What to do with Thoughts

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 Corinthians 10:5 NIV)

There isn't a day that goes by that our minds are not bombarded by thoughts, good thoughts and bad thoughts. We can't help that, thoughts come to our minds from different sources, other people, ourselves, God, and the enemy. It is what we do with these thoughts that determines the outcome. The Apostle Paul says we are to take every thought, not just one or two, not just some, but EVERY thought that comes to our mind and compare it to what God says. If it lines up with the word of God, then we can continue with the thought. However, if it doesn't line up with the word of God, then we need to make the choice to stop dwelling on that thought. How do you do that? You speak to that thought what the word of God says. For example, if the thought comes to you that "you are worthless," then you need to speak "I am not worthless because the word of God says 'I am the head and not the tail', 'I am above only and not beneath,' 'the Lord thinks pleasing thoughts about me.'" Easier said than done, right? If you are like me, that wrong thought will keep trying to rise up in your mind. This is where you got to stand your ground and continue to speak the word of God over that wrong thought. I know it can get tiring, but the more you do this, the easier it will get.

Take Away: When a wrong thought comes to your mind, speak the word of God over that thought, and keep speaking the word of God. Eventually that wrong thought will cease.

Shake It Off

However, Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. (Acts 28:5 NET)

The Apostle Paul trusted God that He would take care of him. As he was sitting by a fire, a viper came out and bit Paul on the finger. Paul, trusting in God, looked at the snake, shook it off  and continued what he was doing. Paul had enough faith that what God promised him would happen and not even a viper would stand in the way. Unfortunately for most of us, when we are doing something and a proverbial "speed bump or road block" gets in our way, we get upset, angry, frustrated, we complain, we lose hope, etc. We need to look at the example Paul set for us. We need to look at the problem and shake it off, not letting it distract us, shake us, or even stop us. When the "road block or speed bump" happens to you, and you start to feel the anxiety rise up in you, you need to look at that problem and say "Yes, what I planned is not happening the way I thought it would, but God is in control, and He has a plan, so I am going to trust Him and remain in peace." 

Take Away: When something isn't going the way you thought it would, then take a step back and say to yourself, "God, I trust You that what needs to happen will happen, and although this isn't going the way I want it to, You are so much greater than this and I am going to trust You and continue doing what I need to do and remain in peace."

Consequences or Discipline?

Be keenly aware that just as a parent disciplines his child, the LORD your God disciplines you. (Deuteronomy 8:5 NET)

I've heard so many times from people that when they get sick, hurt, or some calamity comes to them, they are quick to say "God is punishing me for what I did." It is true that God punishes us, but to use a more correct term that the Bible uses, God disciplines us. The word used for discipline in the Hebrew from the Old Testament, and the Greek from the New Testament means to instruct, correct, reprove, and teach. God  disciplines us through correcting us and teaching us about what we did wrong. God does not discipline us by putting a sickness on us, nor does He discipline us by having our car break down, or by sending a tornado to destroy our house. God loves us and wants the best for us. What we have to remember is that although God loves us and will discipline us, there are consquences to our choices and actions that we make. For example, if you run a red light, most likely you will hit another car. This isn't God's discipline, hitting another car in this case was a consequence to your decision to run a red light. We also have to remember that we live in a fallen world, and there are natural things such as tornadoes and floods that are going to happen. There are so many things that we can not see, but in the midst of everything, we need to remember that He is still God, and we have got to place our trust in Him. 

Take Away: God will discipline us for bad actions and decisions, but we must be able to separate His discipline from consequences to our actions. In the midst of it all, we must trust Him and lean on Him knowing that He is still in control.

Am I Good Enough for God?

 O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD. (Psalms 139:1-4 NLT)

Have you ever thought that you were not good enough for God? Have you ever thought "why would God have anything to do with me, look at what I've done?" According to the Bible, God knows everything about you. That means EVERYTHING, the good and the bad! He knows every thought you have ever had, both the good thoughts and bad thoughts. He knows everything that you've said, both the good words and the words that have hurt other people. He knows everywhere that you have gone, both the good places and the bad places. He knows them all! And yet He chose to send Jesus to die for each of us so that we can have a relationship with Him. God loves you that much! You can never do anything, think anything, or speak anything that will separate you from His love. 

Take Away: Whenever those thoughts come to you that you are not good enough for Him, say to yourself "Yes, I have done and said many things in my life, but God already knows them, and He still loves me, therefore I am good enough for Him!" 

When You Hear God's Call

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. (1 Corinthians 9:24-25 NIV)

When God calls us to do some type of ministry, or even get involved in someone else's ministry, some of us, and I would venture to say most of us, think that we have to jump in and start doing that ministry the next day. Some of us even think we can go from doing nothing, to operating a global ministry overnight. But that just doesn't happen because if it would we would fall flat on our faces. When God calls you to do some type of ministry, He is telling you so that you can start preparing and training for it. God wants us to do things with excellence, and that only comes through training and preparation. For example, I felt God calling me to be a worship direction many years ago, but everytime an opportunity to take that role came along and I wouldn't get it. God kept closing the doors. Yes, I got frustrated and wondered if I was hearing HIm correctly. The problem was I that I was listening to the wrong voice. I heard God correctly about being a worship director, but then I started listening to my own voice that was saying "Kent, you got to do this now." When I decided to shut up and start listening to His voice, I heard Him saying that there are things I still need to learn before He could place me in that position. When I heard Him say that, I finally settled down and did all that I could to learn and eventually He opened the doors for me to take on the role of a worship director.

