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I can’t control my thoughts!
One of the most common concerns I hear are people who fear they have entertained a thought which makes them guilty of the ‘unpardonable sin’. We’ll talk about this scenario in a moment, but first, I want to look at why such things find their way into our minds.
Has a negative thought ever popped into your head without warning? Perhaps it’s something you have struggled with, but sometimes it may be the most off the wall thought and not something you would willingly think upon. At times it comes at a moment of anger, or in a moment of temptation, or it could be something out of the blue – an idea you may be shocked would find its way in you.
Sometimes our thoughts are the result of spiritual warfare. This isn’t always the case, but at times it is. Judas, one of Jesus’ disciples, experienced such a thought. The Bible says the devil put it into the heart of Judas to betray Jesus. Of course, Judas never bought into Jesus’ teaching, so he was already vulnerable. We can see that many evil thoughts and ideas can have their origins in demonic sources, but this is not always the case.
Let’s stop for a moment and think upon this. There is a danger of going too far with this idea. Not every thought is an attack of the devil. Often, our mental process is the result of our own habits. When we dwell on anger, we will be susceptible to angry and vengeful thoughts. We can also yield our minds to the enemy by submitting ourselves to sin. This was the case with Judas.
Judas never accepted the role of being a disciple. In fact, the other apostles stated that he was greedy and a thief from the beginning (John 12:6). He was the one who kept the money for the twelve disciples and made a habit of taking money for himself. He looked at Jesus as a means of gain. His idea of ruling with Christ was based on his assumption that Jesus would be setting up an earthly kingdom.
When Jesus began foretelling of His death and crucifixion, Judas’ hope of personal gain took a devastating blow. This put him into a position where he was open to temptation, and when Satan put the idea to him, Judas embraced it in his heart.
Another important thing to note is Judas was not a transformed believer. According to John 7:39, the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus had not yet completed His work. This means the internal restraint and guidance of the Holy Spirit was not part of the believer’s life. This is important to understand because if you are born into the Spirit by faith in Christ, the Bible says you have the Holy Spirit within you. The Holy Spirit guides you into all truth, convicts you of sin, and works to conform you to the image of Christ.[1] The Holy Spirit also seals us for God.[2]
There is no such thing as a demon possessed Christian. As Jesus said, a house cannot be divided and the Holy Spirit cannot have communion with devils. Since the Bible calls us the temple of the Holy Spirit, we cannot also be the temple of demons. This should give us some peace knowing that even when we struggle in thought, it is something we can overcome because we have the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Bible says, “Greater is He who is in you (the Holy Spirit) than he who is in the world (any spiritual force not of God).” The ‘He’ within you is the Spirit of God. If demons could reside in the believer, this statement from the Bible would be confusing, for how could we defeat something in the world if the spirit of the world was also inside our hearts?
Sin wars against our mind through our flesh, but God empowers us through our spirit. Therefore, when we have wicked thoughts, it is coming through our flesh and not the new spirit God has placed within us. The scriptures teach that when we are born into the Spirit, we become a new creation, born of incorruptible seed. Take a look at this passage in 1 Peter 1:23
Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.
Notice the word ‘incorruptible’. This word means exactly what it sounds like. The spirit of new life God places within you cannot be corrupted. This means you can’t be possessed, for possession is a spiritual state. Your new spirit cannot become wicked. It is incorruptible because its life is in God and not by man. Since it is from the Spirit of God and its life is in Christ, it cannot become corrupted. Period.
So where do these thoughts come from and how do they get into our minds? According to the Bible, it comes from our flesh. One day our bodies will be redeemed and we’ll be like Christ in body as well as in spirit. For now, the Bible states that our bodies and all of creation groan with the desire to be redeemed at our adoption – the time when we receive our promise to be in God’s presence for all eternity. Until then, we remain in a body that is still affected by sin.
