Mind Your Mind & Mind God

You can feel everything and still be led by nothing. I’m talking about the moments we “crash out” over small stuff, carry rejection like a trophy, or spiral into anxiety because we keep feeding the worst parts of our thought life. The deeper problem isn’t that we have emotions, it’s that we often refuse to bring them to God for guidance, healing, and discipline. 

We dig into spiritual apathy and why it quietly wrecks destiny. I connect everyday habits to a bigger question: what are we building with our words, intentions, and decisions? Using scripture like Philippians 4, 1 Corinthians 3, Isaiah 43, and more, I walk through God’s promises of provision, peace, strength, rest, and a sound mind and why belief has to show up as action, not just talk. 

Then we take a hard look at false gods, modern paganism, and spiritual pluralism. I contrast transactional bargaining with a personal Creator who provides and calls us into purpose, and I speak plainly about the difference between counterfeit power and holy power. Real power looks like overcoming darkness, resisting destructive patterns, and living from the truth of who we are in Christ. 

We close with practical introspection, the warning of Cain and Abel, and a simple call to live love as an action toward God, ourselves, and others. If this helped you, subscribe, share it with someone who needs peace, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

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Truth Drips | Motivational

Transcript

Welcome And Why We’re Here

Dina LaFargue Augustin 0:44

Greetings and welcome to another episode of the Drip Line: Healing for Your Soul, a place where one can contemplate the relevance of life, the purpose of one's life, discover answers to some of life's most common questions about self, destiny, and God, and hopefully find solace and a sense of peace in a world engulfed with disorder, violence, and confusion. I spent the last week or two contemplating our behavior as humans. I'm as guilty sometimes as the next person when I think about things that don't matter or get frustrated about things that I know God will fix, or when I dwell too much in the negative or in the pain of my past. I listen to my fellow brothers and sisters in the world that get angry over pet peeves, get worked up over bad drivers, that curse up a storm over a fast food order that went wrong, or about something that someone said that they took totally off base. Now we are all human, of course, and of course we all make mistakes and none of us are

Emotions Need God’s Guidance

Dina LaFargue Augustin 1:56

perfect. And of course, we are built with an emotional compass. We feel, we laugh, we hurt, we cry, we get angry, we have tantrums, and we crash out. My issue, though, is that what good are those emotions if we don't also give them to God to help us navigate through all these ups and downs in a day, in a week, in a month, or in a year. I observe, I listen, and when asked, I often interject, pray, or offer guidance. The sad thing is though, sometimes people listen and sometimes they don't. Many that ask don't want to exercise the discipline necessary to overcome whatever it is that is ruling their emotions or their thought life. Thusly, their actions are not the best outcomes. Sometimes these emotions and negative thoughts provoke bad reactions and dictate bad decisions. We cannot be lazy. But I find that we are lazy when it comes to feeding the fury, feeding the depression, feeding the lust or the greed, feeding the negative thoughts, feeding the hurt and the pain. However, when it comes to taming anything or any of those that I just mentioned, we are too lax and perhaps too apathetic to the source of our pains and how to deal with them, how to put them down and diminish their impact on our lives. I produced podcasts last year that spoke to the too many's, the twos, the terrible twos, that is the T-O-O-S. And I guess I'm back here again. But this go round, I'm going to attack being too apathetic and too ignorant. Yes, too apathetic about the real cure to every ill and being too apathetic about destiny. That may sound like a lot, but here I go. Yep, I'm going in. People expect a lot out of life. And people complain a lot about life, but they fail many times to engage sincerely and genuinely

