Strongholds are the patterns of thinking and behaving in our lives that are not in line with God's truth.
Think of a castle or fort (sometimes called a 'stronghold'!). Each of us can believe lies or start down a road of sin that produces an area in us that has not been won over by God's truth. This can leave us in a rut of bad thinking or behaving which needs sorting out. This might involve sin that we don't seem to be able to stop doing. This might involve thoughts and feelings which are negative and destructive.
If you struggle to do something that you know God wants you to do, or if you find it impossible to stop doing something you know God doesn't want you to do, it's likely to be a stronghold getting in the way.
2 Cor. 10:3-5 says that God's Word is able to smash down those walls and bring our lives into truth and freedom. God's light pierces ALL darkness. As we expose ourselves to the truth of the Bible it's like the best battering ram ever and anything hiding in those walls is overcome and taken captive!
Make sure you get along to the "Steps to Freedom in Christ" meeting your growth group will have during the Easter Hols where a lot of this kind of thing will take place.
Often I try and put music videos on the Brickhill Youth website that are both good musically but also brings glory to Jesus. God created music as a powerful way to connect with the depths of our soul but so often we listen to rubbish instead and let that be what speaks to us and shapes us. The New Testament constantly reminds us that we reap what we sow in our lives! If you're putting lies and the world's way of thinking into you- what are you going see coming out? We each need to take responsiblity for ourselves in this and a great way to sow truth into us is to let great, God-glorifying music bless us and help us, by feeding our souls well.
I challenge you to think of what music is both good quality and brings glory to God. When you find some email me on
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and tell me know what it is or send me the link. Then we'll put it up here so we can all listen to it and allow truth to do us good!
It’s a choice we all have to make daily, and its something that we can all struggle with.
We can Chose to think like, react and cope with life in God's way or in the ways we were used to before we became Christians. Walking by the Spirit means real freedom, being led by God rather than being pushed along; it means walking through life together with God.
You can tell that you're walking in the Spirit if your life is marked out by: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self control. These are the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23)
The more we live by walking with the Spirit; the more we will see the fruits of the spirit in our lives shining through.
Even though nothing can take away the fact that God loves us and has saved us, it's down to us to choose to become like one of the three different types of people. Who are you most like now? and who do you want to be like? Natural Norman (His flesh/ feelings direct his actions and choices), Spiritual Sam (is guided by Gods Spirit rather than flesh) or Fleshy Fred (lets negative feelings rule his life) ?
Depending on where you live and how you've been brought up you will see the world through different glasses. Bill and Becca taught us that these perspectives are called Worldviews. It's good for us to understand this so we know how to reach out to people who look at the world in different ways and also we can make sure we are free from seeing the world in any other way than how God sees it. The four worldviews we looked at were:
1. Non-Western (Animism)
This worldview would have an over-active interest in good and evil spirits. In our culture, new age and occult practices come from this way of looking at the world.
2. Modern
Modernists would hold that if it can't be proved true by science and logic then it probably isn't true. This puts too much emphasis on our own powers of reasoning and dismisses the supernatural and therefore God.
3. Postmodern
"There's no such thing as absolute truth!". This view of the world would say that whatever is true for you is your truth and all truth is relative. This can seem initially appealing but is dangerous. It is also a self-defeating argument as saying there's no absolute truth isn't true then either!
Most of your friends will probably hold a view of the world that is a mix of points two and three with maybe a bit of one thrown in too depending on their exposure to that sort of thing.
So what glasses should we look at the world through then?
4. A Biblical Worldview
We must learn to see things how God sees them. His perspective is true and the only one worth listening to and we need to choose to align ourselves with it. Let me encourage you to read the Bible more and more and learn to see things God's way.
"Help us God to see sin how you see it, and help us learn to be wise instead of foolish in our approach to it so that we live lives that bring glory to your name."
"Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Hebrews 11: 6
What do you put your faith in? We all put our faith in something: Think of the chair you're sitting on right now- you had faith that it would hold your weight and not collapse!
The important issue is not how much faith we have, but what we put our faith in. If we build our lives on the rock of God's word, it will not fail us, and our lives will be built on something that is solid and dependable. If we don't build our lives on God's word, then ultimately our foundations are weak, and our lives will crumble.
Are you choosing to believe God's word to be true and then living your life according to it? Pray for yourself that you do this more and more!
