Rom 1:21-22 (NIV) For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools. You are learning how to move in the opposite direction from these people. Jesus is trying to help you be interested in what it is going to take for you to be totally free from any of these wicked people’s characteristics. He knows that you can start out right and get sabotaged along the way. So, He is laying out some very important truths for you. So, let your heart and mind absorb these important steps on “What Does It Take?”.

There are three major issues that have to be established in your heart if you are going to close the three doors to Satan. The first was that God is smarter than you, the second was, God loves you. Once you have it settled that God is incredibly smart; and, you are sure He totally loves you, the third issue you have to face is how bad your reasoning power really is.

There was a time in your life when you thought you were right; and, you were actually totally wrong. The scary part here is the fact that it happened to you concerning an eternal issue. It was an issue that was so important to your well-being that you were deciding whether you were going to be spending eternity with God or not. And, you were totally leaning in the “not” direction. Now that is really scary! Prov 14:12 (NIV) There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

You will only let God change your philosophies, opinions, and beliefs if you know they are wrong. Now, no one will be dogmatic on ALL areas and issues of previous training. Some things will just be mild opinions. You have based your life on them; but, they aren’t all that important to you. If you allow God to take those, you will see how incredible the replacement truths will be. That will help you trust Him with more “important” ones.

When God put His finger on some that fall into the category of “if I give this principle up, I will never have any more fun for the rest of my life.” And, when others fall under the category of “I have based my whole life on this principle; I can’t possibly be wrong on that one.” Start praying and asking God to help you get to the place where you will trust Him with those. If you wait until all your easy ones get turned into much better ways of life, you will still be locked in on these other issues.

Prov 14:12 (NIV) There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. One thing you need to get out of this Scripture is how positive you can be about something that is so wrong. Just because something makes total sense to you, doesn’t make it truth.

• Since God is so brilliant and you have this ability of being extremely wrong about something you are sure of,
• Since you can’t love yourself in a supernatural way, but, God can,
• Since your opinions effect your ability to see God’s creation clearly, but, God has the power to show it to you,
• Since you want to move away from wickedness, and God can motivate you to love righteousness,
• And since you want to close three doors against your body, the world, and the devil, and Jesus is training and empowering you to do so,

You must totally relax in His hands and let Him begin the process of changing your mind or confirming your thoughts on all matters of previous training.

Mat 7:22-23 (NIV) Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?” Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!” Jesus is making sure you don’t fall into this category. He knows what it takes for you to be totally victorious. These are the issues Jesus is seeing to it that you are learning how to bring to a neutral point. He loves you and wants you to know the complete truth.

Rom 1:20 (NIV) For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities--His eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. There is much for you to learn about God that His creation is able to show you. The major problem the wicked had was a lack of thankfulness. Rom 1:21 (NIV) For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Let every chance you get to look at God’s creation be an opportunity to see, appreciate, and thank Him for the life and planet He gave you. Don’t let the cares of this world blind you to all that God did when He gave you this life on this earth. Pray and ask God to help you never take your eyes off of His creation that testifies of His love for you. And, ask Him to help you study and grow through the life of Jesus when He was living within His creation.