Look at the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 7:15-23. We’ve touched on this teaching a few times, but in this chapter we’ll dig deeper so we can glean the truths that will empower us to overcome.
15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.
16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.
17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.
19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.
22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Notice how the Apostle Paul draws a distinction between his flesh and the goodness of God. When sin is spoken of, it is always associated with his flesh. It is within his flesh, not in his spirit – for the spirit of the believer is a new creation, given by God, and cannot be corrupted.
Do you find yourself struggling against temptation? Negative thoughts? And becoming apathetic when it comes to doing the right things you know you should do? Welcome to the club! If the Apostle Paul lamented over this struggle, we should not be surprised when we struggle.
So where do these thoughts come from? Though our spirit is redeemed and incorruptible, sin remains in our flesh. Not only is sin in our flesh, but it is warring against our minds and attempting to bring us back into captivity. It’s a battle that will never end in this life – but it’s a battle you can win. You do not have to surrender your mind to sinful thoughts. It is my hope you will understand how to win this battle by the end of the chapter.
Who’s driving this ship?
Are negative thoughts yours, or is it something warring against your mind? It depends on your active reasoning. If you’re dwelling on something negative, it’s safe to say you are the one guiding your thoughts and repentance is in order. If someone has wronged you and you are brooding with anger, then if a vengeful thought enters your mind, you are responsible for this and for your current emotional state.
People plan vengeance in order to pay back a wrong; therefore, they are submitting themselves to anger and creating the problem in their emotional state. When we catch ourselves brooding, God calls us to repent by forgiving the wrong-doer and surrendering the wrong to Him. Only God has the right to judge and only He has the right to take vengeance. As we discussed earlier, our calling is to forgive, pray for the one who wronged us, bless them, and turn our focus on the perfect will of God. He will bring good into our lives unless we choose to bring vengeance into our life instead.
If you are not brooding, thinking upon something tempting, or doing anything to set your mind upon sin, and a thought emerges from nowhere, it’s safe to say this is an attack of the flesh. It may be spiritual warfare, but the war comes through the flesh, for Satan cannot attack our spirit. It is incorruptible. Satan can draw us out of walking in the Spirit and into the flesh. The flesh is his domain and this is the only place where a Christian can be defeated.
When thoughts arise, you do not have to take ownership of them. They do not belong to you unless you receive them into your heart. Let’s say out of nowhere a blasphemous thought pops into your head. Have you sinned? No. Simply acknowledge this is not your thought and cast it out. When it comes back, cast it out again. Consider this passage from 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
This is the power given to you through the Spirit. Greater is He who is in you – the Spirit of God – than he that is in the world – anything or anyone who opposes God. Pay careful attention to the weapons of our warfare in verses 4-5. Satan attacks through the flesh, but we don’t war according to the flesh. Our victory is found through the Spirit. We are attacked through the flesh, but we find victory in the Spirit. If you try to war through the flesh, you will lose.
Remember our discussion about Jane and her daughter? How was Jane trying to control the situation? By meeting her daughter’s actions in the flesh with her own reaction through the flesh. Both sides lost, for you cannot defeat the flesh with the flesh. The same is true for your external and internal struggles – including your thought life.
Let’s put this to the test. By using mere human effort I want you to try this experiment. Let’s introduce a new superstition – lemons are evil. Lemons are so evil, even thinking upon them is an unpardonable sin. Don’t think about their color. Don’t allow your mind to see the lemon peel. For goodness sake, don’t think about the sour taste which causes your lips to pucker and your mouth to water. If you salivate at all, you are in sin. Don’t even think about the color yellow, for it might make you think about a lemon. Some people are so morally bankrupt they actually mix the sour lemon juice into water and add sugar. Do everything within your power to ignore those who add ice and talk about lemonade. That cool liquid in the mouth and cooling down your throat is not something you want to even imagine. Now suppose if you even allow your mind to think upon any of this, you’re doomed to hell. Take a few minutes and concentrate on *not* thinking about lemons.
