Spirtual Restoration-SoulCare

Psalm 19:7-"The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; "

Psalm 23:3-"He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake."

To restore means to "repair, renovate, or return to a former condition." As Christians, Jesus is the Great Shepherd(Hebrews 13:20) and we are the sheep of his pasture(Psalm 100:3), and only He is able to  restore our souls.

Sin not only deceives and defrauds us, but it also destroys our souls.

1 Peter 2:11-"Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul."

God is not some kind of cosmic kill joy. God wants to empower you to put to death the sin in your life because he knows that sin in the end will steal all your joy. God loves you, he always has, he always will. Because of his unconditional love for you, he wants to provide for you and protect you. The means the Great Shepherd  uses to restore our soul's is the Word of God, The Spirit of God, and the People of God.

The Word of God- 
God's Word draws boundaries, and these boundaries  are not meant to take away from our joy but to give and preserve our joy. Every time God says “Thou shalt not,” God is simply saying, “Don’t hurt yourself.” And every time God says, “Thou shalt,” God is saying, “Help yourself to happiness.”
James 1:21-" Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls."
 The Word of God convicts and turns us away from the way of error, sin, foolishness, and death to the way of holiness, wisdom, and life.

The Spirit of God- 
  Psalm 139:23-24-"Search me, O God, and know my heart!Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me,   and lead me in the way everlasting!^"

One of ministries of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of sin.

The Path to Spiritual restoration is simple: Conviction--> Confession--> Repentance--> Submit to God---> Resists the Devil( 1 John 1:9, : James 4:7).

The People of God-
Galatians 6:1-"Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted."


 James 5:16-"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."

Hebrews 3:12-13- ^" See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness."

A great resource for our restoration is the Body of Christ. Simply put, we need one another.

Spiritual Warfare: Biblical Principles for Victory

Ephesians 2:1-3-"And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, ² in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, ³ among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others."

In this passage of scripture, we see three dimensions of spiritual warfare. We are going to look at some key principles we can use to overcome our three enemies which we war against daily.

1.)World- Faith-John 5:4 says, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”

2.)Flesh-  Flee- 2 Timothy 2:22-"Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart."

3.)Devil-  Fight- James 4:7- James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Some people blame the devil for every single sin they commit. Often times, it is our own Flesh and not Satan that causes us to sin. The bible says in Galatians 5:17- "For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do."

Feed the Spiritual nature: Starve the Carnal Nature

Every Born again child of God has two natures, and both of these natures within us  is struggling to dominate us. If we feed our spiritual nature with the Word of God and yield to the person of the Holy Spirit, then he will empower and rule us .If we feed our flesh (old sinful nature), then the flesh will rule us. In other words, the spiritual nature will starve if we feed on the things of the World such as the lusts of eyes, lusts of the flesh, and the boastful pride of life( see 1 John 2:16). On the other hand, if you are consistently feeding on the Scriptures, then your fleshly nature would starve and grow very weak.

The Five People of Proverbs- Biblical Profiling

The book of Proverbs show's us different types of people, their thoughts, actions, behaviors, and how these people relate to one another. In the book of Proverbs, we meet five different types of people- The Wise; The Fool, The Wicked, The Simple, and The Scorner. Out of the five people types, we are going to study the Wise person so we can get better acquainted with them so we can be able to identify different types of people.

The Wise-  The Bible says in Proverbs 19:27-"Cease to hear instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge." In other words, wise people listen to and take heed to wise instruction. The wise man or woman constantly and consistently take heed to God's word. The bible say's in Proverbs 4:23-"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." The Wise man is quick to guard his heart and follow the principle-" Treasure in, Garbage out." In other words, the man or woman who is wise takes in and fortifies himself with the Word of God and he protects and guards his heart and mind from all the garbage this world has to offer through the  radio, television, internet, books, and classrooms. Also the wise are receptive to advice, corrections, and rebukes(Proverbs 9:8-9). Wise people also fear the Lord, in fact the bible says that, " The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. (Ps 110.10)." Also, the wise, hangout  with others who are wise. Proverbs 13:20 says-"Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm."

Delve into God's Word and do your own study to  find out what the bible says about the following people types to analyze yourself and others to biblically help counsel and encourage people...

The Fool-

The Wicked-

The Simple-

The Scorner-

Conformed to His Image: Becoming Like Christ

Romans 8:29-"For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."

What is the goal of a Christian? Christ-likeness. Being like Christ is a life-long process and it is intentional.  In fact, true spiritual growth is not so much about doing as it is about "being"----being like Christ. God has not called us to be like Kanye West, Justin Beiber, or Jay Z. Our calling is much higher. God has predestined every believer to be conformed to the image of his Son and it is his desire for us to be like Christ. So how do I become like Christ? One of the first way's we become like Christ is knowing him. How can you be like a person if you don't know him? God as revealed himself in his Word. If you want to know Jesus and what he is like, read the bible. 

2 Corinthians 3:18-"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."

The bible helps us transform to the image of Jesus. When we read and study the bible, we see Jesus and what he is like. As we continue to daily pray and ingest God's  Word and keep our gaze on Jesus, the Holy Spirit would transform us and make us more and more like Christ each day.