Thinking God’s Thoughts–The Additions and the Abiding

Thinking God’s Thoughts–The Additions and the Abiding

(from a Journal entry dated 7-30-14)

If you want to hear from God today, soften your heart by believing. Believing what exactly? Believe that God exists and is there, very near to you. And that He reveals Himself to those who search for Him with all their heart. We need to believe Him, like a little child believes—with all our heart (Heb. 11:6).

That is why it is so important to tell children the truth. For they will believe you. They’ll believe you, for instance, about Santa Claus and the flying reindeer, until the day they discover their first betrayal, until the day when they trade their faith in for a plastic phony world.

Nevertheless, God promises true things to His children. He promises everlasting life and power that overcomes obstacles in our lives—starting today—if we do not doubt Him. He has promised us that if we believe Him, then He, the Spirit of truth, will come and dwell/abide in us!

But, first, we must abide in Him. We must dwell in Him by getting rid of untruths and, frankly, the doctrinal errors that we all have been subjected to. He calls this “purging out the old leaven” (I Cor. 5:7; see Purge Out the Old Leaven = Getting Rid of False Concepts | Immortality Road).

This is “abiding in Him.” When this is done, then He will abide in us. This is how spiritual growth works. For it is when His Spirit dwells fully in us that we will show forth Him! This is the fulfilling of His purpose: God’s will is for Him to reproduce Himself, and “God is agape Love.”

We abide in Him when we think His thoughts. It is when we “get our minds right” and “get with His program” that we can abide in Christ. This leads to Christ fully dwelling/abiding in us.

Again, to abide in Him and He in us is to think His thoughts. This is having the same mind that Christ has. “Let this mind be in you” (Phil. 2:5).

How to Think His Thoughts

Two spiritual tools exist to help us train our minds to think His thoughts. For Yahweh’s thoughts are not our thoughts (Isa. 55:8). So then, our minds must be re-educated. We are born from a matrix of doubt and disbelief. We have been misled about what the truth is. So, the Master Teacher has prescribed prayer and fasting to cast out the unbelief.

Put another way, the two increase belief. They add to our faith. In fact, the seven additions to the faith are added by faith/belief, and God has ordained that prayer and fasting come into our spiritual life. He not only desires this for us, but He also makes it happen (II Peter 1:5-12).

Adding the seven additions is the only way in scripture to “make our calling and election sure (v. 10).” These seven “things make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of Him. Adding them ensures that we will bear much spiritual fruit (v. 8). By adding them to our faith, we are ensured “an entrance…into the everlasting kingdom…” (v. 11). [See Additions to the Faith to Make Our Calling and Election Sure–To Be Like Peter, James, John, and Paul | Immortality Road

For His elect have their destiny pre-determined by God. And He will restore what we had with Him in the beginning—which are the seven additions to the faith.

Peter is imploring us to take heed. Take the additions to heart. If you want to be in His elect cadre, we must add the attributes of His divine nature. The Spirit is telling us to add them. We must do this. We do not work for salvation; it is a gift. But we must work to spiritually grow through study and prayer. We work because He has saved us for a purpose: To be laborers in His last day vineyard.    Kenneth Wayne Hancock [For more on this, send for my new book, The Additions to the Faith. It is free with free shipping. Send your name, mailing address, and the name of the book to my e-mail: wayneman5@hotmail.com].