The Lice Infestation

By Sara Esther Crispe

Every year around Passover, I teach the inner meaning of the ten plagues. And as I do, I try to reflect on which one is plaguing me the most. This year, it is definitely lice.

I would like to believe that I am thinking of lice simply because my child's class just had an outbreak. But no, I don’t believe it was being around children scratching their heads that is making me connect so strongly.

Lice is actually a bit bizarre to even be one of the ten plagues. I mean, looking through them, the others are quite devastating. We are dealing with all the water turning to blood, wild beasts, debilitating and paralyzing darkness, and more. But lice? Sure, it is annoying. An inconvenience. But an actual plague?

Thoughts On Rain

by Julie Ackerman

Our Daily Bread is hosted by Les Lamborn

READ: Matthew 5:38-48

He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. —Matthew 5:45

When torrential downpours beat on the heads of my newly planted petunias, I felt bad for them. I wanted to bring them inside to shelter them from the storm. By the time the rain stopped, their little faces were bowed to the ground from the weight of the water. They looked sad and weak. Within a few hours, however, they perked up and turned their heads skyward. By the next day, they were standing straight and strong.

STRONGHOLDS OF THE MIND

2 Corinthians 10:5 - We are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ

The nature of the battle for your mind is clearly presented in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5: "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."

The first thing you need to know about the battle for your mind is that it is not fought on the plane of human ingenuity or ability. You can't outsmart or outmuscle the flesh or the devil on your own. Your weapons must be "divinely powerful" if you are going to win a spiritual conflict.

The main targets which must be destroyed are the "fortresses" in the mind. The King James Version uses the word strongholds . Strongholds are negative patterns of thought which are burned into our minds either through repetition over time or through one-time traumatic experiences.

Where Do You Go From Here?

When Dorothy received the phone call, her mind was flooded with negative thoughts. What would she do if the worst happened? How would she cope? She had heard so many bad stories about what might come next. What uncertainty do you face right now? Would you like to talk with someone about it?

Video provided by: TruthMedia films 

http://powertochange.com/discover/stories/dorothy-brown-bad-news/

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Related:

Suffering: Does God Care?

Talk to a mentor today

http://powertochange.com/discover/stories/dorothy-brown-bad-news/

How To Be Really Free

Written by Helen Grace Lescheid

How can we pray for you today? 

“Jesus replied, ‘…So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’” (John 8:34a, 36)

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17).

How do you feel about the word “surrender”? It’s not a popular word in our culture. We are afraid that if we surrender we’ll be oppressed. Maybe a person in authority has abused us and colored our concept of surrender.

I have a friend who spent three years in a Japanese prison camp. He witnessed cruel beatings and insults on a daily basis.  Even now, many years later, he is afraid to give himself to God. He thinks he’ll lose his freedom.