Did it work? Were you able to keep any thoughts of a lemon out of your mind? Well, it looks like we’re all doomed together. If someone truly feared thinking upon something, what do you think would seep into their thoughts?
The truth is, you can’t cast a thought out of your mind by determining not to think about it. In fact, the more we fear a thought, the more it will draw our attention. This is why people who fear committing the unpardonable sin suddenly have blasphemous thoughts entering their mind. The more emotions an idea generates – including fear – the more our subconscious processes kick in to explore the idea. It’s a fact of our brains – like it or not. But it isn’t the unpardonable sin. In fact, it most likely isn’t a sin at all. We merely need to learn how to set our minds on something that doesn’t feed negative ideas.
The mind is active and will naturally settle on what is demanding its attention. The same holds true for any thought. People fear when they have thought about blasphemy, lust, hatred, greed, and any number of temptations common to us all. Remember the promise of the sound mind? How does the Bible tell us to put all corruption out of our minds? We are taught to think on these things: whatever things are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, and praiseworthy.
To think upon is to consider its value, and treasure each of these things as though they are something to be cherished. Don’t think on these as mere words, but what they mean and how scripture applies to our walk of faith. What is just? How are we made just? What did Christ do to make us just before God and how does this reveal the loving relationship He desires for us. Think upon these things and explore them in your mind as you let them establish you in faith.
Our minds do not operate in a vacuum. We must set our minds upon these things and then we have the promise that the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds through Christ. We aren’t staring down our temptation, but turning from it and toward something pure. You will drive yourself insane trying to herd thoughts. They are like catching shadows. They remain just out of reach and impossible to grab hold of.
In truth, we aren’t casting them out of our minds; we are casting them down from their place of dominance. I recapture my mind by setting my mind on things above – things eternal and godly. When negative thoughts attempt to capture my attention, I cast them down again by setting my mind on the right things again. Remember, sin dwells in our members – our body of flesh. So these things aren’t going away, they are being dethroned. They lose their power and we refuse to give them heed, but don’t be alarmed if you see them scurrying by from time to time.
Like rats, when the infestation is severe, it will take time to regain control, but you will see them losing power as you do the things God has revealed in His word. God does not require you to redeem your flesh, only that you account it as dead in Christ. This is done by putting off the flesh and putting on Christ. Here is how you regain control of your thoughts. Look at Ephesians 4:22-24
22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Put off your former conduct. The old man is your flesh – the human nature that is inherited from Adam but was crucified in Christ. The nature is dead, but his deeds remain in the body. We put off the old *while* putting on the new. You can’t do one without the other. None of us can put on the new man – our spirit led lifestyle – while remaining in the flesh. Nor can we put off the flesh without putting on our new nature. Life is not a vacuum. And the key to it all is constant renewal.
The negative thoughts and emotions are scurrying around, looking for an opportunity to seize control, but they are cast off as we renew our minds and put on the spiritual man. The word of God renews our minds, and as we submit to the word, we are putting on the new man.
Once you put off the flesh, something will happen you probably won’t expect. It will rise up and attempt to seize control. And it will do so again, and again, and again. However, as we grow in the Spirit, the flesh loses its grip on our minds. So what is difficult now will become easier as you learn how to walk in the Spirit. It won’t completely go away until our transformation is completed at Christ’s coming, but it will lose its strength.
The flesh will cease from being a strong bully which attacks and tries to overthrow, but instead will transform into a deceiver that tries to persuade you into partaking in a little temptation.
Don’t blame the devil. The Bible says we are tempted when we are enticed by our own lusts. Temptation is not demonic forces seizing control, but the cravings of our own flesh. It only seems like an irresistible force because we have conditioned ourselves to receive temptation. But we overcome by dying daily. The diligent pursuit of living according to Christ’s holiness is a lifelong process.