Apathy And Ignorance Hurt Us

Dina LaFargue Augustin 4:33

with the source of all life. The word of God says our ignorance will kill us. And as I journey through life, engaging with people of all ages, creeds, and colors, there is a thing that runs rampant, and it's apathy. We fret about stuff, we fight for stuff, we fight with one another, and yet we fail to commit to the one thing, the one being, the one person that matters that would help us navigate through everything and help us to find peace in the storms. And that is God. God is. And sadly, we look in every direction for every solution and help instead of looking to Him. Sure, some people go to church, some people volunteer and are diligent about serving. Some people read the Word and have memorized the scriptures line for line. Some people volunteer on a daily basis and yet fail to engage with God. People often leave church the same way they went in because they failed to let God in. People whine about the same things over and over because perhaps they are just failing to recognize that God is the source, the answer, and the provider. They may say he is in word, but don't believe it in their heart. Remember, action matters. People blame others for all their woes, but fail to consider that perhaps they may be their own worst enemies because they've never put God first, never asked God first, never listened to God first before doing anything in life or doing anything to anyone. So who is the problem? Who has the problem? Surely not God. But we do carry problems like trophies. We do carry rejection, hurt, and pain like trophies, but we don't have to. It's very frustrating when preachers preach but don't teach. It's very frustrating when preachers do teach and people don't listen. Too often people disregard their own depravity and ignorance, thinking they can make God to be what they want Him to be. We can be so arrogant as humans. We can be so ignorant as humans, yet thinking we know everything. We go about our lives totally oblivious as to how God feels about our disconnect. We go about our lives totally oblivious that He is the one true God and the creator of everything seen and unseen, and that He is all wise and all-knowing. Yet He continues to love us even if He has to do it from afar. We shun Him, we push Him away, we put our hand up as if to say talk to the hand. We don't want to hear, but yet we cry out and want Him to hear. When we are jacked up and we're despairing, we all come crying. Yes, we do that. And one way or another, we do that. To one God or the other, we do that. I have found it to be true when God-fearing anointed preachers, prophets, pastors, and apostles tell us that we give too much credit to the enemy and not enough to God. What does that mean? And how do I know? Well, we only have to check out our own thought life and our own behavior, how we communicate with one another and how we treat one another, what we feed on and what we chew on. Is it of God or not? Most of the time it's not, and if it's not of God, it's of the enemy. It's too easy for us to focus on the negative things than on the positive. It's far too easy for us to complain than to praise. It's far too easy of us to be anxious and fearful than to be confident and at peace. And it's far too easy to speak negatively about someone or something than positively. It is far too easy for us to blame the devil than to blame our own selves and our own failings and weaknesses. It is far too easy for us to blame God than to look within. It is far too easy for us to develop bad habits than to build than to develop beneficial ones. And it's far too easy for us to wallow in misery, rejection, and failures than to focus on the blessings and dwell on the promises and our successes, be them big or small. You see, it has become far too easy for us to keep God in a box, limiting his reality, limiting his existence, limiting his power, his presence, his truth, and intentions toward us, then to allow him into our hearts and minds and all the dark places within that we nurture. Yes, we deny him access. We say we want him, but our actions speak louder than words. Our actions speak otherwise. We do tend to focus on things that are perishable and strive for things that will mean nothing later. We tend to focus on things that can destroy us rather than focus on what is imperishable and worth more than silver and gold. What are we building with our thought life? What are we building with our intentions? What are we building with our words? On the other hand, excuse me, what are we destroying? God is an intentional God, and He created us intentionally with promises and with purpose. So it's very important for us to consider where our thought life is, where our intentions lie, and what words we speak. Now, let me speak to one of the promises of God. In Philippians chapter 4, verse 19, it says, My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Hence, we are not born to live random lives without distinction. We are not made to live without. We were not made to just grow, get married, get jobs or careers, raise families, and die. One of the purposes of God is stated like this in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verses 9 through 15. For we are God's fellow workers, you are God's field, God's building.

Build Your Life On Christ

Dina LaFargue Augustin 11:16

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder, I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become manifest, for the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. Hence, listeners, our lives have purpose and are made with intention. And we are to build godly lives built on God's word, built on God's principles, built on God's promises, built on God's provision. We are to be God conscious and not live just for our own needs, but for his purpose and in his might and power. You see, this is where all pagan gods and the worshipers of such and the worshipers of vain philosophies get it wrong. But the God of all creation says this. He states our identity like this in Ephesians Chapter 2, So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens, with the saints and members of the household of God built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. So, back to these pagan gods. When you consider the gods of old, like the Greek, the Roman, the Vikings, the Egyptian gods, and any other pagan system as we call them today, People pay alms to them for mercy, for help, for help with fertility, provision, for desires, for jobs, for a mate, and for things to make life comfortable, bearable, and are fulfilling, mindless about purpose, and mindless about their true identity. In these pagan systems, there is a god for this, a god for that, a god for everything under the sun, and a sun god. And in these pantheons, these gods of war, these gods compete and are replete with character flaws, and in reality are very impersonal

