Be Transformed by the Renewing of Your Mind

7/31/2019 Be Transformed by the Renewing of Your Mind

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Spiritual Transformation By the Renewing of Your Mind

by William Pena MBA, CCHt, CNLP, CEFT

Rom 12:2

2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed bythe renewing of your mind .

NIV

The bible talks about a spiritual transformation that happens to us when we

renew our mind. Meaning, that when we decide to think differently, it creates an

inner transformation that causes us to act differently (akarepentance).

You would think that when we became Christians we are immediately spiritual in

every way...But alas, this is far from the truth.

Heb 10:14

14 because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being

made holy.

NIV

The bible says that though we are perfect in the eyes of God, and have had our

sins forgiven, he is still at work in our lives to help make us holy.

His goal is that while on earth we can all become more and more like Jesus

internally, so that we can reflect his glory externally. As the bible says:

Eph 4:13

13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God

and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. NIV

The Spiritual Battle

The challenge starts when we become disciples, that though we have made the

decision to wholeheartedly surrender our lives to Jesus' Lordship, there is a part

of us, an internal part, that is still conditioned to want the things of the world.

It is as if there are 2 people inside of us, one striving to please and

wholeheartedly obey God, and another that is striving to please and

wholeheartedly obey the desires of our sinful nature. Like Paul said:

Rom 7:21-24


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21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.

22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in

the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making

me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.

NIV

Like a spiritual tug-of-war waging inside of us, sometimes the spiritual side of us

wins, but unfortunately, at other times the sinful side of us wins. And, it is a battle

that continues to wage throughout our Christian walk.

Fast forward 5, 10 or 20 years. Though our knowledge, faith, habits, routine, etc.

have become more religious, the battle continues to wage inside of

us. Why? Because though the outer man still desires to please God and do

right, the inner man, if left unchanged, still desires, in the deepest part of us, to

fulfill the desires of our sinful nature.

The result is that outwardly we live religious lives, but inwardly, we do not

grow. The internal battle between these 2 masters eventually overtakes us,

overwhelms us, and tires us out leading us to forsake our first love and accept a

lukewarm lifestyle.

Rev 2:4-5

4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the

height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If

you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

NIV

...Ultimately, our lukewarmness keeps us from pleasing God.

Rev 3:14-16

14 "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's

creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you

were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarmneither hot nor

coldI am about to spit you out of my mouth.

NIV

The Cause of Our Struggle


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So what causes us to go through a spiritual roller coaster: going from a strong

spiritual desire to please God to a life of lukewarmness?

It is because all those years we spent living according to the ways of this world

has influenced us so deeply, it becomes a curse that daily fights against our

pure desire to live wholehearted and passionate lives for God.

Let me explain

Living in an ungodly world, we are exposed to an environment filled with an

overwhelming amount of ungodly views, opinions, ideas, images, beliefs,

experiences, etc. that we are bombarded with every day. These worldly views

and ideas enter our minds throughout our lives, whether through our parents,

friends, community, the media, etc., and influence the way we think.

Ultimately, we live with these influences for so long that they become firmly

embedded beliefs that we take into the deepest parts of our hearts; and which

we keep for the rest of our life.

Like Jesus said:

Luke 6:45

45 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and

the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the

overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. NIV

These negative, worldly and ungodly beliefs ultimately influence us mentally,

emotionally, and physically, because these three parts of us are so

interconnected. And we live with these thoughts and feelings for so long that

they become deeply programmed into our lives; creating a vicious cycle where

each one continually affects all of the others.

For example, if you grew up believing that how you feel about yourself is based

on your performance, then you will spend the rest of your life trying to live up to

really high standards for yourself. It ultimately turns you into a perfectionist,

always worried that things turn out right, or the way you think they should be.

Unfortunately, because most things are out of your control it begins to frustrate

and disappoint you whenever you cant meet your own standards. Then anxiety

and stress set in, and maybe even discouragement or depression. Ultimately, it

begins to affect you physically, causing migraines, back aches, and in worst

cases, cancer.


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Fast forward to our conversion. We make the decision to make Jesus Lord, and

freely choose God's direction for our life; and we are excited for our future. But

what happens to all those worldly beliefs, feelings, influences, etc. that were so

deeply imbedded in our hearts? Nothing. They continue to live inside of us.

Eventually a situation is created where our mind is divided in two parts: an outerman that wants to do what pleases God, and an inner one that wants to

continue to follow the old way of thinking. Each one has its own identity, and its

own sets of values, beliefs, and behaviors. And each wants to dominate the

other.

