I bet there is not one person on the face of God's green earth who has not experienced pressure! It seems especially when we make a choice to trust the Word of God above our circumstances and do what we are exhorted to do here, "hold fast our confession [of faith in Him]," the pressure comes... often from several directions all at once. So, what do we do?

We turn to our great High Priest, "for we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning." We have a High Priest Who truly and completely understands every bit of pressure we will ever be put under... and He shows us the way out.

The gospel of Mark, the 14th chapter, contains the greatest pressure story in the history of mankind. It also shows the way out. So, lets read how Jesus dealt with pressure that none of us has ever had to deal with... or ever will. "Then they went to a place called Gethsemane, and He said to His disciples, Sit down here while I pray. And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be struck with terror and amazement and deeply troubled and depressed. And He said to them, My soul is exceedingly sad (overwhelmed with grief) so that it almost kills Me! Remain here and keep awake and be watching. And going a little farther, He fell on the ground and kept praying that if it were possible the [fatal] hour might pass from Him. And He was saying, Abba, [which means] Father, everything is possible for You, Take away this cup from Me, yet not what I will, but what You [will]." (v.32-36)

Hebrews is right! Jesus indeed does understand and is able to sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation. The Bible does not at any point tell us to do something - to bravely go through pressure and hard times - that Jesus has not experienced before us... in a much greater way. So, when we are under pressure - He understands, He sympathizes with us... and He leads us out to victory.

The first thing that He is showing us here is to NOT remain alone in our difficult situation. Have a friend to talk to and pray with. Although, many times it may well seem that no one understands what we are going through. Jesus' disciples did not understand either. They could not even stay awake and watch. This tells us something really important: even when we feel that no one truly understands how we feel or what we are going through, no one knows how to stand by our side, we should not become bitter towards them, nor should we fall into self-pity. Jesus never once became bitter and neither should we. He was truly and completely left alone, yet He will never leave us nor forsake us. We would never have to experience such utter forsakenness as He did. He promised us in Hebrews 13:5: "He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]"

People are here to support us and stand by our side, but there is possibly only ONE person Who truly is able to understand and help us through - Jesus Himself. So, let Your friends stand by You, but pour out the pain and the grief to Him and allow Him to carry it for You. May be You feel that You have done all the above and are crying out to God for help, but He seems nowhere to be found. It might just be that He is standing back and waiting for You to take the next step of faith - the ones He Himself took while under great pressure.

The second very important lesson He is teaching us here is found in verses 33-35. Jesus "began to be struck with terror and amazement and deeply troubled and depressed. And He said to them, My soul is exceedingly sad - overwhelmed with grief - so that it almost kills Me!" I can't even begin to understand the pressure He was under... although, I have felt grief and sorrow so overwhelming that it felt like it was going to crush me. I believe we all have experienced an attack of grief, sorrow, depression, self-pity, fear... So, what should we do? What did He do? Jesus went forward and kept praying.

No matter how horrifying our situations might be, no matter how great the pressure, we need to go forward and keep on praying. It is the only way out! I remember coming through pressure exactly like that - going forward and praying. Yes, we might cry, most probably will! We might need to curl up in a corner and keep our mouths shut in order to not speak negativity over our lives. We might be moving forward with turtle steps. We might be so numb of pain and so weary of crying that our eyes can hardly open. I've been there... but I did not stay there. I felt like nothing was changing... nothing at all! Yet, I did what I knew to do - pray, pray, pray... and ask others to pray too! ...and yes, I've come through each time... and so will You.

Often we are under pressure for other people who we are praying for. The pressure times I've come through have really been because of the pain of other people. I know a lot of You are coming through such pressure - carrying the burdens of others. It was the same for Jesus. He endured the cross for our sake, not His own. Still, in both cases, He shows us to go forward and keep on praying. It is the only way out.

Verse 36 is a very powerful lesson for us. Jesus was under such pressure that He felt His flesh (His own will, His feelings and emotions) strongly leading Him away from the will of God. Often when we are under pressure - and especially when our flesh has not yet been trained to steadfastly follow the will of God - we are intensively moved towards making our own decisions. You know what, Jesus understands even that! Yet, even in this He broke through and thus made the victory available for us also.