Pagan Gods And Modern Spin

Dina LaFargue Augustin 13:49

and could care less about humanity. Yes, those gods can ignore humanity altogether if they so choose. From this ancient perspective, and I must go there, because if these gods were real, why would they be any different today? If people are still worshiping them and paying homage to them, are they any different? No, their character is their character. So hence to them we are still mere mortals begging for mercy and help, always wondering what the gods might do next and forever, stroking their egos in hopes of finding favor. Consider the X-Men. Consider the Marvel comics and characters, consider the DC characters and list of gods and heroes and superheroes who mimic the gods like Thor, Loki, and Superwoman. The character of ancient pagan gods is this they are multifaceted and human-like. The gods and pantheons possessed distinct personalities and acted in certain ways with certain goals and attributes. They loved, they hated, they feuded, they were jealous, and they made mistakes. And then we had the forces of nature. These were personifications of the world's elements. For instance, there's Poseidon, who was both the ocean's bounty and the terrifying force of earthquakes. We have amoral gods, rather than representing absolute good or evil, they embody specific domains, a god of war with aid in battle, perhaps. Whether that battle was considered just or unjust by modern standards, there was a god of war that was called upon. And how did people relate to them? Well, transactional bargaining. People would make sacrifices to these gods for help in whatever need they had. People would offer gifts and prayers in exchange for divine favor, protection, or specific outcomes, and people still do. There is a deep reverence and fear for some of these gods because people believed that these gods controlled different facets of life, controlled death, the acts of nature, and humanity. So humans maintained a real fear, not necessarily respect, but a fear of invoking the gods' wrath through disrespect or hubris. And then there's patronage. Individuals and cities often chose specific patron deities to align with, building temples and hosting festivals, developing traditions in their honor to secure localized protection. Now, mind you, each culture had their own group of gods. So were these gods powerless otherwise? And what did these gods do in the heavenlies when they ran into gods of other cultures? Think about it. Does it really make sense? Now, all this can be read about in the world history encyclopedia. I'm not expressing any new information. But, listen to m this, Modern paganism puts great effort into contriving their own systems regarding these gods. These days, they create their own convoluted ideas that these personalities of pagan gods have changed in some ways, becoming more caring and somehow embodying love, love towards humanity. That now, somehow, through time, they become more unified in how they act, more cooperative with one another, and personally invested in the human race. But I say, based on what? What new doctrine exists? What did they draw from ancient theology that makes them think that these gods have morphed in their behavior? Again, here we are as humans being arrogant and self-absorbed, believing that what we think makes things so, that what we believe makes it true, and that somehow we want to make these gods our gods. We want these gods to be in line with us instead of us being in line with them. We believe that we can manipulate a universe or the gods to bend to our needs and desires. But I'm here to tell you it doesn't work that way. Yes, many modern pagan worshipers often adopt a eclectic approach, honoring deities from multiple traditions. They might appropriate worship and make offerings that meet specific needs and preferences for each deity. They may make prayers and offerings that are integral to establishing a reciprocal and respectful relationship with the divine. But, where did they get this doctrine from? You can read about these positions on www.learningreligions.com forward slash pagan gods and goddesses. Polytheism, pluralism, and diversity leave us just that, with a plurality of beliefs, a plurality of thoughts about the afterlife without any proof of any of it. These deities of these pagan systems are a recognition of the diversity of nature. Some pagans see the goddesses and gods as a community of individuals, much like the diverse community in this world. Others, such as followers of Isis and Osiris from ancient times and Egyptian uh pantheons and Wiccan-based pagans in the modern world, see all goddesses as one great goddess and all the gods as one great god. But what doctrine says that? Whose harmonious interaction has now become the secret of the universe? Where does this doctrine come from? The human imagination? We know where that can get us. Yet, there are other modern paganists that think there's a supreme divine principle that both wants and does not want to be called Zeus. Huh? As Heracletus wrote in the 5th century BC, or which is the great goddess, mother of all things, as Isis was to the first century CE, novelist Apelius and the great goddess, is to many Western pagans nowadays. Yet others, such as the Emperor Julian, the great restorer of paganism in Christian antiquity, listen to that, in Christian antiquity, and many Hindu mystics nowadays believe in an abstract supreme principle, the origin and source of all things, this universe, so to speak. But even these last pagans recognize that other spiritual beings, although perhaps one in essence with a greater being, are themselves divine and are not false or partial divinities. Pagans who worship the one are described as henotheist, believers in the supreme divine principle rather than monotheist believers in one true deity, besides which all other deities are false. There's a chock full of information in this article on the website www.paganfit.org forward slash paganism. And although this may sound extreme to some, think about it. There are many people that say they believe in a God or a higher power, but don't know who he is, even though they've been taught. And there are many who do actually worship mythical gods, not knowing who they really were of old. So to the pagan, God says, Before me no God was formed, nor shall there be any God after me. I am the Lord, and beside me there is no Savior. I declared and saved and proclaimed when there was no strange God among you. And you are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and I am God. Also, henceforth I am He. There is none who can deliver from my hand, I work, and who can turn it back? There you have it. There is a God of all created things and beings. He is the one true God that says He provides automatically. He is the one true God that has made promises. He is the one true God that is faithful to all his promises. He is that God that says no one who knows him has to beg for anything. He is the one who made us to glorify him, to be contributors, to inhabit him, and to be inhabited by him. He is the one that created us to be temples of his presence and doers of his work, extensions of his holiness