The flesh is very opportunistic. It will seize any opportunity, and there will be times when you’ll lament along with the Apostle Paul, and wonder why you do what you know you shouldn’t do, and why you don’t do what you know you should. However, if you consistently apply the principles of scripture to your life, you will also rejoice as Paul did, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” You then will also discover you have the power to serve God through your mind and deprive the flesh of its desire to control the body, which serves the law of sin.
Victory is given. We already have the victory. We just need to learn how to walk in it.
The Unpardonable Sin
Let’s talk for a moment about the dreaded ‘unpardonable sin’.
As I mentioned earlier, we don’t resist temptation by staring it down, but by turning our hearts to what is good. I’ll share the scriptures with you that cover this in a moment, but let me say first that those who are asking such questions haven’t committed the unpardonable sin. If God was so easily offended that a thought popping in our heads could condemn us to hell, we’d all be doomed.
Though I touched on this a moment ago, this is a topic many fear. It’s the most common question I am asked; therefore, it is necessary to fully answer this question and relieve the fears of many.
We should take a moment to examine the sin of blasphemy and observe the difference between the condemnation of the Pharisees and the mercy given to the Apostle Paul – who was also a Pharisee. Both were blasphemers and both tried to stop Christianity. Both thought the church was evil and regarded Jesus as a deceiver. Both persecuted Christians and both had them put to death. Yet the Pharisee Paul was forgiven, but other Pharisees were warned that forgiveness was now impossible. Look at Matthew 12:31-32
31 Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
When Jesus uttered this warning, what was taking place? In verse 10, Jesus healed a man with a withered hand. The Pharisees raged against Him for healing on the Sabbath, even though Jesus explained He was the Lord of the Sabbath. Their response to the miracle was to plot to destroy Jesus. He withdrew, and as was often the case, the Pharisees followed to watch Jesus, looking for something by which they could accuse Him. Verse 18 quotes a passage from Isaiah, foretelling that it would be self-evident Jesus was fulfilling the prophecy given about His ministry and life. In verse 22, the people brought a man who was demon possessed, and Jesus cast out the devil and healed the man. What did the Pharisees say? “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”
The work of God was revealed directly to them in an unmistakable way. The Pharisees heard the word of God through Jesus’ teaching. They saw the miracle of healing. They saw the affirmation of Him through the Old Testament scriptures, which, by the way, was their primary field of study. Finally, they saw Jesus’ power over Satan revealed before their very eyes. Their response? “He has the power of Satan.”
To make such a claim was to call the Holy Spirit of God the power of Satan. Did Satan heal the man’s hand? Did Satan give Jesus the words of truth? Did Satan write the book of Isaiah which foretold of these events? Did Satan cast out himself?
Consider more of these things. When Jesus fed the five-thousand, the people demanded a sign from God in order to believe. Several times the leaders demanded a sign from Christ, and what did he say? “No sign will be given – except, the sign of Jonah.” Just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days, Jesus would be in the grave three days and would emerge.
In a parable, Jesus told about a man who died and was tormented in the flames of judgment. The man begged to go back and warn his brothers of that horrible place. He was told, “They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them.” This of course is the reference to the Old Testament scriptures. The man knew that like himself, they were ignoring the word of God, so he pleaded by saying they would believe if someone returned from the grave to warn them. But he was told, “If they won’t believe Moses and the prophets (the word of God), they will not believe – even if someone were to rise from the dead.”
Jesus proved this to be true twice – His own resurrection and by raising Lazarus. Lazarus was dead four days, and Jesus came and raised him from the dead. How did the Pharisees react? They plotted to put Lazarus to death, for many believed on Jesus because of the dead man’s resurrection. All their efforts to stop Christ were fruitless and the Pharisees lamented how all their efforts to silence Him accomplished nothing (John 12:19).