The Conscious and Subconscious Mind

One way to look at it is like imagining that our mind was split into 2 parts: a

conscious mind and a subconscious mind.

The conscious mind is the part of us that we are consciously aware of. With it

we make decisions, analyze the pros and cons of a situation, decide to obey

God, etc.

The subconscious mind is the part of us that we are unaware of, that stores

memories, runs your body, manages emotions, processes information, and

manages everything else in your life.

The conscious mind works in the front, directing where your life will go, and thesubconscious mind works in the background, making sure that things are

running the way they are supposed to.

The Captain and the Crew

It is almost like the relationship between a captain and his crew.

If the conscious mind is the Captain, then the subconscious mind is the crew.

The captain barks out the commands and the crew carries them out (even when

the captain is not paying attention).

The Internal Conflict

Now imagine what would happen if the Captain barks out a command and the

crew decide to do their own thing. Meaning, the Captain wants to go one way,

and the crew has their own agenda on where they want to go. There is a name

for this, its called mutiny.


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And this mutiny is similar to the battle that wages inside of our hearts and minds.

Meaning, a part of us becomes a disciple and wants to do what is right

(conscious mind), and another part of us still holds onto to hundreds and

thousands of our old worldly beliefs, desires, etc.; and wants to do what is wrong

(subconscious mind).

This is similar to what Paul said:

Rom 7:14-16

15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I

hate I do.

NIV

This is an internal struggle that many of us can relate to. We feel like we know

what to do in our head, but our hearts do not want to do it. We know we should

have faith and trust God, but our hearts does not feel so convinced. Or we know

we should stay away from sin, but our hearts want to run toward it.

On different occasions one wins out, and many times its not the one that we

want that wins. Then we begin to wonder why we cannot get control of our lives

and live the lives that both we and God want for ourselves. Worst, we get

discouraged because we don't ever believe that we can ever get control of it.

Ultimately, we end up making excuses for our behavior saying things like, "I

guess I will always be this way," or "I guess, like Paul, this is my thorn in my

flesh." Or worst yet, we just accept it, and settle for a lukewarm life, that just

brings us a whole lot of guilt, and brings no glory to God.

Being Transformed by the Renewing of Our Mind

Then what are we to do to overcome this internal battle that constantly wages

inside of us? We need to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. As Paul

said:

Rom 12:2

2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by

the renewing of your mind.

NIV

The mistake we make as Christians is that we spend so much time trying to

renew our conscious mind, but we spend very little time renewing our

subconscious mind.


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It is very similar to the Titanic and an Iceberg. We think we can evade the

problem by just dealing with what's on the surface, but there is a massive

amount of issues and worldly beliefs below the surface, that if not resolved, will

eventually shipwreck our faith.

Even God through the scriptures challenged us to focus our efforts on the internalcleaning of our hearts:

Matt 23:25-26

25 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean

the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-

indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee ! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and

then the outside also will be clean. NIV

2 Cor 7:1

7:1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from

everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of

reverence for God.

NIV

Heb 12:14-15

14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without

holiness no one will see the Lord.

NIV

Holiness is defined as: the state or quality of being like God. And God is holy in

every aspect of his being: mind, heart, body, etc., and we are called to be the

same:

Eph 3:19

19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledgethat you may be filled to

the measure of all the fullness of God.

NIV

The Best Tool for the Job

Because God commands and expects internal transformation it only makes

sense that he has provided us with the tools to help us do this.


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And just like a carpenter or mechanic needs the right tools to do his job, so God

has provided us with a great amount of tools that we can use to help us to

create inner transformation in our lives.

Besides the standard issue tools that he provides us like His Word, Prayer, the

Holy Spirit, Trials and hardships, etc., he equips us with the most powerful tool atour disposal for radical change in our lives internally. And that is our mind:

Rom 12:2

2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by

the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's

will ishis good, pleasing and perfect will. NIV

Here God tells us that the renewing of our minds leads to the transformation of

our lives.

Eph 4:22-24

22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self,

which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the

attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in

true righteousness and holiness. NIV

In the bible it says that our original conversion was made possible by first

changing our mind.

2 Cor 7:1

7:1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from

everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of

reverence for God. NIV

The bible also says that by purifying what contaminates our spirits (i.e.: our

unspiritual thoughts, beliefs, ideas, etc.) we will become more and more holy.

Rom 8:6

6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and

peace;NIV

Here the bible says that when we allow our minds to be controlled by the Spirit it

leads to a godly life and peace.