The One True God Provides

Dina LaFargue Augustin 23:28

and of his glory. First Corinthians chapter three verse nine says it, for we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building. First Peter chapter two verses four through eight read, as you come to him, a living stone rejected by men, but in the sight of God, chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. And those sacrifices are service, not the slaying of animals, not sacrificing children, not offering fruits and food, but a sacrifice of self, a sacrifice of love. And it goes on to say, for it stands in Scripture, Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense. They stumble because they disobey the word as they were destined to do. Hence, those that are stumbling, as it is written in 1 Peter, are those who deny their true God identity, those who deny their God. They are the pagan worshipers, the ones who rebel, the ones who knew God but turned away. Those are the nature worshipers. They are those that worship what was created instead of the Creator. Those are the humanists that we know today, believing in their own mortality, that their own mortality is enough, and that self should be served with vigor and pride. And they are those that stumble because they have not mastered sin. They are those who fail to recognize that they are created with the power to overcome, with the power to rule and reign, with the power to amplify God's work in this earthly realm, with the power to love and to forgive. They are the ones who hold the power to prosperity that God embedded within but do not know how to rule it, to harness it, or to flow in it. They are those who give power to darkness instead of power to God by submission to his love. They are those who give power to defeat, to rejection, and lowliness of heart. But God says we are precious in his sight, we are made in his image. One only has to read Genesis chapter 1, verses 26. He is the one that created us with power and authority to glorify him. And he has also given us the power to prosper, the command to prosper. Now, this God would not give us a command to prosper and to love and to rule with authority if he did not give us the ability to do so, if he did not infuse us with it. He has given us every promise to provide for us in every way, and not just in some ways, but in every way. I'll give you scripture. Job chapter 33 verse 4, The spirit of God has made me and the breath of Almighty gives me life. Isaiah 43, verses 1 through 7 read, Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, and the flames shall not consume you, for I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior, and everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. Let's take a deeper look, because the promises are varied and cover all facets of need and benefits for us to be victorious and never defeated. Even when we feel the battle is lost, we are still victorious because God is on the throne and God is eternal. He has no beginning and no end. One of those promises, he will never leave us nor forsake us. That can be found in Deuteronomy chapter 31. He will be with us forever, always and forever, and he will find us wherever we find ourselves. He gives us peace, and that can be found in Philippians chapter 4, verse 7. He promises to guard our hearts and minds with his peace that surpasses all earthly understanding. And that peace is real. He promises to give us rest when we feel weary, and that can be found in Matthew chapter 11. He promises to give us guidance and strength. In James chapter 1, verse 5, it reads, God promises to give generously to those who ask. And in Isaiah 40, verse 31, he promises to renew us with the strength of those who hope in him. He will cause us to soar on the wings of eagles. We can run and not grow weary. We can walk and not be tired. In Psalm 32, he promises direction. He gives us the instructions and tells us in the way we should go. His word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, he says. He will lead us with his righteous right hand. I can go on and on and on. He gives us provision and purpose. Excuse me, he promises to supply all our needs according to his riches. Again, Philippians chapter 4. And he says that all things work together for the good of those who love him. That's in Romans chapter 8. I would read that complete chapter. And he promises to give us hope and a future and not to harm us. So when we blame the devil, no. God gives us hope. God gives us a future. That is a promise. He also has forgiven us. He says if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us. For he gave us His own life that we should have salvation in him. He forgave us of all our sins in our rebellious nature when Adam and Eve fell. And he promises that whoever believes in him will have everlasting life in his presence. Hence, our thoughts, our words, our endeavors, our intentions should always be towards him as he is in us, as his breath has made us, as his power gives us life. He has given us the promise of salvation through Christ Jesus. Hence, we should live for him, with his promises and purposes in mind at all times. We must remember that we are made to glorify him. We are his conduits in this earthly realm. Psalm nineteen verse fourteen says, Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Hence, what we think on and what we speak matters. They should align with godliness. They should align with God's heart and with his intention for our lives. We are his hands, his feet, his mouthpieces, and his carriers of grace for the benefit of one another, not just for self. Therefore, it is essential that we put forth or exude what is praiseworthy, what is filled with hope and with love. What we speak should flow from the goodness of our hearts. What we do should be done with godly intention to the building up of one another and not to the tearing down. We are called to be Christlike, recognizing what is of value and what is temporary, what is worthy and not what turns to dust. Ephesians chapter four verse twenty nine. Let not corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Romans chapter eight, verses five through seven read, for those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. And by that I mean what turns to dust, for it is not worthy. But those who live according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's laws - laws, indeed, it cannot. But how can we, and why do we search in vain, looking in every direction except towards Him whose promises cover a multitude of the dimensions required for this life? Do not be fooled, listeners. Do not be fooled by chasing false gods, false ideologies, and vain philosophies. Do not offer sacrifices to gods that are essentially fallen angels with evil intent. Yes, I said it. Remember in past uh podcasts, if you've listened to any of them, I say art imitates life. So men create these movies and comics and characters based on essentially these pagan gods. But who were these pagan gods? Essentially, they were who manifested to humankind to be worshipped as gods, to share the secrets of God and how to

