BY REV. DORAL PULLEY, Today’s Church Tampa Bay
“But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falls (Luke 11:17).”
Your mind is the thinking part of your soul. Like seeds sown in the ground, the thoughts that you hold in mind reproduce themselves in your health, finances, and relationships. You cannot stop ideas from coming to your mind, but you can decide how much energy you give to those ideas.
Until you give an idea energy, it is simply a suggestion. You decide what suggestions to accept and what suggestions to reject. The suggestion does not become your thought until you accept and give it energy.
The Bible says, “Pray without ceasing (I Thessalonians 5:17).” Every thought is a prayer. What thoughts consume your attention the most? Ideas focused on separation, perceived differences with people rather than your similarities?
The Kingdom Principle of Divine Nature reminds you that every person is a spiritual being and God’s beloved offspring. Prayer changes your way of thinking and empowers you to think of each male as your brother, each female as your sister, and each individual as your sibling. All people desire to be loved and accepted for who they are.
Regardless of differences, God made each of us in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-28). Therefore, everyone is worthy of love and respect. You can grow in consciousness to the point where there is no person or a group of people that you have challenges accepting because of their age, gender, race, orientation, socio-economic status, educational level, religion, or any other aspect of their personality.
To have true fellowship, you must accept people who appear different from you because you have more in common with them than those differences. Stretch yourself to start a conversation with a person whom you feel is different from you.
Rev. Doral Pulley is the senior pastor of Today’s Church Tampa Bay, 940 5th Ave. S, St. Petersburg (Staybridge Suites) and 5107 North Central Ave., Tampa.
