This is Too Good to be True!

“This is too good to be true!”

“This lucky streak can’t last forever!”

Have you ever had thoughts like that?

Have you ever wondered when the gavel would drop, and your lucky streak would end?

We think we don’t deserve this happiness; therefore, this season has to end soon. We brace ourselves for the storm, and don’t really enjoy the season of bliss!

Well, that is exactly what the enemy wants us to do! He wants us to look at life like it is a roll of the dice. He desires for us to become superstitious about our faith.

He wants us to walk in fear, instead of being grateful for the good times!

If anyone had a right to think this way, it would have been Joseph.

Let’s look at some highlights from a chapter in his life.

“The LORD was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Potiphar noticed this and realized that the LORD was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. (Genesis 39:1 NLT)

Wait for it…this is too good to be true….here it comes…

Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man, and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded. But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. (Genesis 39:6b-8 NLT)

She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible. (Genesis 39:10 NLT)

So…she waited until everyone had left the house, and she tried to trap him. Joseph refused, and she stripped him of his clothes as he fled.

Then she told [Potiphar] her [made up] story. “That Hebrew slave you’ve brought into our house tried to come in and fool around with me,” she said. “But when I screamed, he ran outside, leaving his cloak with me!” Potiphar was furious when he heard his wife’s story about how Joseph had treated her. So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained. (Genesis 39:17-20 NLT)

Someone rolled the snake eyes…right?! Or, did he?!

The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The LORD was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.” (Genesis 39:23 NLT)

Oh…here he goes, again…

Our experiences in life can leave us afraid to enjoy life. We remember times like Joseph’s story, where things were going great and then the bottom fell out of it.

For a believer in Christ, here’s the problem with that superstitious mindset: Fear says, “I don’t trust God!”

There was no way that Joseph could have known that God was moving Joseph closer to his DREAM job. There was no way that he could have realized that prison was a stepping stone to his success. Only God knew the plan He had for Joseph. Only God knew that He needed Joseph closer to Pharaoh!

We can trust God with all the circumstances of our life. We need only to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, and not on the enemy’s snake eyes.

Align your mind to the truth of God’s Word, today!

The truth is…godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6:6).

I don’t know about you, but I would rather stake my life on an investment that has great gain than to roll the dice and play the odds.

Zach Johnson, an American, was the winner of the British Open back in July of 2015. He talks about having patience, and I love when he states that he had some scripture going on in his head!

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17 ESV

It is so important for us to have the right frame of mind in every area of our lives. And, that can only happen when we quit believing the lies of the enemy, and focus on the truth of God’s Word!

You Are Here!

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

10He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

11The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:9b-13)

Did you notice that He asked him this question two times.

He asked him the first time, then told him to go out and stand on the mountain, passed by, and then he asked the question a second time. God was not asking for the man’s physical location. He was asking why he was in that particular state of mind.

“What are you doing here?”

Do you have insecurities? Do you deal with fears?

Does the enemy overwhelm you with shame, guilt, anxiety, or worry?

Do you tell God that you don’t need Him? Is there a chance that you don’t tell Him this with your words, but your actions say otherwise?

This is a good time for an assessment!

You may ask, “Why should I assess my insecurities?” Why should I ask, “What do I fear? Am I living with shame or pride?” My answer is simple, “You can’t get where you want to go, if you don’t know where you are!”

Imagine walking into an unfamiliar mall with the hopes of buying a pair of shoes at your favorite shoe store. Where do you start your search? Obviously, you will be seeking out signage and/or the map with the layout of the mall.

In this case, you pull up to the mall map and you find the shoe store at which you desire to shop. There is one extremely small detail missing on the map, though. You don’t see a pin drop for where you are currently located. Where in the world is the “You Are Here” symbol? This is ridiculous!

Good news! You are smarter than the map. You start surveying the stores that are within close proximity, and you find them on the map. This allows you to narrow down your location, and then you follow from there to where you want to go.