False Power Versus Holy Power

Dina LaFargue Augustin 34:22

enter into the spirit realm and extract God's power and use it for self, manipulating and cheating and doing evil. Yes, these fallen angels had evil intent, deceiving and leading humanity astray in rebelliousness, and people have contrived all kinds of remedies and traditions, creating ceremonies and living out these traditions derived from these evil fallen ones that only multiply problems amongst us instead of solving them. Mind you, there is no god, no false God, I should say, that loves any human but the one God who created them. That is the God of love, and that is the God from where all power comes. There is no power but the power that comes from God. Any true power is not in harnessing power from false gods and deities. True holy power does not come from practicing Wicca or voodoo or sorcery or occultic behaviors or any form of witchcraft. No, true power, holy power, does not come from beating people into submission or operating in a spirit of intimidation or controlling people or changing their lives or destroying their lives because of hate or cruelty from your own frailties. All of that is evil. And all of that emanates from a soul that has failed to recognize the one true God, the loving God. Evil emanates from a soul that fails to receive the love of God. Worshiping a false God emanates from a soul that is being held captive by dark emotions, rebellion, or the ignorance of who this God really is. True power is in the power to overcome darkness. True power emanates from a God connection. True power is not giving license to our flaws, but true power is defeating them, suppressing them, and resisting what darkness wants from us. True power comes from having the correct mindset, knowing who you are and why you are. True power comes from recognizing Truth. We are not random, nor are we irrelevant in God's eyes. We are made intentionally with him, by him, and for him. Now, those two are not contrary to one another, but both have to be true because we are created in his image again with purpose, and that purpose must come with power and authority in order to fulfill it. So again, true power comes from recognizing truth, and truth is Jesus Christ. He says, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and none can come to the Father but through me. So there are not multiple paths, and there are not multiple ways to him, but there is one way, and that is recognizing who you are made of, who you are made by, and in whose image. Genesis 1, verse 26 and 28 again say God made mankind in his likeness. This gives humans a distinct identity and the ability to exercise dominion and stewardship over the earth and over your own life. We don't have to be tossed to and fro. We don't have to live in our past hurts because we have power to overcome. We have a God identity. It is not what man says it is, but it's what God says. It is who we are in Christ Jesus. We are endowed with purpose. We are not created out of need, but we are created for relationship, stewardship, and to glorify God. We are equipped with authority to rule and reign in this earthly realm in righteousness, not in greed and evil and self-serving purpose and intent. By the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit, believers are provided with His power, with His comfort, with His teaching and authority to navigate life, to share love, and accomplish good works. Therefore, true power and authority over all things comes in partnership with God, not separate from God, not in rebellion to God, not in denial of God. His power is in us. The fact that we live is proof that he is. He is the one who breathed in us the breath of life, and he is the one who empowers us to do and to overcome everything that is contrary to him. Philippians chapter 4, verse 13 says, I can do all things through him who strengthens me. And I constantly profess that promise. It is a promise of God. We can do all things through him, through Christ Jesus who strengthens us. He gives us the power to overcome the power of hurt, the power of rejection, the power of being confused or lost or ashamed. He is the one that gives us the power to overcome. He is the one that says, think on him. For in Luke 1, verse 37, it says, For nothing will be impossible with God. So yes, we have the power to overcome all the negative, to swim through those deep waters, even though we think we're going to drown. No, he says we will not. Isaiah 41, verse 10 says, Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. That's a promise. Accept the promise. Refuse the lies that you can't make it, that you're not enough. Accept the promise that he is for you and not against you, that he has hope for you. We need not live less than. We need not believe in the negative. So when we take the time to do some introspection, we have to consider where our thoughts lie. Are they in the negative? Consider how your hurts and disappointments have dictated how you communicate with your loved ones or with anyone. Consider how you manage your relationships. Consider the quality of your relationships. Consider your work ethic, your habits, and your overall conduct, and your relationship with your maker, and how you think about the universe. Believe me, how you think about yourself and how you think about the universe and God have

