Mark 11:23 says, “…whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he says shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he says.”

While Pastor Joe Bob was teaching on this passage the last two Sundays a     thought came to me about something I had read one time.  It read something   like this, “when we move mountains it is usually by one stone at a time.”

The more I thought about this the more I saw the truth in it.  Usually in the natural it takes time, and man power to move a mountain.  Even if you use dynamite it may all come down at once, but you still have to move the rubble away a few stones at a time. 

You might say in the supernatural that God uses His “dunamis” power to move a mountain.  Dunamis is the Greek word from which we get our word “dynamite”.  Well, in the spirit realm the mountain is blown away, but we still have to move the rubble one stone at a time.  Starting with the stone in front of the grave/deadness (heart), of our lives.  We have to remove this stone, and let Christ Jesus come forth in our lives.  Once you have rolled away the stone from the tomb in the mountain, and Christ comes forth in the spirit realm then we will began to see symbolic mountains of hindrances, and obstacles in our lives being moved a stone at a time, and new life coming forth.

Speak God’s word to your mountains!  Stop speaking our words of doubt, and start saying what God says – “All things are possible to those who believe”.

Some people might say, ‘But it is too painful to lift, and move heavy stones.’  Well my answer for that is let the angel of the Lord come, and roll it away.  I know that may be hard to believe, or to let go, and let this happen, because I know that I wrestle with the letting go thing. I always think that I need to be in control. I am learning more everyday to let God be in charge of rolling away the stones.

When God does roll away the stones, then we might want to build a monument which our pastor calls “stones of remembrance”( Read Joshua 4:8,9,20-24).  This will remind you of all the times God has moved mountains for you.

So don’t give up on moving your mountains.  Just remember that they are going away one stone at a time.  Yes, it is faster if you use that dunamis power/God’s power, but it does still seem to take some time, but the load will be easier.  So keep speaking God’s word to your mountain/s, and let God’s word move it for you!

Sometimes you may not want to move a mountain; you may want to overtake a mountain, to possess it, well again speak to it the Word of God, and like Caleb you will have your mountain, even if it takes one stone at a time!

Usually I have chosen a verse that I feel like God has layed on my heart for the new year by now, but I did not have a peace about it until about a week and a half ago.  Finally, it came to me – 1 Samuel 1:17, “Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace; and the God of Israel grant you your petition that you have asked of him.”

This comes from the story of Hannah when she was praying for a child.  Peninnah, her adversary had been making fun of her, provoking her, to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb.

Do you feel like the adversary is provoking you?   Do you feel like that you are wanting to give birth to something, but you feel like you are barren?

Well of course your adversary, the devil is roaming about seeking whom he may devour.  Well I do not give him permission.  He may NOT devour me.  “I shall go in peace; and my God shall grant me my petition that I have asked of him.”

But, you might be saying, “wait a minute, Brenda.  I have been asking, but I don’t seem to be receiving.  I know.  I feel the same way sometimes.  I asked God about that, and this is what He showed me.

In James 4:2,3 it says, “You have not because you ask not.(ok, but I ask & still don’t  get what I ask for)  You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts.”  I think that this goes back to Matt. 6:33, in that we are to “seek God” first, then all these “things” will be added.  I think that I miss it in that I am not “asking for God first”.  I ask for the things first to consume them upon my lust, my greed, my need, my pleasure.  There is nothing wrong with asking for things, but not to the exclusion of God, not putting the things before God.

The Bible also says to ask, and it shall be given, and whatever you ask of God it shall be given.  Again this does not always seem to be true for me.  I realize His timing is not my timing, but I think there is more to it. 

The Word also says to ask anything in my name/nature (that’s a whole different blog) that the Father be glorified.  It also says to abide in Him and it shall be done to me, and ask, and I shall receive, that my joy may be full.  First John says, we receive because we keep His commandments.  I believe that is the commandment that says, “we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and secondly we shall love ourselves, and then we are to love our neighbor like we love ourselves.  If I obey this commandment then I will automatically be keeping the ten commandments in the Old Testament.