This is what it means to Assess Your Insecurities. You must take a survey of your life, and then you will know how to get where you want to go. We want to be free from the burdens of fear, pride, and shame! We want to have Jesus take them from us. However, we need to know the burdens, so that we can hand them over.

Assessment is a crucial piece of the journey to a Burden Less life, and you can walk through this in the second section of 21 Days to AYM. Remember, Jesus wants to take our burdens upon himself.

Where are you? It’s time to survey the land, read the signs, and align your mind to the mind of Christ!

Exciting News:

21 Days to Align Your Mind is currently being translated into Spanish and Albanian!

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Hear the message Burden Less from 2015!

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Removing the Weights…

Why align your mind?

Well, I am so glad you asked!

In this journey of life, I have noticed that there are three primary things that tend to take my mind off the truth, and they weigh me down with lies. These three weights are fear, pride, and shame.

Imagine if you had a grocery scale in front of you. With no weight in the basket, the red dial of the scale would point straight up (heavenward). Add a brick labeled “fear.” Then, add a brick labeled “pride.” Finally, add the extremely heavy weight of “shame.”

In this exercise of the imagination, you will notice that your dial will point further and further away from straight up as you add each additional brick. This is what happens in our minds!

When we focus on fear, it begins to weigh us down in our soul, even to point of affecting our body and spirit. It causes us to take our minds off of heavenly things, and we get caught up in the earthly things!

Jesus came to carry our burdens, so that we can be Burden Less… He didn’t just come for us to have eternal life. According to John 10:10, Jesus came so that we could live this life to the fullest!

And Matthew 11:28-29 says,“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.…” (Matthew 11:28-29 NIV)

To become free from the burdens, we need to work on listening to the truth (voice of Jesus/His Word) versus the lies fostered by fear, pride, and shame. For that to happen, we must put to practice Romans 12:2.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2 NIV)

In 21 Days to Align Your Mind, I want to teach you the Burden Less Process from Romans 12:2. I hope you will join the journey. And, if you have…I pray you will invite others to join you, as well!

More Than a Dream! This is real…

You’ve heard it said, “The devil is a liar!” Well, this has been a reality in my life. You see, Align Your Mind is more than a devotional or a dream come true for me. It has been, and continues to be, my journey. It is my reality!

Along the way, I have gleaned scriptures, teachings, life lessons, etc. that have helped me battle the lies of the enemy with truth. And, these are the lessons I am compelled to share with the rest of the world. I want others to walk in the liberty that I have found. Truth really is liberating! It dispels the lies, and allows you to walk in confidence knowing who you really are and that you have a Divine purpose for existence.

I’ll never forget my first few years in ministry. I would lay in bed and wrestle with thoughts of failure even when I knew that I did what was right. The real battle was that I did not want to be disliked! This same feeling is what would drive me to get more likes on Facebook for pictures, posts, status updates, etc. These Facebook affirmations became my purpose, and I would lose sight of my real reason for existence.

When we align our minds to the mind of Christ, we are able to take the beatings, the accusations, the mock trials, the real trials, and the crucifixions. We are able to see past the troubles of this world, because we realize that our calling, our purpose, and our existence is so much bigger than this moment or our feelings. We were created for a time such as this!

Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Who will you believe, the father of lies or the Way, Truth, and Life?

I choose to align my mind to the mind of Christ Jesus!

Will you join this journey of alignment?

Training Plan

When soldiers are being trained for battle, it is with the understanding that they will be so well prepared that most of what they do is automatic when the time comes. They should know their commander’s voice and be able to listen and maneuver according to his every command. In addition, they have been taught certain skills regarding their personal safety and how to stay alive while moving forward to win the battle.

Black belts in most karate styles will train themselves with repetitive movements, so that when it is time to fight, most of what they do is instinctive.

Jesus said, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” (‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭24-27‬ NKJV)

The situations that rock our faith are the very things for which we need our faith to be rock solid!