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Phil 4:8-9

8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,

whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirableif anything is

excellent or praiseworthythink about such things. 9 Whatever you have

learned or received or heard from me, or seen in meput it into practice. Andthe God of peace will be with you. NIV

God commands us to only allow thoughts that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely,

admirable, excellent and praiseworthy in our minds, and by doing so it will lead

to a life that is pleasing to him.

Luke 6:45

45 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and

the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the

overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. NIV

The bible says that if we fill our minds and hearts with good or evil we will

produce it in our lives.

Prov 27:19

19 As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man. NIV

The bible also say that what we carry in our hearts and minds will determine

what we reflect in our lives.

Col 3:1-4

3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things

above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on

things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden

with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will

appear with him in glory. NIV

By setting our minds on things above (spiritual things) we become more and

more spiritual.

2 Cor 10:5-6

5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the

knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to

Christ. NIV


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By taking every thought captive and turning them into spiritual, godly thoughts

that are pleasing to God, we become more and more like Jesus.

2 Cor 4:18

18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen . For what isseen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. NIV

By fixing our eyes (our minds and hearts) on spiritual things, we take on Gods

perspective on life, and become more spiritual.

1 Peter 1:13

13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope

fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. NIV

Only by training our minds and preparing it for action will we be able to create

internal transformation in our lives that brings glory to God.

God's Expectation of Us

You see, God doesnt just want us to sit on the side-lines, reading our bible,

praying and just hoping that this spiritual inner transformation will happen on its

own. On the contrary, Paul was the best example of a man determined to train

his mind, so that he could become more like Christ. It was he that said:

2 Cor 10:5

5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the

knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to

Christ.

NIV

Or, like Jesus said to the religious leaders of his day:

Matt 23:26

26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside

also will be clean.

NIV

Therefore only by utilizing whatever means necessary to begin renewing our

minds, both on the inside and on the outside, can we begin to experience the

spiritual transformation that will result in an overwhelming glory for God.


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So how do we begin this inner transformation that will lead us to bring glory to

God both inside and outside?

I want to introduce you to the Spiritual Breakthrough Mind Training Exercises for

Transformation


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Spiritual Mind Training Exercises

Here are some mind training exercises we can use to help train our minds, and

help transform ourselves and others internally, so that we can glorify God both

on the inside as well as the outside.

Exercises for training your mindInternal transformation:

1. Spiritual Mind Change (Reframe) Exercise

Sometimes by just putting something in a different perspective, it changes its

meaning, and ultimately the way we feel about it. Explore ways to see your

situation from different perspectives, (like different camera views in a movie)

and see if it changes how you feel about it.

2. Changing Your Spiritual Perspective Position Exercise

Sometimes putting yourself in someone elses shoes can give you a different

perspective on a situation. Imagine putting yourself in Gods shoes or Jesuss

shoes and then see your situation from their eyes. Or imagine being one of the

spiritual men or women of the bible and see your situation from their

perspective.

For example, put yourself in Gods shoes and ask yourself, If I was God, what

advice would I give about this situation.

Note: You can also put yourself in Satans shoes to better understand how he isworking in our lives to take us away from God.

3. Using Metaphors for Spiritual Mind Change Exercise

Sometimes creating a story or an analogy of a situation can better help us see it

from Gods perspective. Whats great about this is that it changes how we see

things on a deep, heart level.

Find or create a story or analogy as similar to your situation as you can, and as

intense as the change you want to see in your life (i.e.: bible stories). Keep

trying different stories and analogies until you see the situation from a more

spiritual perspective. Ask others for metaphors, stories or analogies they use,

and that help them.

Collect these metaphors, stories and analogies to use when you need them.


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4. Interrupting the Unspiritual Thinking Patterns Exercise

Our minds are so trained to think a certain way that it seems like it happens at

lightning speed. The truth is that, like a computer, our mind goes through many

steps to get to a particular conclusion or feeling. Sometimes if you can interrupt

that "program" from running, it will never get to its conclusion or feeling.

A good exercise will be to put a rubber band around your wrist. Every time you

begin to feel something you don't want to feel, or be tempted with something;

snap the rubber band as hard as you can on your wrist. After a while your brain

will run a different program to avoid the pain, and ultimately result in providing

you with a more spiritual conclusion or feeling.

Note: You dont have to use a rubber band. Just doing something sudden or

different can have the same effect (i.e.: do the chicken dance if you want to).

