Childish thinking.

Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. 1 Corinthians 14:20

This statement is SO accurate for TODAY! Are you spiritually mature in your thinking? What keeps us from being ‘mature’ in our thinking? Pride. Resentfulness. Laziness. Selfishness. Fear. And an inability to listen or learn. Are you stubborn and not able to ‘hear’ or agree with the voice of the Holy Spirit in your mind? Is there something within you that readily wants to agree with the ‘lies’? What within us wants to agree with lies? Soul ties to things, ideas, and people that have taken precedence over the Lordship of Jesus Christ in your life. These soul ties (passions, feelings, desires, ideas) readily dismiss the voice and conviction from the Holy Spirit. Have you ever asked to the Holy Spirit to expose those within you?

So many have been deceived by the lies from the enemies of God. Deception comes first to our inner being. We first must agree with the deception within ourselves, before we can ever deceive someone else. And what should be our discernment filter? The Holy Spirit. And if that relationship is skewed, meaning you won’t hear certain things He is saying to you (especially the conviction of certain specific sin(s) in your life) – because you don’t want to listen because of fear or pride or other soul issues, this opens you up to easily being deceived by lies. Believing one lie makes it easier to be led down the path to the next lie, and the next. This is why Paul gives this advice…

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:5

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8

What can we do to restore the relationship with the Holy Spirit? Agreeing with Him. Confession and repentance. Following His instructions obediently – and quickly. Learning how to worship God ‘in secret’ without any ‘crutches’ (outside sources – music, podcasts, listening to something else).  I’m not saying that you can’t do those things, but the act of honestly and vulnerably worshipping God purely from your heart ALONE with NOTHING else in the place where no one else is … is a discipline no longer taught that needs to be brought back.

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:6

God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:24

How and when are you spending time in honest and vulnerable worship to Him? Is it ever in your ‘secret place’, where you are totally alone? Do you even recognize the need?

Many today are severely hindered because of deep inner soul ties that are harming their relationship with the Holy Spirit, thus leading to ‘childish thinking’, and spiritual immaturity. Where are those who are leading the discipleship in these areas? Where are those elders who are spiritually mature in the Holy Spirit who are discipling others?