Introspection That Changes Your Patterns

Dina LaFargue Augustin 41:30

an impact on how all your relationships flow, your work ethic, your habits, your thought life, your decision making, and your overall quality of life. Think about it. There is no pagan God that can take claim to your creation. There is no agreement in the pagan world as to how people were created or for what purpose. Do not let negativity or evil strategies rule you. No negativity or negative strategies derived from negative emotions can save you. It is only by abiding in the one true God and allowing him to abide in us that we can live in victory and in peace. 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 3 reads, His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence. So do you snap at people? Are you quick-tempered? Do you rage? Do you manipulate people? Are you controlling? Are you spiteful? Are you jealous or envious and despise others because of what they have or what you believe they are? Do you feel unworthy? Do you disrespect yourself and have low self-esteem? Do you take out your frustrations on others because you feel powerless and confused? Or are you anxious about life in every general way waiting for tragedy to strike at any time? All of these are symptoms of a mind and heart that are being deprived of what God offers us. All these are symptoms of not believing in or accepting his promises. We are only deprived when we deny ourselves what God freely gives. We only act out because we have refused to submit to and or to receive his love, his healing, his way, and his truth. Psalm 19 vs 14. says, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight Oh Lord, My Rock and My Redeemer. What we say and what we think matters. He can work with positivity. He can make something of it, because it is faith that pleases him. Isaiah chapter forty, verse twenty-nine. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Second Timothy one verse seven. For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind, meaning self control and discipline. It Takes discipline. We must think on God daily. We must remember his promises. We must meditate on his character and who he says we are to help us overcome all the backlash from life, all the attacks that we experience in life, all the betrayals, all the lessons that happen. You see, it truly is up to us what we want and how we want to live. It is up to us to decide where our thoughts will lie and what direction we will go. Yes, God has given us free will. God tells us plainly to chase after him, to choose him, and not after the things of this world that perish. Deuteronomy chapter 30, verse 19 reads, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life that you and your offspring may live. Think about that. We have choices to make. Where will we allow our minds to roam? Where will those thoughts take us? Where will they lead us? The word of God says his word is a lamp to our feet and a light unto our path. So if we live in his word, if we live in Christ Jesus, we will be led and we will go down the right path. So as I move toward the closing, I want to say there is no need to crash out. Yes, we're gonna have bad moments, yes, we're gonna feel sad at times, yes, we're gonna be angry at times. But I'm speaking to the extremes that that cause us to develop bad habits and that cause us to develop patterns of thinking that are only um depriving us of a better life. We have to be optimists because we know who our God is. We can't let our negative experiences cause us to change how we think about God or have us to create a God that isn't God, meaning we can't change who he says he is because