5. Editing the Movie in Your Mind Exercise

Let's face it, we all run movies in our heads of everything that happens to

us. Some of us run adventure movies; others run comedies, and other run horror

movies, even impure movies. And just like you feel different emotions when you

see a movie in the theater or on television, we are affected emotionally by the

movies we run in our heads too.

The good thing is you can edit the movie in your mind and by doing so, you can

immediately feel differently about the situation.

Next time your run a negative or unspiritual movie in your head, try editing the

movie to see how you feel about it.

Is it in color? Change it to black and white. Is it in HD (clear)? Change it to blurry. Is it in a frame or panoramic? Change it to its opposite. Are you in the movie? Step out of it. Is the screen large? Make it small. Do you feel like you are sitting in the front row as you watch it? Move to

the back row (or 100 rows back).

Is it close by? Make it far away.You will be amazed at how much you change how you feel, just by editing your

movie in this way.


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6. Reprogramming Your Thoughts Exercise

Did you know that you can automate what you think? Well, you can. If you are

having thoughts you would rather not have, change the way your mind picks

the thoughts to put in your mind. Like a jukebox, you can pre-select the

thoughts you want to have and your brain will just run them.

With this exercise, consider what the trigger is that leads to your unwanted and

unspiritual thoughts. Is it a particular place, smell, taste, or thought that triggers

your unwanted images or ideas? Whatever the trigger is, imagine something

else you would rather be thinking, than the unwanted thought.

For example, when you are at the beach, I'm sure you would just like to think of

having fun (versus the other unrighteous things that our minds like to look and

think about). You can train your mind to automatically think "fun" when it thinks

of the beach. This is how it works:

1. Imagine a big blank picture screen in your mind.2. Now imagine a smaller screen on the bottom right hand corner.3. The little screen on the bottom right hand corner will play an image of

what you want to think (i.e.: a scene of you having fun at the beach).

4. Now imagine the big picture screen fills with the image of being at thebeach.

5. Now, immediately imagine the small screen on the bottom right handcorner blowing up and taking up the whole screen, replacing the first

image.

6. You can even make a Swoosh! or a Vrooom! sound as you do it.7. Do it about 5, 10 or 20 times.8. At the end, try to think of the beach, and you will notice that you

immediately think of having fun.


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7. Desire/Belief/Meaning Change Exercise (Most Powerful Exercise for Meaning

ChangeVery useful for Overcoming Temptation and Sin)

Identify the underlying ungodly belief driving unspiritual behavior and desires:

1. What is something you are being tempted with?2. On a scale of 1 - 10 how tempting is this for you?3. Why is fulfilling this desire so important to you?4. What does fulfilling this desire mean to you?5. Were you always tempted by this thing? When you were 4 or 5 years old

was this a temptation for you? Why not?

Ask these questions to invalidate the unspiritual meaning, and drain it of its

power and meaning (Invalidate Belief)

1. When did you decide to believe that meant _____ foryou?

2. Is it true that this temptation or sin means ________? Why not?3. How much is this belief really serving you in your life right now?4. By holding onto this belief, what has it cost you? What is it costing you right

now? What will it cost you in the future?

5. If you continue believing this, what would the rest of your life look like? Isthat what you want for your life?

6. Can you continue believing this belief and live the life you reallywant? Why not?

7. At what age did you decide to believe this belief was true? Since you arestill holding onto this belief, how does it feel to know that you are livingyour life based on the conviction of a ____ year old? What will your life

look like if you continue to base your life on the conviction of a ____ year

old?

8. Where did you learn that this fulfilling this desire meant ________? Why arethey not the most credible people? Do you want your life to turn out like

theirs? If you continue to believe this, how similar to their life will your life

turn out? Are they the most reliable sources to help you please God, and

help you get to heaven? Why not?

9. Where did the people who gave you this advice learn it from? Are theirsources the most credible sources for you to please God and make it toheaven? Why not?

10.Why does Satan want you to continue to believe this? What does heultimately want for your life? How is he using this belief to keep you from

pleasing God and making it to heaven?

11.How effective is Satan's plan to get you to accept this belief at such ayoung age? Why? How is his plan working in your life? How does it feel

that you are helping Satan's plan at hurting God?


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12.If this belief were true how do you explain ? Or,what about , why doesn't this match up to your belief?

13.How useful will you be to God if you continue to believe this? How wouldyou be more useful to God, if you did not have this belief?

14.If you were God, what would you think about this belief? What would youthink about the fact that believes this? If you were God, andyou were having a sit down talk with , what would you tell

about this belief?