When Jesus was crucified, the Pharisees persuaded the Roman governor to place a squadron of soldiers to guard the tomb so the disciples couldn’t steal the body and claim Jesus had risen. Jesus did rise, and the Roman soldiers witnessed it. A squad of terrorized soldiers ran to the Pharisees and reported how they witnessed Jesus emerge from the tomb. What was the response of the Pharisees? They came up with an alternate story and offered to pay the soldiers money to hide the truth and spread their lie.
So you see, this was much more than a blasphemous thought popping into their heads. They fought against God, told others it was Satan’s work, plotted to destroy the evidence of God’s work, and lied to persuade others to disbelieve God. They knew without a doubt Jesus was who He claimed to be. They even acknowledged both the resurrection of Lazarus and the resurrection of Jesus. But their response was to destroy the work of God and hide the miracles. All of this stemmed from one thing – they resisted the Spirit of God working in their hearts. You see, we all were blasphemers before we were redeemed, but God didn’t judge us for it.
The Apostle Paul blasphemed the work of God and called it evil. In Acts, Paul gives his testimony and says how he obtained orders from the priests and hunted down Christians from city to city, captured them and brought them back to be put to death.
Not only did Paul cast his vote against God’s people in their trials, but he also testifies of two practices we think of as despicable. He says he hailed people in their houses. In other words, he found out who was a Christian by giving them a Christian salutation. If they answered back, he knew they were believers and he would arrest them. It would be something like walking into a house and saying, “Blessings in the name of Jesus Christ.” He was pretending to be a Christian, knowing that if they blessed back in the name of Jesus, they were followers of what he considered to be an evil cult of Christ.
The second despicable practice was that Paul said, “I compelled them to blaspheme.” In other words, he used threats and punishment to force people to speak against Christ. Scourging was a common practice, so he may have had them beaten until they spoke evil against the way of faith in Christ. His goal was to utterly destroy the faith of believers, not to just punish them.
So why didn’t God judge Paul as He did the other Pharisees? He also blasphemed, called the work of God evil, and set out to kill anyone who followed Jesus in order to destroy the faith. In action, there is no difference between the Apostle Paul and the Pharisees whom Jesus proclaimed, “You cannot be forgiven in this life, or the life to come.” I say, no difference in action while in the act of blasphemy, but there was a huge difference when seeing the work of the Holy Spirit. Let me explain this first by looking at two passages. Look first at Romans 1:18-19
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
Now read 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12
10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
I underlined the key points I wanted you to notice. The wrath of God was revealed against the ungodly AFTER He made Himself known to them and showed the truth to them. Those who refused to receive the love of the truth were given over to the strong delusion so they will believe a lie. Why? It was for this reason – they rejected the truth that they might be saved. A truth God revealed in their heart, according to Romans 1.
Paul thought the work of God was evil and was something to be stamped out. He was wrong. He was corrupt, sinful, and a wicked man who blasphemed and forced others to blaspheme. Yet he found mercy.
The Pharisees were evil men who thought the work of God was evil. They blasphemed and encouraged others to blaspheme – even issuing ordinances that if anyone testifies to Christ, they would be permanently kicked out of the Synagogue and excluded from the Jewish culture everyone depended upon. They tried, condemned, and executed believers in Christ.
The ONLY distinction between those who received mercy, and those who received judgment is the response to the truth of God when it was revealed to their hearts by the Holy Spirit.
It is not our response to the word, but our response to the revelation of the word. There is a difference. The Bible says the natural man – those viewing the world through human nature, or the flesh – cannot receive or understand the things of God, for they are spiritually discerned. The word of God is foolishness to the flesh, and we are all born into the flesh. Hearing truth does not turn the light bulb on in our hearts. It is the Holy Spirit who opens our eyes to see the truth and then calls our hearts to respond.
Faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). You can hear the word of God without faith, but you cannot have faith without hearing the word of God. God calls us through the word, and He opens our understanding in His own time. This is why someone will hear the word their whole lives, and then suddenly understand the gospel and are born into the Spirit.