Choose Life And Reject Extremes

Dina LaFargue Augustin 46:41

his promises are his promises and he is true and faithful to all of them. So we can't let a circumstance or a situation that is hurtful or harmful to us change our beliefs because he is who he says he is, and he doesn't change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It is we who change. So we have to be mindful of how we're changing and how we're allowing things that happen to us change our beingness, change our emotions and how we operate in life that that become negative patterns and strongholds that allow the enemy to rule and reign. I hope I'm making myself clear. I'm saying this from experience. Remember, do not deceive yourself into thinking you're okay in all your messiness. Do not keep pretending that it's all okay and that God knows who you are. Of course, God knows who you are, but you have to know who you are. God knows exactly who you are and what you're doing or not doing. And I mean that for me too, at all times. We can't fool God. We have to be real, we have to be honest, we have to be sincere, not just with ourselves, but with him. He knows us from the inside out, he knows everything about us. So we can't fool ourselves and we can't be we can't fool him. We have to be genuine and diligent about our relationships with self, with God, with the universe, with mankind. So decide what you want and how you want to live. Decide if you want to feed the misery like Cain did, who ignored God's warning to master sin and killed his brother Abel due to his own disregard for God and his own destiny that God put in him. Cain had every means to prosper and to live at peace. Yet he was angry, he was raging, he was envious and wanted nothing to do with God. But why? Because he allowed the evil and the sin that had come to the world Eve's failing, morph his character, change his thought processes, and dictate his emotions. He lacked the reverence

Cain And Abel As A Warning

Dina LaFargue Augustin 49:12

to his maker, and in so doing, he entertained all the evil and all the negative thoughts, and they fueled his emotions and dictated his actions. Instead of being united with his maker, instead of exercising his talents to the fullest, he half-stepped. He toyed around with it, he was lax about his own life and allowed himself to be filled with the whispers of darkness and evil, and thus he developed a less than relationship. He despised what his brother had, he despised who his brother was, and in essence, he hated God. He wanted nothing to do with God, he could've cared less about what God had spoken to him. Abel, on the other hand, loved God, honed his skills, lived in God's will, honored God's authority, lived in the authority God instilled in him, and was at peace with himself and God. Abel prospered, but Cain did not. Cain chose otherwise. God spoke to Cain and said, You will be acceptable, but master Sin, which is crouching at your door, but Cain chose to ignore God's guidance. He felt that other voice was more important. He gave credence to that other voice. He prioritized the dark voice that was speaking to him. And Cain chose death. He killed. And in killing, he destroyed his own destiny and gave birth to a nation accursed. He killed his brother. Hence, he destroyed his own God-given destiny. Don't do that. Yes, this may sound extreme, but let's think about it. A lot of us are killing ourselves and we don't even know it. God says our ignorance kills us. Our ignorance to who we are and to who he is kills us. But with God, we are good. With God, we are able. With God, we can thrive. With God, we can purpose ourselves to live in purpose. But without him, we wither and die. We can stand up and look up. We can look to the hills from where all goodness and hope come from. For our God has cattle on a thousand hills. That means our God is limitless in provision and in love. 1 John chapter 1 speaks to this. It speaks to the incarnation of the Word of Life and to light and darkness. It reads, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched, this we proclaim concerning the Word of Life. The life appeared. We have seen it and testified to it. And we proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us, and our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ being the life. We write this to make our joy complete. This message we have heard from him and declare to you, God is light, in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out or practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin. So let us not be like Cain, knowing God, but not abiding in his presence. Let us not be like Cain pretending to honor God but denying him. Let us not be like Cain being in his presence, but not abiding in his presence, knowing that God exists, but not living with God or in him. We can live, we can love, and we can treat others as we want to be treated, as long as we accept his love. He calls us to love ourselves as he loves us. We are called to love God above self. We are called to treat everyone with love and respect because each person is a creation of God. Luke chapter 10, verse 25 reads, and Jesus answered, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself. Did you hear that? Love is an action word, and we are to love with all of our heart, not giving space or place to anything else but the love of God, with God in mind. Our minds should be filled