15.If you continue living by this deceitful belief for the next 20 years, whatkind of collateral damage will it have on your life? How will it affect the

people you love? What will happen to your relationships with the people

you love? What will happen with your relationship with God? How will you

feel about yourself? What regrets are you going to have?

Instill a more spiritual and resourceful belief

1. What is a better and more spiritual belief that God would want you to havein this situation? (Use scripture if you can).

2. How can this new belief more benefit your life?3. What will your life look like if you live by this new belief for the next 20

years of your life? How will it affect the people you love? How will it

impact your relationship with God? How will you feel about yourself?

4. Once you accept this new belief and your life transforms, what kind ofimpact will you have in the lives of others?

5. And after 20 years of getting all the benefits of this new belief, when youlook back on your life, what will you think about the decision you are

making today to get rid of the old belief?

Now on a scale of 1 - 10, how tempting is this sin for you?

If you look at a time in the future when you would've been tempted by

something like this, how will you respond to it now?

Homework

Whenever another temptation comes up, go through these questions to

invalidate old belief and instill a new spiritual belief.

Over a period of time you will transform your life from the inside out and become

holy.


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8. Eraser Technique (a.k.a.Movie-Rewind Pattern)

This exercise is useful for taking out the negative emotional charge of an old

painful memory. It will help with memories of previous hurts caused by others, or

other difficult situations.

It is also very effective for traumatic experiences, yet it is best done with the help

of a professional counselor for working with trauma.

1. Pick a memory that bothers you emotionally.2. Ask yourself how intense the emotion is from scale of 1-10.3. Imagine yourself in a movie theater with a giant movie screen in front of

you and you are going to watch the movie of this negative memory for

the last time.

4. Imagine yourself sitting comfortably in a chair in the last row in the theatre.5. Then on the screen of your mind, put a black-and white picture on the

screen of the younger you in the situation fifteen minutes or so before the

emotionally negative events occurred.

6. Now imagine floating out of your body from the last row that you aresitting in and floating back to the Projection Booth. Float all the way out of

your body and into the Control Room until you can feel your hands on the

plexi-glass window so that you can look out and see the back of your

head facing the screen.

7. Now when you are ready, from the Projection Booth, you can turn on themovie and let it move from the initial snapshot. Let it now play out as a

black-and-white movie. And watch it from a double-perspectivefrom

the audience and from the projection booth. Watch it from the beginningto the end.

8. When you have let it play out beyond the unpleasant experience, play if abit further. Play it to a later time, after the bad scene disappears, and see

that Younger You in a time and place of safety and even pleasure.

9. Now, rewind this memory movie in fast rewind mode. As you have seenmovies or videos run backwards so you will rewind the movie backwards

at a very high speed rewind, so fast that it will only take two seconds2

seconds! But this time you will be inside the movie when you rewind it.

10.Open your eyes to break the state and then close your eyes to start again.11.Now, immediately go to the scene of comfort and pleasure at the endagain, and as soon as you step it, feel, see, and hear it fully . . .rewind the

movie even faster.

12.Do this 5 times. As you do this over and over your brain will become moreand more proficient and the rewind will go faster and faster until the

rewind takes only a second each time. Zoommmm!

13.Test by asking how intense the emotion is now, from scale of 1-10.


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9. Spiritual Coaching Exercise (Coach vs Judge)

This exercise is used to get yourself or someone else in the right, positive and

spiritual state of mind to make internal changes.

It is based on the idea that you can either be the:

Judgecondemn yourself for your behavior, mistakes, errors, etc. or the Coachbuild yourself up and give yourself the courage to not give up,

and overcome this challenge.

Spiritual Coaching Exercise

1. Consider a situation that is difficult for you right now.

2. On a scale of 110, how emotionally challenging is this situation to you?

Write it down.

3. Ask yourself, this question: Why is this situation the best thing that couldve

ever happen to me? Or, Why is this situation such a positive experience for

me? Or What great opportunities does this situation open up for me?

4. Take time to come up with 510 reasons why this situation will benefit you:

Here are a few examples:

It will help me depend on God more. It will make me stronger. It will build my character. It will help me be more compassionate toward others who struggle

through this.

It will help me realize that I am not my struggles. It will help me learn more about myself. It will help me learn how to overcome difficult situations. It will help me be an example of faith for others. God can show his power through this.

5. On a scale of 110, how emotionally challenging is this situation now?

6. If not resolved, you are now in a great positive state to begin using the other

exercises in this manual to help you overcome this challenging situation even

more.