Then, we are to pray according to His will.  Well, according to I Thes. 5:18 the will of God is to give thanks in everything.  Mt. 21:22 says I am to ask in prayer, believing, than I shall receive.

Then, I John 5:15 says to “know” that He hears us.  I believe that knowing is “faith”.

Oh, yes, don’t expect anything if you are double minded, thinking one minute that God will, and then, the next minute you wonder if He will.

So, to wrap it up, I am going to go with peace in my heart knowing, by faith, that God has heard what I asked in prayer (& It is not a greedy prayer, but one that will bless me & others) so I am going to receive, because I am seeking Him first, and when I seek Him I shall find Him, and my joy will be full.  When I find Him I will automatically walk in love, because He is love.  I am abiding in Him, & He in me because I am one with Him.  When I pray I will give thanks to Him, because it is already done before I even finish asking, and I will stay focused on my answer.  I will see it done in my mind’s eye, and I will speak it so!  MY PETITION IS GRANTED!

Anyway, this is the way I see it, so this is what I am going to do.  I decree, and command it so!

Are you ready for Christmas?  Are you ready for your gifts?  Are you ready for “the GIFT” from which all other gifts come?   Jesus the Christ is CHRISTmas.  He is the gift, and the giver.

Jesus ,the gift, is the gift that keeps on giving!  And this gift is FREE!  Acts 8:20 says it cannot be purchased with money.

In an old Evie song, she sang how He came ‘special delivery, wrapped up in love, bound by a promise, sealed by a dove’.

Jesus is our “present”, our NOW.  The right time is always now, because it is always right now, from this point that my future is made in Christ.  He is our NOW!

He comes with free shipping and handling.  He is our care package – he doesn’t come under a literal tree, but he came in a manger made out of a tree and then he showed us the greatest gift of all on a tree/cross.

He is the gift that I get to wake up to everyday.  I get to unwrap Him.  I get to let him open up/unfold within me.  He is under me – under my skin-within me.  The Bible relates to ‘men as trees’.  Christ is under this tree/me!

The Christ Child is born anew in me every day.  Born in my inner manger, and every beastly/carnal/flesh thought has to bow, every lowly shepherd thought of fear, worry, doubt, lack, disease, and every exalted earthly king thought of conceit, high & mighty attitude, and every haughty thought has to bow to the Christ within me.  (The kings can also represent the spirit realm, as they came from the east, and in the Bible the east is the symbolic realm of spirit)  Every knee (every thought) shall bow at the feet of Jesus!

Christ Jesus is the best fruit that I could ever get in my stocking – He is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance!

When I see the star at the top of the tree, I remember that Jesus is the star/the bright & shining, morning star – the Day Star, and I am going to reach for the stars, or “the Star” in my life every day.  He is the “star” on this tree – me!  He is at the top of my consciousness!

When I see the Christmas lights, I am reminded that God is the Father of light, and that Jesus is the light of the world. Every good & perfect gift comes from the Father of light. That is the reason for all the lights at Christmas.

When I see the Red & Green colors of Christmas I think of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross for me, and the green represents the everlasting life that he has given to me, and you.

In the Legend of the Candy Cane it tells us that the staff shape reminds us that Jesus is the good shepherd, and it is hard candy like rock candy.  That reminds us of what it says in I Cor. 10: 3&4, “all did eat the same spiritual meat; and did drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual ROCK that followed them, and that ROCK  was CHRIST.”   Jesus is the Rock!

Thank you Father for your gift (Jn.3:16) which includes so many other gifts, and benefits.

“Thanks be to God for His precious, indescribable, inexpressible, free Gift! – II Cor. 9:15 amp

JOY to the WORLD OUR GIFT HAS COME!  Let earth RECEIVE her KING!

God, I receive the gift of Christ Jesus your son.  I am receiving, I’m receiving, now.  I’m receiving my unlimited good from you, my unlimited God, in unlimited ways, now!!!

It is the gift that truly keeps on giving!!!   Just receive it!!! 

And the gift goes on, & on, & on, & on, & on………………………..!!!!!

