We’ve started a series on finding your sweet life—finding out and DOING what God made you to do.  I'm very big on this.  I believe strongly you should go after your dreams, not because you're looking for validity or purpose but because your rooted in your true identity as God's beloved child who has amazing gifts inside to share with the world!  Spirituality plays a huge role here and there are many factors that come into play, but today I want to focus on this one.

Tons of influencers, authors and life-coaches have made their money speaking on “manifesting your dreams” and "speaking your mantras."  I get it and even believe in the power of it, but most of them leave out one key factor that, in my opinion, makes it stale, lifeless and unfulfilling. Let’s freshen it up and add some truth bombs.

First off, I believe there are a few types of people on this issue.  One type: people who fully embrace it and actually experience positive outcomes from it.  Another type: Christians who stay far away because of the new age origins.  If you weren't aware, mantras are deeply rooted in ancient spiritual traditions like Hinduism and Buddhism.

I am a Christian and here are my thoughts on the matter!  

Nothing that exists got here without God, the ultimate Creator.  If we go back to the very beginning in the Garden of Eden, the serpent came and started perverting and contorting everything that God meant for good. He himself was created by God, but the Bible never says he was made in the image of God like we were (Genesis 1:27). Therefore satan cannot create, he can only pervert something that was already created by God or by us humans, who were made in His image.  It is my belief that humans were designed to create based on their pure and natural God-given instincts and ideas. Evil things do get created of course, but only under the influence of satan who is constantly twisting and deceiving us from those pure instincts and ideas that God put in us.  There are many examples I can think of that God created but that have become evil because of perversion and wayward hearts.  I'm sure you can too.

This can also be true with the principles behind things like manifesting and mantras.  If we look into the meaning of manifesting, it simply means: the practice of using positive thoughts, intentions and visualizations to attract desired outcomes into your life.  Mantra is defined as a word, sound or expression used repeatedly to aid in manifesting.  

As a Christian, instead of running away and throwing it out because it sounds New Age, if I take a closer look, I'm actually hearing what sounds very familiar to some powerful principles I read in my Bible:

On Manifesting:

Philippians 4:8 AMP: "...think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart.]... Whatever is true...honorable...worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God's word, whatever is pure and wholesome...lovely and brings peace...admirable...of good repute, if there is any excellence...if there is anything worthy of praise..."

Romans 12:2 AMP: "...Be transformed and progressively changed by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes]..."

2 Corinthians 10:5: "Take every thought captive..."

Colossians 3:2 AMP: "Set your minds and keep focused habitually on the things above...not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value.]"

On Mantras:

Proverbs 12:14: "A man will be satisfied with good from the fruit of his words..."  

Proverbs 18:21: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it and indulge it will eat its fruit and bear the consequences of their words."

James 3:1-12 (is too long to quote, but it's all about the power of our words.)

So am I saying I believe God created the concept of mantras and manifesting?  Well, yes!  But His plans and purposes for it got hijacked. Instead of thinking and meditating on things of the Spirit [His will and purpose], we started setting our minds on the things of the flesh [which gratify the body...living a life that caters to sinful appetites and impulses.] (Romans 8:5-8)  Instead of keeping our minds focused on things above, we used it to set our eyes on money, power, success, material possessions, etc. which Proverbs 23:4 warns us against.

This doesn't mean we should throw out these spiritual practices; it means we should bring them back to their original purpose.  

No matter which group you fall into on manifesting and mantras, remember the goal of the evil one is always to try and get us to focus on ourselves because this distracts and separates us from God and His will for us!  But don't forget, another tactic of his can also be to keep you ignorant to the power God gave us in these Biblical tools to keep you from using them.

After Adam and Eve handed satan their God-given power, Christ came to buy back that power so that now we have redemption and all of those things that got messed up, can now be given back.  

I see all the new age stuff simply as plagiarized ideas that were stolen and repackaged, removing Christ (the most important piece of the puzzle) and sold as self-help.  

If you're a Christian and reading this, maybe try to look with new eyes at things that seem a little “off”.  Are they simply a counterfeit of something good and powerful that were redeemed for you?  Maybe not to have a better life, so to speak--but given as instructions and principles to live by, which are meant to lead you closer to Christ. (Which by default, does make you have a better life.)  

When He is our firm foundation and the reason behind all of our endeavors, our motive behind these things is not to glorify our SELF but to glorify Him.  Training my mind and having power over my thoughts was God’s idea first, and using my words  to create and establish things here on earth was actually modeled to us first when God spoke the earth into existence.  Maybe the difference is that I'm visualizing, praying and focusing on Christ when I do these things, aligning my heart, mind and my dreams with His.

The self-help crowd misses out when they remove Christ! If you really want to find your sweet life, find Him first.

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