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10. Spiritual Belief Questioning Exercise

The questions we ask ourselves, generally, determine how we see and feel

about a situation. The better the questions, the better we feel about a

situation. Having a set of questions to ask yourself that forces you to see things

from a spiritual perspective, helps you to change how you feel about it. The bestpart is that it works on a deep heart level, and has long-lasting results.

Below are set of spiritual questions you can ask yourself when you go through

challenging situations in your life. The key is to layer question upon question,

until you are able to see the situation from a more spiritual perspective.

Questions to Change Your Perspective

When going through a difficult situation answer as many of these questions as

you can. You can also ask these of others who are going through challenging

times.

1. Focus on God's intention - What do you think is God's purpose in allowing you

to go through this situation?

2. Redefine the problem into spiritual language. - How does God define this issue

that I am going through? (I.e.: problem = light and momentary troubles).

3. Positive outcomes - What are the positive, spiritual things that are happening

because of this situation that I may not see? (I.e. Lose my job = spend more time

with God and family, etc.).

4. Resizing - How specifically does this problem affect you? (In other words, is it

really affecting your whole, entire life and the universe, or a very small part of

your life?).

5. Big Picture - If you were to put yourself in God's shoes, what would he think of

your situation?

6. Eternal view - Compared to being in heaven for eternity, when you think of

your problem, how bad is it really?

7. Positive Lessons - What are some positive lessons you can learn from this

situation that will make your life better?


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8. Reverent Submission - How do you think God is using this situation for your

good?

9. Opportunity - What are some opportunities that this situation has created (or

opened up) for you?

10. Appreciation - What has this situation helped you appreciate more? (I.e.:

cancer helps me appreciate the full life I have lived and the people I love.)

11. Gratitude - What are some other things you can be grateful for, in spite of this

situation? (I.e.: Though I am sick, I still have God, heaven, my family, etc.).

12. Example - What are some other examples (biblical examples) of people in

similar circumstances, but who were able to overcome?

13. Metaphor/Analogy - What analogy or story can you think of that will helpyou see things from a more godly perspective?

14. Importance - How important is this situation really, when you think of all of

the important things in your life? (Relationship w God, Family, Health, etc.).

15. Character Development - How will this situation strengthen you and make

into an even stronger, spiritual person? (James 1:3-4, Rom 5:3)

16. Service for Others - By going through this, and overcoming, how can you

now relate, help and comfort others who are going through similar things? (2 Cor

1:3-7)

17. God's Lessons - What do you think God is trying to teach you through this

situation? (Heb 12:7)

18. Compare to others in worst conditions - If you compare yourself to others that

really have it bad, how do you feel? (Or how much better do you have it?).

19. Its Only Your Way of Seeing It - What are some different ways you can see

this situation?

20. Other Outcomes - What other positive outcomes is this situation creating that

you may not see? (I.e.: Helping others, encouraging others, helping others come

to God, etc.).

21. Strength in Weakness - The bible says we are spiritually stronger when we are

weaker; so if you feel really weak right now, what does that mean about you? (1

Cor 12:7-10)


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22. Dependence on God - How is God using this situation to get you to trust in

him more? (2 Cor 1: 8-9)

23. God's Glory - How do you think God is using this situation to gain glory for

himself? (John 11:4)

24. God's Work/Miracles - How is God using this situation to show his

work/miracles in your life? (John 9:3)

25. Purifying our Hearts - How is God using this situation to purify your heart,

refine your faith, and help you make it to heaven? (Dt 8:2)(1 Peter 1:7)

26. Positive Consequences - How earth-shattering are the consequences of this

situation really?

27.Possibilities - What could be some good possibilities that could happen with

this situation?

28. Gods Advice- If you were God, what would you tell , to

encourage him/her through this situation?

29. God is big - If you were to see God as big as he really is, and your problem

as really, really, small as it really is compared to him, how would you feel about

your situation?

30. 10,000 years in Heaven - After being in heaven for 10,000 years, howimportant will this problem be to you?

31.Counter-example - What are examples that show that what you are going

through is actually a good thing, or not as bad as you think?

32. Ultimate Purpose - How is this situation helping you fulfill your ultimate

purpose as a Christian?

33. God Doesnt Need Your Help - How much help does God need from you to

take care of things that now belong to him (remember - your situation, yourfamily, your future, and your life all belong to God)?

34. Forgotten Gratitude - When did Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, God's gift of

salvation, and a friendship with the Creator of the universe, stop being enough

for you?

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Be Transformed by the Renewing of Your Mind