have joined a gym. But… the best of all is that I found peace, security, strength and the faith I never had. After all these blessings I’m convinced that this is only the beginning. Thank you so, so much Bishop. God used you to save my life. In fact, today I can say that I have a life.


>>21 October 2016 12:28<<

Amen. Thanks for letting me know. I can see that the Holy Spirit has transformed your life. That’s so great!
Keep going in the same faith, and help other people with the things you’ve learned.
I remember your story. Praise God that you started to see results, and that you overcame the negative thoughts of the devil.
God bless you!


>>21 October 2016 12:45<<

So true bishop. I had followed Jesus for so long, but my negative mind could not believe the truth of His word. Because of all the destruction I had seen in life, deep down I thought that I had been born to suffer. I couldn’t see any way out, to the point that I just wanted to die. After our conversations I began to reason, to look for answers, and tried to better understand the difference between what is real and what my mind understood as real. And because those who seek, find… BOOM! I was delivered from my totally distorted mind. Today I love life. I look at the world around me and am thankful for every beautiful day, thankful for my life. Today I’m thankful for everything, every single moment.

Clearly, every once in a while bad thoughts still appear, but now I have the strength, authority and confidence to rebuke them immediately. Never more have I felt broken, sad and unhappy. There’s so much happiness inside of me, I can’t contain it. It’s like I’m a completely different person. My feelings changed. My emotions changed. Everything changed.

Be sober and watchful, because your adversary the devil walks around as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him firmly in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. But after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called us to His eternal glory through Christ Jesus, will restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.  1 Peter 5:8-11, MEV

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