Verse 36 says, "And He was saying, Abba, [which means] Father, everything is possible for You. Take away this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You [will]."

Jesus wanted to run from His destiny. It was the most horrifying experience to be separated from His Father. He did not run from the physical death, He wanted to escape from being separated from His Father - which is the one horror we would never have to go through... unless we choose it, of course. Although his flesh was heavily leading Him away from the will of God, He chose to do what was right. Because He won the victory over the flesh, we too can make a choice to follow the will of God, rather than follow our flesh - our own desires and lusts, our emotions.

The will of God is written down in His Word. The will of God is for us to find the promises we need in His Word - for our health, protection, provision, salvation of our families, to love our sisters and brothers in Christ, to strengthen our marriages ... to do a right thing in a tough situation. It is His Will for us to believe and trust His promises and by faith receive them into our lives.

Those are possibly the most common pressures that we face in our daily lives: to sit down to watch TV rather than read and pray the Word of God; to go out with an unsaved person who is so attractive, rather than keep praying and waiting of God for the one right person who loves and serves God; to rely on medicine rather than keep taking the prescription drugs that God prescribed to those who are sick (Prov.4:20-22) - the living, healing Word of God (I am not commending You to throw out the medicine, instead, take both - the pills and the Word); to get mad at our family members instead of loving them; to give in to depression and self-pity instead of coming out through praise and worship and by using the name of Jesus against the negative emotions. We are daily facing pressure - to follow the flesh or to follow the Truth. Those steps Jesus taught us work for mind numbing pressure and for daily pressure:

1. have a friend to stand with You in prayer
2. keep moving forward
3. keep praying
4. make a firm choice to follow the will of God

Sometimes the mind numbing pressure is healthier - it makes us to fight... while we tend to ignore the daily pressures, allowing our flesh to win, until we have allowed our flesh to go so far we fall deep into a pit. So, it is better to fight the "little foxes that ruin our vineyards" while we can overcome them... rather than let them run free until the fight is going to be exceedingly fierce.

We have got the High Priest Who understands stress and pressure, Who is acquainted with grief and depression and shows us the way out. If we have been allowing our flesh to have the upper hand, we have to stop, beginning to train our spirit instead. We all are struggling with our flesh... until we train new habits that will allow our spirit to grow bigger and stronger than is our flesh. Only then can we have victory.

The great apostle Paul talks about such a struggle in Romans 7 and 8, saying, "For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot perform it. [I have the intention and urge to do what is right, but no power to carry it out.] For I fail to practice the good deeds I desire to do, but the evil deeds that I do not desire to do are what I am [ever] doing. Who will release and deliver me from [the shackles of] this body of death?" (v.18-19,24)

I'm sure we all have thought the very same thoughts. Yet, the apostle does not leave off here. He provides an answer to the struggle, rejoicing, "O thank God! [He will!] through Jesus Christ (the Anointed One) our Lord! So then indeed I, of myself with the mind and heart, serve the Law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin." (v.25)

Paul continues to rejoice, "Therefore, [there is] no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the Law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh [the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit]. Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh [subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice]." (Rom.8:1-3)

God broke the power of flesh to rule over our lives. Jesus won the victory on the cross for us so we can overcome pressure. He gave a part of Him - His Holy Spirit - to live within us, strengthening us, helping us to do the right thing, empowering us to overcome pressure. We are not alone. We are not weak, instead, we are strong in Him. We are victorious in Him. We are overcomers in Him. Yes, on our own we are weak... but in Him we are super strong! Wow!

So, "Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]." (Heb.4:16)

We've got the promises, we've been given the power to break through. When we make the right decisions, ALL the heaven is backing us up... we have no excuses to let go and give up, none what-so-ever! We are overcomers in Christ! We are strong in Christ! We are victorious in Him! So, lets run to Him and hang on to Him for He sure is hanging on to us.

Many, many blessings to You,

Words create images in our minds. When we speak, images begin to emerge and crop up in our minds. For instance, if I was to describe my new dress to you, it would go something like this: it is golden brown in color; with slim, golden, vertical stripes running through; the material is silk, mixed with a tad of cotton and a trifle of stretch fiber; the dress reaches my ankles, is sleeveless, and with a high collar. Can you see it?