So, here is the question of the day: How is your training coming along?

If you are not in a storm, chances are…you will see one very soon. Are you training for the storms? Are you living out your faith by focusing on and walking out the teachings of Jesus. Is your house built upon the rock? Is your mind aligned to His teachings and to His voice?

For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. (‭1 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭6-8‬ NIV)

Today would be a great day to examine your training plan!

Challenge: Write down what you are doing to strengthen your faith. Are you spending time listening to the voice of Jesus each day? Are you in His Word? Do you listen when you pray or do you talk the whole time? Are you living what you know to be the truth?

Believe…Thank You! – Day 20

If shame says, “I don’t believe God,” then we really need to replace that thought!

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 ESV)

Nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. (‭II Timothy‬ ‭1‬:‭12‬ NKJV)

It is time to believe what God says about us and to walk in His freedom! We can trust that what He says is true. If we confess our sins, we don’t have to carry the shame anymore. When Jesus died on the cross, it was once for all and it is finished!

Imagine that you washed your whites and hung them out to dry. Once they were clean and then completely dry, the next step would be to fold them and put them away. Or, you might even put them on and wear them.

Well, in the case of shame…we have a tendency to then take those clean clothes and put them back into the washer. Instead of folding them and putting them away, or openly wearing them, we ask for forgiveness again, and again, and again. But God says, “I have already forgiven you. I can’t wash what is already clean.”

Moms, you understand this more than anyone. My wife continually scolds our kids for throwing clean clothes back into the laundry hamper. I can almost hear it now, “You only wore that for 15 minutes. Those shorts are clean! Go get them and put them in your drawer. I am tired of washing your clean clothes.”

O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! (‭Romans‬ ‭7‬:‭24-25‬ NKJV)

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭1-2‬ NKJV)

Our minds shouldn’t be focused on the shame and condemnation of our past sins; rather, we should be focused on thanking God for forgiving us and granting us grace and mercy in our time of need. He loved us enough to send His very best!

We should not be downcast. No, we should be grateful! Our hearts should explode with joy from the truth about our freedom in Christ Jesus.

It is time to align our minds! And, the best way to do that is to speak His truth over us with thanksgiving. The enemy cannot push back our praise! Our praise and thanksgiving should be so much louder than the condemning lies of the enemy…

Challenge: Read these verses out loud as an offering of thanks, and allow them to change your mind for the better:

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained. (‭Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭13-16‬ ESV)

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. (‭Isaiah‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬ NKJV)

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 ESV)

Need…Thank You! – Day 19

If pride says, “I don’t need God,” then we must replace that thought!

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (‭Luke‬ ‭18‬:‭10-11, 13-14‬ ESV)

Recently, I heard Johnny Hunt say, “Mercy is not getting what you do deserve, and grace is getting what you do not deserve.” God extends both to us, but we must receive them with humility and thanksgiving. When you realize your need for God to intercede on your behalf, you can’t help but be thankful for His tender mercy and grace.

But he said to me (Paul), “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭9-10‬ ESV)

Pride causes us to overcompensate by masquerading around like we are not weak. Thus, causing us to carry our burdens alone. This isn’t strength! True strength is when we humble ourselves on our knees and ask Jesus to carry our burdens for us. We are strong in Him when we are weak in us. We need Him to provide what we truly need.

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. (‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭19-20‬ ESV)

Once again, today, we should replace the lies with a heart of thanksgiving, and give all glory to the Father. We should be grateful that we never have to do this on our own. The enemy has tried to convince us that it is a sign of weakness to surrender and accept that we need a Savior.

Let’s be strong today by accepting our weakness, and speaking truth. We need God!

Challenge: Read these verses out loud as an offering of thanks, and allow them to change your mind for the better:

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. (‭Proverbs‬ ‭16‬:‭18‬ ESV)

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬ ESV)

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (‭Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭20-21‬ ESV)

Align Your Mind

A Journey to the Burden Less Life…

Author: Eric B Nichols