Preach the truth to ourselves

Just a snippet from last night's 'equip'.

Martyn Lloyd Jones once said that we listen to ourselves too much and speak to ourselves too little. We hear our doubts saying, ‘you have been here before and you have failed.’ We need to preach the truth to ourselves. ‘I can do all things through him who strengthens me,’ ‘… he will not let me be tempted beyond that which I can bear’ (1 Cor. 10:13), ‘I am dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 6:11), ‘God is at work within me to will and act according to his good purpose’ (Philippians 2:13), ‘I am not controlled by the sinful nature but by the Spirit …’ (Romans 8:9), ‘If I live by the Spirit I will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature’ (Gal. 5:16). Don’t buy into the belief that defeat is inevitable. Strengthen yourself with the truth. This is more than the power of positive thinking. This is realising the truth of God’s Word. This is truth that transforms. Remember that God’s word is sharper than a double-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12) and is at work within those who believe (1 Thess. 2:13). Obedience is a real option!