When I described my new dress to you, did you see letters in front of your eyes? Did you see words rising to Your sight: color, stripe, golden? No, of course not! You actually saw an image of the dress. If I had only said I bought a dress, you could have imagined any dress, but with each more elaborate description, you had a more clear image of it.

Our words create images. When I would describe to you a person with words: fearful, introvert, unsocial, out of shape, depressed, badly dressed, dirty hair, you would immediately create an image of such a person in your mind. You would see him/her in your mind’s eye clearly - a very negative image.

With the help of our words we create an image of ourselves. When we are in a habit of speaking negative words about ourselves, the image we have brought into being is negative. This negative image controls our actions, which in turn lead to negative results in our lives.

I have been talking a lot about the importance of speaking the Word of God; of finding the promises that we need and "calling those things that be not as though they were", thus changing the situations in our lives. Our meditations and words have literally got us to where we are at present… and, they are the only way to better conditions and situations. In order to change our situations, we need to first change the images we hold of ourselves in our hearts. It is in our hearts where we are held prisoners, or are enjoying freedom and success. Our outside conditions are the reflections of the contents of our hearts.

Matthew 12:34-35 explains, "For out of the fullness (the overflow, the superabundance) of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man from his inner good treasure flings forth good things, and the evil man out of his inner evil storehouse flings forth evil things."

Everything begins from our hearts – where we hold an image of ourselves. Whatever has been stored in our hearts moves us to speak in a certain way… and our words in turn bring forth physical results and things in our lives, or the lack of them. It is not things that create more things, as we have often mistakenly thought. Our faith-filled words bring forth physical results.

The faith of our hearts is an actual material that brings forth what is being believed for. Hebrews 11:1 says that, "faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]."

Faith in our hearts is actually the proof of those things we do not yet see and the conviction of their reality. Faith in our hearts perceives as real fact what is not revealed to the senses. Faith-filled words create positive images in our minds, transforming the wrong images we have held onto in our hearts, and thus bringing forth the promises of God. Unfortunately, the same goes for the negative faith – fear. Fear-filled words create negative images in our hearts, bringing forth the promises of the devil, we can say.

In the book of Joshua we find one of the descriptions of the effect of fear-filled words, "when we heard it, our hearts melted, neither did spirit or courage remain any more in any man." (Joshua 2:11) Fear makes us to give up. It removes all our faith and courage.

There is much more fear around us than faith. It is hard work to “swim upstream”… until our muscles get trained and we begin to swim with ease. It is hard work in the beginning to check each word. But the more we meditate on the promises of God and speak them out – training our spiritual muscles - the easier it gets… and the more good results we begin to see manifest in our lives.

When God first gave the promise to Abraham, his name was Abram. Abram was unable to receive the promise of God because his image inside was blocking his faith. So, God changed his name.

God is teaching us a very important lesson here. He says to Abram, "As for Me, behold, My covenant (solemn pledge) is with you, and you shall be the father of many nations. Nor shall your name any longer be Abram [high, exalted father]; but your name shall be Abraham [father of a multitude], for I have made you a father of many nations." (Genesis 17:4,5)

God had given Abram the promise of becoming a father 23 years previously, yet Abram had not received the son of God’s promise. God’s promise was real. It belonged to Abram. Yet, it did not happen. Why? ... because Abram viewed the promise impossible. Several times he cried out to God in desperation, not in faith. So, God finally took drastic action. Although God’s promise was sure, He needed Abram’s faith to bring forth the impossible.

After God changed Abram’s name to Abraham – the father of many nations – it completely transformed the image he held in his heart. Suddenly he began to hear his hundreds of servants and shepherds calling him, “father of many nations”. His wife called him Abraham and so did all his friends. His image began to change. He went to people, introducing himself as “the father of many nations” and within one year he received the promise of God (which includes the 9 months of Sarah’s pregnancy).

Abraham finally began to call forth the promise of God. He literally "began to speak of future events with as much certainty as though they were already past." (Romans 4:17 Living Bible) When he began to truly see himself as the “father of many nations”, God’s promise became a reality.

