Dear Friends, 

As I sat down to write this Newsletter, I prayed for you all. As I did so, I sensed that many of you feel as though your mind is being bombarded by a plethora of thoughts, images, painful memories, conversations (and arguments), and just plain junk! So much so that it can be hard to think straight! 

There have been plenty of mornings I have woken up this way. One morning in particular, I had this kind of thing going on in my head. The best way to explain it is like having 5 or 10 TV sets blaring at you simultaneously, with each TV on a different and miserable channel! I call this scenario “space junk” because it reminds me of a picture I once saw of all the metal junk floating around in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Space junk refers to any human-made debris left in orbit around Earth. This includes fully intact satellites that have run out of power and been left in orbit after the end of their missions, as well as broken chunks of machinery created when larger objects collide. Even tiny chips of paint that have been ripped off of rockets count as space junk. Currently, over 1 million pieces of debris of all sizes are in orbit around the Earth. 

Like space junk, we can allow many worthless and worrisome thoughts to float freely through our minds. These thoughts are useless to us and only make us miserable! But thank God there is a solution to cutting through the junk! Let me give you a personal example of how I have dealt with an overloaded mind. One morning, I woke up with my head filled with so much junk I could hardly think straight! Jagged fragments of painful memories floated around in my consciousness. Thoughts of past mistreatment and hurtful interactions scraped across my mind, reopening old wounds. Along with that were empty feelings of abandonment and rejection from the past. I couldn’t focus on any one thing; it was just a massive pile of mental trash that had washed up overnight! 

I did the only thing I knew to do: focus on the Lord through worship and singing. This is a powerful spiritual weapon we can use any time we need to subdue tormenting thoughts! Look at how Psalm 100:2-5 describes the power of worship… “Worship Yahweh WITH GLADNESS. SING YOUR WAY INTO HIS PRESENCE WITH JOY! And realize what this really means—we have the privilege of worshiping Yahweh our God. For he is our Creator and we belong to him. We are the people of his pleasure. YOU CAN PASS THROUGH HIS OPEN GATES WITH THE PASSWORD OF PRAISE. COME RIGHT INTO HIS PRESENCE WITH THANKSGIVING. Come bring your thank offering to him and affectionately bless his beautiful name! For YAHWEH IS ALWAYS GOOD AND READY TO RECEIVE YOU. He’s so loving that it will amaze you—so kind that it will astound you! And he is famous for his faithfulness toward all. Everyone knows our God can be trusted, for he keeps his promises to every generation!” (TPT)

My worship to the Lord that day proved to be POWERFUL and EFFECTIVE! As I focused on Jesus and gave Him my full attention and love, suddenly, He reciprocated the gesture, and an incredible peace flooded my entire being, repelling all the junk! My struggle was over! Large and small hurtful thoughts rolled away as God’s presence took their place! I sat in awe as the Lord’s amazing, tranquil peace settled upon me. How grateful I am for the Lord’s LIVING PRESENCE!! 

Mind junk may appear formidable because it is driven by fear, yet it’s no thicker than tissue paper! We can easily pass through this veil and approach God’s throne of GRACE and MERCY to find help when needed! Hebrews 4:15-16 says, “Our High Priest is not one who cannot feel sympathy for our weaknesses. On the contrary, we have a High Priest who was tempted in every way that we are, but did not sin. Let us have confidence, then, and approach God’s throne, where there is grace. There we will receive mercy and find grace to help us just when we need it.” (GNT) 

Although we cannot kill the enemy of our souls, we can resist and repel him by surrendering our hearts and minds to the Lord and acknowledging His rule over our lives, which brings us peace. Calling out to Jesus through worship is our number one weapon against the enemy’s mind-junk onslaught! Listen, if you had an insect or roach infestation in your home, you could never eradicate all of them by swatting at them one at a time. No, you need to set off a fog bomb that will seep into every crack and crevice of your home to eliminate all the pests, even those hidden from sight! Our worship is like a holy fog bomb that gets rid of all the enemy’s harmful and hurtful thoughts! We cannot win spiritual warfare using natural means; we must use the power of the Holy Spirit through worship. 

Here’s another example of how I have dealt with mind-junk… One day, during church service, as I was singing and worshipping the Lord, I could see myself in my mind’s eye flailing my arms, attempting to swat away a massive cloud of mosquitoes. It was a losing battle—there were just too many of them, and I was getting eaten alive! The mosquitoes represented the bombardment of negative thoughts, memories, and impressions I had been experiencing. I could not seem to get rid of them simply by waving my arms or wishing them away. Strategically, I needed a better plan… and a better weapon! Then, I saw myself lighting an insect incense candle, which did the trick! The smoke drove out the pests, creating a barrier between them and me. I may not have killed them all, but I drove them away from my home. As long as I kept the incense lit, the smoke kept the pests away. 

In the Holy Place in the Old Testament Temple, there was an altar of incense. When lit, the incense filled the place with fragrant smoke, symbolizing our worship to the Lord (Exodus 30). The key to victory in a situation like this is not so much “fighting” off negative thoughts but surrendering yourself in worship to the Lord and allowing that spiritual fragrance of adoration and praise to drive the enemy out! 