Love God And Love People

Dina LaFargue Augustin 54:34

with God's promises and his commands at all times. Matthew chapter 25 reads, and the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, in as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of my brothers, you have done it unto me. That is Jesus speaking. When we treat one another poorly, we are essentially treating God poorly. When we treat ourselves poorly, we are treating God poorly. When we think of God as uh as ourselves as less than, we are thinking of God as less than because we're not trusting in his promises or in his ways. So you might say, but how do we do this? And why should we? By God we do this. With God we do this, in God we do this. And why? Because it's a benefit to our own souls. Our souls are eternal, living on forever. Our bodies may turn to dust, because now they inhabit sin, but our souls with God will live eternally in his presence. Without him, our souls will dwell in utter darkness and disparity, to put it lightly. So why turn to God? Because without God, we will hurt, we will be lost, we will be betrayed, we will doubt, we will suffer. But with him, we can endure it all and overcome it all. So when we're hurting, we turn to him because he is our healer. We are to talk to our soul and pour it out to God. When we do that, we prevent negative things from taking hold of us, we prevent our minds from losing control. Then psychological disorders that aren't chemically, biochemically um developed do not have the power to rule our emotions and our behaviors. The word says, I pour out my soul. Why are you downcast oh my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him. As King David speaking in Psalm 42. Believing in Jesus Christ is the rest for our soul. He says in Matthew chapter 11, to take his yoke upon you and to learn from him. He says, He is gentle and humble in spirit, and in so doing we will find rest for our souls. Deuteronomy chapter 4, give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently. So how can we? How can we overcome? We can overcome through him and with him and by the power of God. Matthew chapter 19, verse 26 says, but Jesus looked at them and said, With man, this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. So, we are to be careful to keep our souls by abiding in Christ, by thinking on him, by thinking on what is lovely, what is pure, what is of excellence, what is of good rapport, that is God. The Lord is our shepherd, and he restores our soul, as it reads in Psalm chapter 23. We need not want, for the Lord causes us to lie down in green pastures and he leads us besides the still waters, he restores our soul. Psalm 19, verse 7 says, the law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. And the ultimate law of God is love. And Psalm 18, verse 28 reads, You Lord, keep my lamp burning, my God turns my darkness into light. I think all these verses are so reassuring and comforting. So, what do we do? How do we overcome? We overcome by not turning away, we overcome by not denying him who made us. We overcome by not refusing him, but by abiding in him, believing in him, remembering and living by his word. He tells us apart from him, we will not overcome the world or the darkness in it. It is only by aligning ourselves with him that we thrive and that we prosper, that we keep our minds solid and healthy. It is only by staying in his presence, by learning to abide in his presence that darkness has no space to breed or multiply in us. He, Jesus, is the light of the world. He is the one who delivers us from the imprisonment of emotional depravity and captivity. He is the one that makes the way when we think there is no way. He is the one that opens the doors to opportunity and joy and healing that no other being can shut. He is the way, he is the truth, and the life. He is that abundant life, not a depraved life. He offers us abundance. There is no need for us to believe in the lies of the enemy that provoke us to drown in our sorrows, that provoke us to become addicted to negative behaviors that provoke us to self-medicate. There's no need for us to believe that we are less than, that we need to overcompensate because we believed in false narratives, that we're not good enough, that we're not tough enough, that we're not smart enough, capable enough, that we're not acceptable or worthy enough. No, God says He is more than enough for us. He is that enough for us. And we are enough because He made us wonderfully and fearfully. We can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens us. We can do all things through him by his love that endures forever. And his love is limitless and unconditional. Love Christ, love yourself, love one another, accept Christ as your Savior, and allow him to work in your life and on your behalf. Treat one another as you want to be treated and not as the pain that you have received and lived in. Amen?! And share this if you think it will help someone else. His promise is this, He is our help in any time of trouble. Psalm 46. He is our ever-present help at all times. And Psalm 121 reads, I lift up my eyes to the mountains. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip. He who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel, meaning everybody, will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you. The Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm. He will watch over your life. The Lord will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore. So before I end, I want to play a short excerpt from Bruce Springsteen's song which talks about this train of glory and getting on the train. Take a listen for a moment.

Closing Promises And Final Blessing

Dina LaFargue Augustin 1:04:29

He calls everyone to Himself, so meet him with all hope and with all your dreams. Meet your Lord, the one who loves you, no matter where you find yourself, no matter how you are, but come as you are and meet him. Until next time, be blessed, be at rest, be at peace, be in him and live for him, thus prospering your own life. Truth drips.