If you guys get an opportunity check out Jared Verwiel's post, "Leading People With Grace."
It is Fantastic!
http://jaredverwiel.blogspot.com/2007/03/leading-people-with-grace.html
Monday, April 16, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
What are you thinking?
What are you thinking?
I am constantly bombarded with thoughts. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, but nonetheless I am always thinking. What about you? What is the state of your mind? Do you think happy thoughts, sad thoughts, simply meaningless jibber-jabber? The truth of the matter is that we all think and we are always thinking. Maybe a few of us aren’t thinking to clearly, but thoughts are going through our heads.
Do you ever think about what you are thinking? Do that few a few moments………..
What is going on inside of your head?
I think that we as Christians need to be better at checking our thoughts. Especially due to the fact that our lives are shaped by what we think. The Bible, in Romans 12:2 and Ephesians 4:23, says that in order to change we must renew our minds, or simply change what we think about. Think about it, if you fighting a problem with alcohol abuse then going to a bar every night is only going to make it worse. If you have a problem with lewd and lustful desires, then watching movies that are full of sexual innuendos is not a good idea. The old adage is true, what we put into our minds will eventually come out.
The awesome thing is that the same is true for walking with the Lord. When we begin to fill our minds with the Word of God, guess what happens… it will come out! When we place ourselves in the midst of others walking with the Lord, we are encouraged to walk with the Lord as well. The battle for our minds is crucial! Satan and his adversaries are doing everything they can to control our minds and what we think about. Look at the way Satan is controlling the media that inundates our society. We are flooded with the ideas of sex, drugs, partying, etc. [Please don’t hear me saying that these things are bad. They are actually good in their proper context. (sex inside of marriage, drugs to heal illness, party to celebrate friendship, love, etc.)] However, these things outside of their context will destroy you.
Advertisements are geared to make us want a product, whether good or bad. The media of our day knows that what we think about will eventually come to fruition. Why do you think that McDonalds shows the best looking cheeseburger you have ever seen, or why does Victoria’s Secret only use the best built and best looking models. They are on a quest to get their product into your mind so that you will want it. This is not a new strategy. It has been going on since the beginning in the garden with Adam and Eve. The Serpent “helped” Eve to see (think) that the fruit was actually a good thing. It wasn’t a good thing before, but now all of a sudden it is. The serpent knew that if he could make her look at the fruit in a different light she would give in to the temptation. It is the same way today. Satan knows that if he can get our mind fixated on sinful things then we will give in to them and not grow in our relationship with the Lord. That is his strategy; he will deceive you in any way possible.
So what do we do? We MUST take control of our minds and decide what we think about. Paul tells the Corinthians that, “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.” (2 Cor. 10:5)
Jesus told the Pharisees, when asked what is the greatest commandment, to “love the Lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matt. 22:37; Mk. 12:30; Lk. 10:27) We must guard our minds from the world that we may love God with our minds as well as our heart and soul.
It is obvious that our minds and the thoughts that they think are very important. To experience true peace of mind we must win the battle for our minds!
The battle for our minds is a fierce one, who is winning your battle?
I am constantly bombarded with thoughts. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, but nonetheless I am always thinking. What about you? What is the state of your mind? Do you think happy thoughts, sad thoughts, simply meaningless jibber-jabber? The truth of the matter is that we all think and we are always thinking. Maybe a few of us aren’t thinking to clearly, but thoughts are going through our heads.
Do you ever think about what you are thinking? Do that few a few moments………..
What is going on inside of your head?
I think that we as Christians need to be better at checking our thoughts. Especially due to the fact that our lives are shaped by what we think. The Bible, in Romans 12:2 and Ephesians 4:23, says that in order to change we must renew our minds, or simply change what we think about. Think about it, if you fighting a problem with alcohol abuse then going to a bar every night is only going to make it worse. If you have a problem with lewd and lustful desires, then watching movies that are full of sexual innuendos is not a good idea. The old adage is true, what we put into our minds will eventually come out.
The awesome thing is that the same is true for walking with the Lord. When we begin to fill our minds with the Word of God, guess what happens… it will come out! When we place ourselves in the midst of others walking with the Lord, we are encouraged to walk with the Lord as well. The battle for our minds is crucial! Satan and his adversaries are doing everything they can to control our minds and what we think about. Look at the way Satan is controlling the media that inundates our society. We are flooded with the ideas of sex, drugs, partying, etc. [Please don’t hear me saying that these things are bad. They are actually good in their proper context. (sex inside of marriage, drugs to heal illness, party to celebrate friendship, love, etc.)] However, these things outside of their context will destroy you.
Advertisements are geared to make us want a product, whether good or bad. The media of our day knows that what we think about will eventually come to fruition. Why do you think that McDonalds shows the best looking cheeseburger you have ever seen, or why does Victoria’s Secret only use the best built and best looking models. They are on a quest to get their product into your mind so that you will want it. This is not a new strategy. It has been going on since the beginning in the garden with Adam and Eve. The Serpent “helped” Eve to see (think) that the fruit was actually a good thing. It wasn’t a good thing before, but now all of a sudden it is. The serpent knew that if he could make her look at the fruit in a different light she would give in to the temptation. It is the same way today. Satan knows that if he can get our mind fixated on sinful things then we will give in to them and not grow in our relationship with the Lord. That is his strategy; he will deceive you in any way possible.