Our hearts and minds do not have to be overrun by pests (painful, bitter memories). But spiritual battles can only be fought and won using spiritual weapons. We must fill up our minds with the Words of God and create a spiritual fog through praise and worship. David confirms this technique in Psalm 103:2-6, 7-14. David tells us to praise and thank the Lord and reminds us of the many reasons why we should! He said, “Praise the Lord, my soul, and do not forget how kind he is. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He keeps me from the grave and blesses me with love and mercy. He fills my life with good things, so that I stay young and strong like an eagle. The Lord judges in favor of the oppressed and gives them their rights. The Lord is merciful and loving, slow to become angry and full of constant love.” (NLT) 

Today, if you are battling an onslaught of disturbing thoughts, remember to use your spiritual weaponry! Learn (through practice) how to fumigate your home (the place where you live in your mind) with thanksgiving and worship to the Lord! Read the instructions on the pesticide can! It will tell you to place the can in the center of the house or room and turn it on! Setting Jesus center and first place in our lives is key to a HEALTHY and POWER-FILLED life! 

TRUE WORSHIP

“But the time is coming and is already here when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for anyone who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24 (NLT)

In this passage from John chapter 4, Jesus spoke to a Samaritan woman on the subject of worship—what it is and how to do it the way the Father requires. Jesus teaches us that worship is not about following outward rituals that may hide a non-committed participant. Our worship must be truthful as it connects us to the Father on a deep spiritual level. Worshiping in spirit and truth requires our emotions and knowledge of God. It is neither about feelings nor the intellectual understanding of who God is—it is about both. We worship God with our hearts and with our minds as well. True worship is like giving the Lord our entire being as a gift of love to Him. It must be given willingly and heartfully. This is what He requires—the whole heart, not just going through the outward motions. Psalm 51:16 says, “Going through the motions doesn’t please you, a flawless performance is nothing to you.” (MSG)

So, what does God require in our worship? True worship is when we FREELY offer our lives daily as living sacrifices to Him to be changed. This is the kind of gift God longs for and will accept. When your worship is done according to the Lord’s pleasure, your life will be filled with His favor, power, peace, and joy, allowing you to make a difference in the world around you. 

MORE WAYS TO WORSHIP GOD… Worship isn’t just about singing hymns at Sunday morning church service; it’s about Who takes PRECEDENCE in our hearts and minds. True worship requires surrender. Surrender requires trust. Trust requires reliance. If trusting the Lord sounds too difficult or impossible for you, don’t despair. You can pray for that, too. Ask the Lord to give you a clean, healthy heart to love Him and others! Following are just some of the ways we can worship God!

1. Worship through praise and thanksgiving. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) Thanking the Lord helps shape our thinking and perspective, makes us content, and gives us joy!  
2. Worship through confessing sins. (1 John 1:9) The ability to confess our sins and be immediately and completely forgiven is one of the most wonderful privileges we have as Believers. The number one problem facing humanity is the crushing weight of their sins and their inability to get rid of that guilt alone. Jesus climbed on the altar so we could be washed white as snow. If you are struggling to let go of your sin, ask the Lord to help you turn away from it to experience His forgiveness! 

• Worship through reading the Bible. (Proverbs 4:20-23) Reading the Bible leads us to worship, but it is also an act of worship itself. When reading and studying the Scriptures with the intent to obey, we lay down our opinions and learn what God thinks and says about things. This is what true worship of God looks like. If you’re struggling to read your Bible, ask the Lord afresh today to give you the desire for it so you can learn His thoughts and ways better! 

• Worship through obedience to God’s Word. (James 1:22) Obedience to God’s Word should always follow the reading of His Word. Let me caution you: obedience to God is not a way of earning His love. Remember, we are saved by faith, not by works. However, the Bible says that we will be known by our fruits (Matthew 7:16). The natural result of knowing Jesus is bearing fruit through good works and obedience. 

• Worship through serving others. (Mark 10:44-45) Serving others is another way to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Once again, we don’t serve to gain God’s favor or look like a good person. We do this because we cannot help ourselves! It is our nature to serve the Master by serving others! Start small and do something kind for someone who cannot repay the gesture!

Jesus said, “…if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free.” John 8:31-36 (NLT) Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can live free in our hearts and minds. Sin is what enslaves the inner person. Things like hatred, unforgiveness, and bitterness are just a few things that imprison us. And just as a key can unlock a prison door, truth (God’s Word) can open hardened hearts and minds! This inner freedom begins by being Born Again. (John 3:5-7) The way to become Born Again is by turning away from sin (repentance), asking Jesus for forgiveness, and to give us new eternal life. This new life is created like God—a life that desires to live pleasing to Him. If you are uncertain of your eternal destiny, ask the Lord right now for NEW LIFE!  

Dear Jesus, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I have not always done the right things or made the right decisions. I ask you to forgive me now. Jesus, I accept your sacrifice on the Cross as payment for my sins. Please come into my heart, make me a new person, and give me eternal life. I ask that you would be my Lord and Savior. Help me to live a life that is honest, honorable, and full of faith. Now lead me forward and shower me with your grace and glory. Thank you, Lord, for giving me new life! Amen.