From the outside, you and I cannot determine what God is doing in someone’s heart. Just because someone doesn’t respond, does not mean they are resisting the Holy Spirit. Rejecting the truth is not what brings us under judgment. We all reject the truth in our flesh. But, when the Holy Spirit pulls back the veil of our flesh, reveals the truth to us, and makes God manifest to our heart and understanding, the moment of decision has come.
The decision is not whether we will choose God. We cannot choose God. God chooses us and calls us to Christ. The ONLY decision is whether we will resist the Spirit of grace that is being given to us.
Go back to the passages above. Those judged SUPPRESS the truth. It is taking the truth which has been revealed to our hearts, refusing it, and trying to push it away from our understanding that God condemns. It is for this reason we are given over to our vile passions and turned over to the lie we have already chosen.
So the problem is not blasphemy in thought, but blasphemy by resisting the Holy Spirit and turning against the truth being revealed by the hand of God. Then, and only then, have we committed the unpardonable sin. We cannot be forgiven in the life to come because we remain in our sins. We have chosen to live for the flesh and have pleasure in unrighteousness, and there is no redemption for those who die without receiving the love of the truth. For God has revealed it in them.
Inside the heart of man, God manifests Himself, calls us to lay down our lives, and offers a new life in Christ, born after the Spirit. But those condemned in the above passages, like the Pharisees, despise a God who calls them to let go of their lives in this world, and have suppressed the truth revealed in them. They reject the revelation of God in their hearts and cling to the flesh. They love a life grounded in sin and count the sacrifice of Christ as a worthless thing (Hebrews 10:29).
We all struggle with different thoughts at different times. When an offending thought pops in our head, it is not a sin. It is our flesh that has sin in its members and wars against our minds in an attempt to bring us back into its dominance.
We are commanded to guard our hearts, for out of it come the issues of life. Our minds guard our hearts. Jesus said, “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adultery, fornication, thefts, false witnesses, and blasphemies.” It is not a sin until it proceeds from the heart. Jesus said, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” (Matthew 12:35)
Notice, the heart doesn’t produce these things. They are thoughts we have stored as treasures. Whether good or evil, the things in our heart are things we valued enough to store as treasures.
Let’s summarize what has been discussed in this chapter. When I dwell on evil thoughts, I am treasuring those things in my heart. If I entertain thoughts of lust, I am treasuring something in my heart that will emerge in my life as sin. The same is true for hatred, greed, covetousness, blasphemy, and any other sin.
When those thoughts enter our minds, it begins as an involuntary idea. Involuntary thoughts are not sin, and we will not be held accountable for them. It’s not until we welcome the thought and surrender our minds to it that it becomes sin.
There are indeed consequences when we treasure sin in our hearts, but missing out on God’s forgiveness is not one of those consequences – unless we refuse God’s call to let go and receive freedom. May we find confidence in the promise of Isaiah 55:7
Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.
Do not fear your flesh, but overcome with the power of God given to you. Have confidence in the Lord, for He has mercy, He abundantly pardons, and He becomes our sure foundation which overcomes any threat. Our weaknesses are not a hindrance to the Lord – for His strength is made perfect in our weakness.
Victory is found in surrendering to the Spirit of God.
Life Applications
- Memorize Ephesians 4:22-24
- Set time aside each day to renew your mind through the word, prayer, and meditating upon the things God has told us to think upon.
- Daily remind yourself that harmful thoughts are not yours. Reject them and turn your mind to God’s word.
- Each morning die to your will and put on the new man according to God’s will.
- When you feel as though you failed or have blown it, claim the promise of Isaiah 55:7.
- Remind yourself that God doesn’t judge you for who you are, but blesses you for who you will be when you stand before Him.
- Review the Life Applications from previous chapters.
[1] John 16:8, John 16:13, Romans 8:1-17
[2] Ephesians 4:30, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22