OK, so I guess that we have figured out that it is “as a man thinks in his heart/subconscious mind so is he”

Joseph Murphy, in one of his books, says, “Your thoughts, mental imagery, beliefs, attitudes, and feelings are investments which you deposit in your subconscious mind.  Your subconscious gives compound interest, i.e., it magnifies whatever you deposit.  Impress your subconscious with love, faith, confidence, right action, guidance, abundance, security, and good humor, and whenever you need love, confidence, or an answer to a problem, your subconscious will supply you.  This is the way to dig treasures out of the gold mine within you.

Do you remember the little song that we used to sing when we were children that said, “Oh be careful little ears what you hear…be careful little eyes what you see…be careful little mouth what you say…for the Father up above is looking down in love oh be careful little ears what you hear…eyes what you see…mouth what you say.”  I believe this is very true.   Our subconscious does not know if we are serious or teasing, so we must be very careful what we say, hear, speak, and think, because all of that goes into our subconscious mind.  The subconscious believes everything to be true, and then we wonder why things are the way they are in our lives.

I also believe that God has already deposited something into us, it is a great treasure of knowledge, and wisdom, and if we will search for it as if for hidden treasure like Proverbs 2:4 says then we will find those great treasures that lead us to an abundant life.

I am still thinking along the same lines as before.  This “thinking/mind” thing. 

Ok, the Bible says in Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinks in his “heart”, so is he.”  Notice that it does not say, “For as he thinks in his “mind” so is he”, no in his “heart”.  The heart, to me, is the inner most part of me, that deep region, the sub-conscious.  What we really believe is in our sub-conscious realm.  That is why we manifest what we do.  We can think in our conscious mind all day about being healthy, or wealthy, etc., and we can speak all our affirmations, and verses; but if we really don’t believe it in our “deepest regions”, in our sub-conscious mind/heart,  “It ain’t gonna happen”. 

This “inner region/heart” is our “knowing place”.  What we really know to be true. 

I heard someone say the other day that they could not retire yet, and just believe God to be their source and their supply – their paycheck.  They said, ‘I don’t have that kind of faith.”  Yes, they do.  We all do.  It is just that her faith is in her job.  Her source and her supply is her job.  She believes strongly in her job to supply a paycheck every week.  She has faith in her company to be there for her.   I am by no means putting her down, because I have to examine my own faith, my own heart.  I look around at my outer circumstances, and I have to admit that everything that I have is a result of my faith, my true consciousness, my heart, my “real” belief. 

I want to have the same kind of faith that she has in her job, except I want to have that faith in God, and His Word.

I am thinking that I need to reprogram my sub-conscious mind/heart.  I need for my heart to believe that I really can do all things through Christ which strengthens me, and that I can be doing greater things than Jesus did.

How do I do this?  I think that it is through prayer, and meditation; meditation being the key.  I have to focus on Christ within as my “all in all”.  I have to stop listening to the world, and doing things its’ way.  I think it would probably help me to fast from the news, from people that only want to talk about their woes, and how bad the economy is, from my own words & thoughts, etc.  Now this is not an easy thing to change, especially at my age.  This will take discipline, a lot of focused discipline.

I also think that the world knows about programming our sub-conscious mind, thus the media has us all in a hypnotic state, believing everything that we are told.

Ok, so I have been thinking about the subject of “mind over matter”.  Some people really have a hard time with that, but I was just thinking about how if I want my hand to move, I have a desire to move it, so my mind tells it to move, and it moves.   So how was it that my mind reached matter?  Was it my desire? I wanted to move it.  I desired to move it?

 The Bible tells me that “God gives me the desire of my heart”, and that “as a man/woman thinks in his/her heart, so is he/she”.

If the Word teaches that I have the “mind of Christ”, then it seems like for sure that “mind should have power over matter”.  So is this how we are to move the mountains in our lives, by using the “Christ Mind” that is in us?

Seems like, to me that we have a lot of unused, latent power within us.  If we are supposed to be doing greater things then Jesus did then I am really missing it somewhere.

I really think that I am missing out on a lot that God has for me.  What do you think?