AVOIDING* THE HALL OF MIRRORS
OR ESCAPING
CHAPTER 7
Isolate the Prey (2|2)
Pages 95-98
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (NIV) For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 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. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (NIV) There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
“When we are isolated, we live in the bubble of our own opinions and perspectives. If we are starved of the perspectives of the older, wiser people, then our view of matters tends to warp and narrow. We become unreasonable.” What is your response to this statement? Who are the older, wiser people in your life who have permission to give their opinions and perspectives?
Have you ever experienced or witnessed a paranoid person hide themselves away in isolation? Did they ever come out of it? What can be said or done to gain a paranoid person’s trust?
“You are a living stone connected to many others to make a dwelling place for God. You are one member of the many-membered body of Jesus here on earth, placed to serve Him alongside the other members with different gifts.” What are your strongest spiritual gifts that you can contribute to the body of Jesus?
Stef’s question: “Who is there in your life that you rely upon and that relies upon you?”