So what do we do? We MUST take control of our minds and decide what we think about. Paul tells the Corinthians that, “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.” (2 Cor. 10:5)
Jesus told the Pharisees, when asked what is the greatest commandment, to “love the Lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matt. 22:37; Mk. 12:30; Lk. 10:27) We must guard our minds from the world that we may love God with our minds as well as our heart and soul.
It is obvious that our minds and the thoughts that they think are very important. To experience true peace of mind we must win the battle for our minds!
The battle for our minds is a fierce one, who is winning your battle?
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Who Are You Counting On?
Have you ever been worried? Have you ever questioned yourself to death about what to do next? Have you ever tried to figure out God’s will for a situation without asking Him?
I think these are some of the things that have been ravaging my brain lately. What am I going to do if this happens… or if this happens, or that? It seems like every time I get into a difficult situation I begin squirming trying to help God figure out what needs to happen. Often times I completely forget to inquire from God about what He wants. I know this sounds so foolish, but it’s true. I think about and question myself to death working through every scenario of what might could possibly, maybe happen. Usually, if I would simply let God carry these burdens for me they would soon dissipate.
The Bible is full of examples of men and women trying to take matters into their own hands. These examples don’t seem to ever turn out good. Think about Abraham and Sarah. God promised He was going to give them offspring, when it didn’t happen on their time table they took matters into their own hands. Abraham sleeps with Hagar, Sarah’s servant, and has a son, but the not the son of the promise. Moses kills a man for beating a Hebrew. The Israelites made a golden calf because they got impatient. David sends Uriah the Hittite to the front lines of battle so he is not held accountable for his adultery with Bathsheba. Jonah got on a boat and headed to Tarshish away from the Lord. Judas sold out Jesus for some silver. Over and over again we see the same thing happen, men try to take matters into their own hands and fail… miserably.
With the Bible giving us so many examples, why can’t we see the light? Why can’t we learn from these men and women’s mistakes?
If you struggle with this, please understand that you are in good company. When you get a chance read Hebrews 11. This chapter is widely recognized as the Hall of Faith, acknowledging men and women who have been noted for their faithfulness to God. Almost every one of these people went through some tough situations where they tried to take matters into their own hands. After this time of learning they made some of the most faithful men and women ever.
My question to us all is this: are we going to become like these in the Hall of Faith? Are we going to learn from our mistakes and learn to trust God in all that happens? Are we going to let Him use our lives for something wonderful, as an example to a lost world, or are we simply going to live in doubt and fear?
I pray that we will begin to trust God in the big and the small, in the important and the menial. Will you trust God with the decisions that lie in your future? Will you go to God with your questions, worries, and burdens before you take matters into your own hands? Understand that we worship a God who will take care of us, who will meet our every need. He will never forget about us, nor will he ever leave us or forsake us. He loves us no matter what!
I think these are some of the things that have been ravaging my brain lately. What am I going to do if this happens… or if this happens, or that? It seems like every time I get into a difficult situation I begin squirming trying to help God figure out what needs to happen. Often times I completely forget to inquire from God about what He wants. I know this sounds so foolish, but it’s true. I think about and question myself to death working through every scenario of what might could possibly, maybe happen. Usually, if I would simply let God carry these burdens for me they would soon dissipate.
The Bible is full of examples of men and women trying to take matters into their own hands. These examples don’t seem to ever turn out good. Think about Abraham and Sarah. God promised He was going to give them offspring, when it didn’t happen on their time table they took matters into their own hands. Abraham sleeps with Hagar, Sarah’s servant, and has a son, but the not the son of the promise. Moses kills a man for beating a Hebrew. The Israelites made a golden calf because they got impatient. David sends Uriah the Hittite to the front lines of battle so he is not held accountable for his adultery with Bathsheba. Jonah got on a boat and headed to Tarshish away from the Lord. Judas sold out Jesus for some silver. Over and over again we see the same thing happen, men try to take matters into their own hands and fail… miserably.
With the Bible giving us so many examples, why can’t we see the light? Why can’t we learn from these men and women’s mistakes?
If you struggle with this, please understand that you are in good company. When you get a chance read Hebrews 11. This chapter is widely recognized as the Hall of Faith, acknowledging men and women who have been noted for their faithfulness to God. Almost every one of these people went through some tough situations where they tried to take matters into their own hands. After this time of learning they made some of the most faithful men and women ever.
My question to us all is this: are we going to become like these in the Hall of Faith? Are we going to learn from our mistakes and learn to trust God in all that happens? Are we going to let Him use our lives for something wonderful, as an example to a lost world, or are we simply going to live in doubt and fear?
I pray that we will begin to trust God in the big and the small, in the important and the menial. Will you trust God with the decisions that lie in your future? Will you go to God with your questions, worries, and burdens before you take matters into your own hands? Understand that we worship a God who will take care of us, who will meet our every need. He will never forget about us, nor will he ever leave us or forsake us. He loves us no matter what!
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