This is exactly what we need to do in order to change the image inside and to transform our circumstances. We need to speak of the things we are believing for with as much certainty as though we already had them. God said to Abram, "I have made you a father of many nations," (stress added) speaking in the past tense… as though his promise had already been fulfilled.

This is one of the most important lessons we have to learn in order to change our present conditions: 1. We find the promises of God that we need; 2. We meditate them and we speak them out daily – in the present tense.

It really is very simple. This is why God has given us positive images in His Word – so that we can take them and change the images we have held of ourselves: from fear to never failing love, from failure to victory, from sickness and disease to perfect health, from poverty to prosperity, from barrenness to children. Whatever is Your need, the Bible contains the promise for You. Always remember that God desires You to have abundant life (John 10:10) and he shows us the way to attain it.

The most important reason though, I believe, we need to change the wrong images we’ve held of ourselves, is because in the beginning God created us in His image. Unless we find out what is God’s image and what He created us to be, we will remain almost like cripples, never arising to the level He would have us to live at. Genesis 1:27 says, "So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them."

When we begin to view ourselves in the image of God, our lives will change. God is a loving, healthy, positive, victorious, happy, creative Spirit… and we have been made in His image. He is a Faith Giant… and so should we be. He operates by faith... and so should we.

How Can the Impossible Become Possible?

I believe a lot of people fail in receiving the promises of God because they begin to wonder how they could possibly come to pass. Leave the how to the Lord. You do Your part and He will do His part. Our faith-filled words will begin moving spiritual forces to bring to pass what we confess. All the help we need will be sent to us.

There are many atheist mentors who teach their students that when they begin to change the image in their hearts – yes, the world has discovered this truth and is putting it to use in their lives – and speak the things they desire, they will begin attracting the answers to their problems. They call it “the law of attraction”. In other words, we literally attract the answers, wisdom and help we need to obtain our promise. So, please leave the how to the unseen. For if you don’t you will not have faith. Reasoning, analyzing, wondering, are the greatest enemies of faith… always remember that! And when you catch yourself doing one of these, stop, and instead concentrate on the promises of God, retaining that, "with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God is without power and impossible of fulfillment". (Luke 1:37)

Orison Swett Marden, writing in his 100-year-old classic, "How to Get What You Want", explains how creating an image works:

A piece of magnetized steel will attract only the products of iron ore. It has no affinity for wood, copper, rubber, or any other substance that has not iron in it. When you were a boy you found that your little steel magnet would pick up a needle but not a match or a toothpick. It would draw to itself only that like itself.

Men and women are human magnets. Just as a steel magnet drawn through a pile of rubbish will pull out only the things which have an affinity for it, so we are constantly drawing to us, establishing relations with, the things and the people that respond to our thoughts and ideals.

Our environment, our associates, our general condition are the result of our mental attraction. These things have come to us on the physical plane because we have concentrated upon them, have related ourselves to them mentally; they are our affinities, and will remain with us as long as the affinity for them continues to exist in our minds.

Your thoughts, your viewpoints, your conception of what your status and position in life will be, your ideal of your future, will draw you exactly to that plane like a lodestone. Focus your mind, your predictions, your expectations on poverty, failure and wretchedness; banish ambition, hope, expectation of good things, and give full sway in your mentality to fear, worry, doubt, anticipation of evil, and the ego magnet will draw you unerringly to squalid surroundings, to an in­ferior position, to association with persons of a lower order of mind on a meaner social plane.

The great trouble with all of us who are struggling with unhappy or unfortunate conditions is, that we have separated ourselves in some way from the great magnetic center of creation. We are not thinking right, and so we are not attracting the right things.

“Think the things you want.” The profoundest philosophy is locked up in these few words. No matter how discouraging your present outlook, how apparently unpromising your future, cling to your desire and you will realize it. Picture the ideal conditions, visualize the success, which you long to attain; imagine yourself already in the position you are ambitious to reach. Do not acknowledge limitations, do not allow any other suggestion to lodge in your mind than the success you long for, the conditions you aspire to. Picture your desires as actually realized, and hold fast to your vision with all the tenacity you can muster. This is the way out of your difficulties; this is the way to open the door ahead of you to the place higher up, to better and brighter conditions.

Lets begin to view ourselves the way God sees us - in His image - and our lives will naturally change.

Many, many blessings to You,