10 Things That Will Mess You Up Spiritually

It has been 15 years since Junior hurt your feelings, but it feels like it was just yesterday. Every time you think about it your head starts to pound, your blood pressure goes up... it feels like it just happened. You know you should forgive him, but you haven't and deep down, you really don't want to..... Why can't you forgive him?

Usually, holding onto un-forgiveness is a sign of unhealed hurt. Anger and bitterness come from pain and unresolved issues. You have to ask God to help you forgive, by faith. Once you do that you may still have the residue of the hurt, but if you fight the good fight of faith, if you remind yourself and the devil that you have forgiven, then in time, all of the residue will be gone.

Remember that the devil is a liar... He wants you to be in strife, he wants you to be sad and get sick behind an offense. And, he will be right there to tell you that you really have not forgiven. He will be right there to give you feelings of sorrow and pain. Rebuke Him! Use the Word of God against him and make him flee!

We are children of the living God who is moved by our faith. We walk by faith, live by faith, we love by faith and we forgive by faith.

(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) _{2 Corithians 5:7}

But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, [it is] evident:
for, The just shall live by faith. _{Galatians 3:11}

But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. _{Heb 11:6}

Faith has nothing to do with how we feel about an issue, subject or activity. Faith operates independently of our feelings. Feelings are wonderful and were given to us by the Lord, but, He never intended that we base our actions solely on them.

Feelings are fickle! You know it and I know it. Feelings cannot be counted on to lead you to the right decision. In fact, incorrectly acting on feelings can get you into the kind of trouble that could take years to straighten out.

Hatred is the very opposite of Love. God is love, so that means that hatred is a product of, not God...or the devil.

Hatred can start off as dislike and blossom into the monster of hate that utterly destroys all that it touches. Hatred is from the pit of Hell... no where else. It is inherent in all of our flesh. Hatred blocks the power of God and it keeps us in bondage.

This is a most dangerous issue because we all have to deal with it in one way or another. When we hate we leave ourselves wide open to destruction at the hand of the enemy. We have all heard that hatred is thought to be at the heart of many diseases.

Hatred is from the pit of hell and has no place whatsoever in the heart of the Believer; but, we have all hated something or someone in our lifetime.

Thank God we have a way out! Take that thing or person that you hate before the Lord and tell Him why you hate it. By the time you get through talking about to Him, you will be well on the road to recovery.

"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,..." _{Galatians 5:20-21}

Can't we all just get along? Why are you angry at Betty-Sue? At George? At your dead cousin Fred? Let it go.

Strife is reinforced daily right on our television and our comedy stations. Something is always wrong, Someone is always upset about something, and, someone is always fussing or complaining about something.

Every conversation begins with a disagreement and every conversation ends in an argument. You blame the other person and the other person blames you.No one listens to anyone, but, everyone is "right". Truly, this is not the way to win friends and influence people.

Don't know how to change? The only way to change is to take the time to fill you life with the Word of God; fill it with praise and worship. An abundance of these will drive strife out of your heart and out of your life.

"For where envying and strife [is], there [is] confusion and every evil work." _{James 3:16}

So, you want to be a witch, a sorcerer or a vampire like the ones you see on TV. Not a good idea. Occult activities hinder your spiritual growth and can cause spiritual confusion.

Reading your horoscope, using the Ouija board, visiting Madam Theresa for a reading, using tarot cards and countless other forms of witchcraft are all like poison to your spiritual growth.

Even these things may seem intriguing, indulging in them or being drawn away by them is really not a good idea at all.

"A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire." _{Acts 19:19}

Just wanna rest a little longer.....

We are like plants, we have to be nourished or we will become stagnant and dormant. Spiritual growth requires that we nourish ourselves by reading the Word of God, praying and walking by faith.

If you don't read the Word, if you don't pray, if you don't use your faith, then you just won't grow.

You are a spirit, you have a soul, and you live in a body. Your soul contains your will, your mind, and your emotions. Your soul can be "tied" to things and people in a number of different ways. People who are controlling and those who are controlled are tied together. The abuser and the abused are tied together in their souls. Marriage is designed to tie a man and a woman together. We call it co-dependency, but it is also known as a soul tie.

Many relationships are bound by soul ties. This is good in marriage, but not in much else. Soul ties prevent one from operating in the will of God independently of others. You can't pray because your prayer partner won't pray. You don't forgive, because the person who you are tied to won't forgive.

You are tied to the soul of everyone you have ever had a sexual experience with. This hinders the success of your present relationship. You wonder why you keep getting the same type of person in your life...you are still tied to that old person and you continue to draw their same personality.

Ask God to deliver you, repent for the act that got you tied up and verbally break the soul tie yourself.

"Verily I say unto you, whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and, whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." _{Matthew 18:18}

You are afraid to give your life to Christ. You are afraid to pray in tongues. You are afraid to believe for your healing. You are afraid of everything, so, you have nothing. Fear is the opposite of faith.Get rid of the fear and you will receive from God.

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of
a sound mind." _{2 Timothy 1:7}

You know you are an alcoholic, a drug addict, a sexual pervert, a liar, a thief. You know that you are jealous, have a bad attitude, are unkind, unloving and full of hate,

Why don't you admit it? You keep telling yourself that you don't have a problem, that you are not as bad as others are, that you can stop at any time. You are deceiving yourself.

Hint: You can't get your deliverance until you admit your problem.

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." _{John 8:32}

To believe or to not believe is a conscious choice. Belief is intangible and based on what is in your heart. Belief brings the tangible into view.

Not believing a thing does not make the thing untrue, nor does it make you immune to the effects of a thing. Not believing can and will veil you in deception and denial.

"Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them
with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which
had seen him after he was risen." _{Mark 16:14}

You could write a book about these two. They are not twins, but they are close relatives. Envy and jealousy are inherent in the flesh. The Bible says they are a work of the flesh and we don't have to yield to them. We must fight them with a vengeance because if they get a hold of you they can make you spend countless hours and days thinking about the wrong things.

They make you enter into strife, hatred and confusion. They make you lie, cause to see things wrong and falsely testify about other people. These two are a mess.... and a mess to deal with.

Recognize these two when they jump up in your life and deal with them swiftly.

"Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy* is fierce as the grave.* Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD." _{Son of Solomon 8:6}