WEBVTT

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Have you had a problem with believing and trusting something in the Bible, or better

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yet with obeying it, because it didn't make sense or it made you feel uncomfortable?

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I'm not talking about obscure things.

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I'm talking about clear things.

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In everything give thanks, consider it all joy, love your neighbor and your enemies.

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You have died and your life is hid with Christ in God.

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Hi, I'm Suzy Marvin.

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I spent decades feeling like I had to force my mind to believe something or choose to

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do something because God is God and He says so.

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Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding was

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the first verse I memorized, but my own understanding didn't know how to cooperate.

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I also avoided reading parts of the Bible because I didn't know what to do with them.

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After many years of trying to please God or avoid His displeasure, I realized I was actually

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resisting Him and the parts of the Bible I couldn't grasp.

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I went to Him to receive what He has for me instead.

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We entered into the process of Holy Spirit calling me near and guiding me into the truth

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I need now in a way I can receive.

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It's my unrestored mind and resulting emotions that resist Him and His word.

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And He's in the business of restoring my mind.

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I found I can say yes to Him with my restored mind.

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For me, that means I can intentionally receive a truth in the core of my being with trust

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instead of my own understanding and it doesn't feel dishonest or inauthentic.

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He's opening my awareness, which restores more of my thinking, which changes my behavior.

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Romans 10, 9 refers to us believing in our hearts.

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I'm suspecting that our minds are not where we believe.

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I would guess that most of us have thought we relate to God with our spirits primarily

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in our minds and also our hearts.

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I have learned that I can engage with His face-to-face presence in my center, my core,

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where He empowers me to believe Him and say yes to Him and love Him wholeheartedly and

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want what He wants.

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And when I say Him, I mean them, the three, Father God, Lord Jesus, and Holy Spirit.

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Over the years, I had experienced God's overwhelming presence on several occasions, but they were

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like visits with fond memories.

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I was sure that I couldn't actually live in that presence and function in the physical

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world.

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I am so grateful that isn't true.

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The New Testament mentions our inner man.

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It also says we have a midriff, that sounds like center or core to me.

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The Greek word for the center place is phrein, it's spelled P-H-R-E-N, pronounced F-R-A-N-E.

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That's our core, our center, our gut.

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God has created all of us with a mind and a center place.

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We're familiar with our minds and our thinking, and most people also know about gut feelings

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and intuition, but I had not learned what God has to say in the Bible about our center

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because the Greek words about our phrein are translated with mind-related words.

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Exploring the verses referring to our phrein helps us recognize when God is talking about

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it and not our thinking or understanding.

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I am excited to share what I've discovered.

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There are many ways people refer to this gut, center, core, inner place.

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I'm going to use the Greek word phrein and leave it up to you which word you want to

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use instead.

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How would you describe your phrein?

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What is Holy Spirit showing you about your phrein?

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The Bible talks more about the exercise of the frame than the frame itself.

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What words would you use to describe what happens in and through your frame?

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I'd appreciate hearing what you have to say in the comments section below. Thanks for watching.