Take Away: When God calls you to a ministry, He is telling you so that you can start preparing. He will open the doors for you when you are ready and not a minute before. During that time of waiting is a time of learning and practicing.

Let People Go

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. (1 Corinthians 13:4-5 NIV)

Relationships, whether a romantic, friend or business relationship, may experience a time when that person in the relationship wants to go, for whatever reason. We may not understand why and we may not agree. We may think that if they leave, they will get hurt, OR if they leave it will be the end of the world for us, and therefore we try holding on to them and keep them from leaving. The problem with doing this is that the minute you try to keep them from leaving, you have taken away their right to choose whats best for them and you dishonor them. In essence, with you trying to hold on to them, you have become self-seeking. God is telling us in 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 that if we truly love someone, we will NOT dishonor them and we wont be self seeking. If someone wants to walk out of your life, then let them go. If you try holding on to them, strife, discord, anger, etc will start developing and you will eventually lose them anyway...and on bad terms. If you let them go, then you can rest assured that they left on good terms. And if you think "but Kent, I can't, you don't know what that will do to me, you don't know how lonely I will be, I can't live without that person."  True, I may not know how the absence of that person will affect you, but God does. He knows how you will hurt, He knows how lonely you will be, but through all of that, He will comfort you, and He will bring the right people around you that you need.

Take Away: if someone wants to walk out of your life, let them go...then trust that God will bring the people that you need in your life into your life.

Obeying God's Word: Part 2

No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it. (Deuteronomy 30:14 NLT)

The second thing we must do in order to obey God's word is to  get "in your heart." The word "heart" in the Hebrew means "center of your being." When something is in the center of your being, it is the only thing you can think about, it is on your mind constantly. In order for this to happen, you need to place His word in front of you every day, reading it, thinking about it, and meditating on it. If you continue to do this on a daily basis, it WILL get into the center of your being. So if God is telling you to do something, then according to Deuteronomy 30:14, if you speak His word that concerns whatever He is telling you to do (see the previous blog entry), and you think about that same word on a daily basis...THEN you will be able obey it...AND the words "God, it is too hard" will no longer be part of your vocabulary!

Take Away: When God is telling you to do something, speak His command and meditate on His command on a continual basis. As you do, obeying His word becomes easier and easier.

Obeying God's Word: Part 1

No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it. (Deuteronomy 30:14 NLT)

Yesterday I talked about how doing whatever God is telling you to do is not too difficult. Today I follow this up with why it is not too difficult. In Deuteronomy 30:14, God was telling the people of Israel that the only way to obey His command is to get it on your lips and in your heart. This means that just reading what the Bible says is not enough, there are two things we must do in order to obey God's word. First is we must speak the word (it is on your lips). Whenever we get a command from God, either through Him speaking directly to us, or in the Bible, we must start speaking the command, and not just once, but over and over and over, day after day after day. Each time your problem starts to rise up inside you, start speaking the word. Each morning when you wake up, look in the mirror and speak the word. Whenever I am dealing with a problem, I go to the Bible to find what God says about it. When I found the scripture, I would write it down on a piece of paper and put it in a place that I would see several times each day. Then each time I would pass it, I would stop and read it out loud. Each time that problem would start to rise up in me, I would speak the word out loud (sometimes I would say it several times). As I continued to do this, doing what the Bible said would start to become easier and easier. Tomorrow I will talk about the second thing we are to do.

Take Away: When you are dealing with a problem, and God shows you in His word what to do, write the word out, and put it somewhere where you are going to see several times each day. Then each time you pass it, stop and read it out loud. Then, whenever that problem starts rising up, speak the word.

It's Not Too Difficult

“This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach. (Deuteronomy 30:11 NLT)

It seems that everytime we go to God's word to find an answer for a problem we are having, we usually don't like the answer He is giving us. Why? Because the answer usually requires us to do something that we think is too hard for us to do. For example, you read in Philippians 2:14 that you are to do everything without complaining or arguing. You then realize you need to stop complaining but when you try the first time to not complain, you say "it is too hard." Well don't believe that lie because God says that the command He is giving you is NOT too difficult for you. As long as you keep saying and believing that it is too hard to do, it will be. You need to start changing what you are saying and start believing what God says. In this example, when the opportunity comes to start complaining, the words you need to say are "I am going to stop complaining because God says I need to do everything without complaining AND He said that this is not too difficult for me." If you apply this to every problem that comes up in your life, you will see changes take place.

Take Away: Whatever God is commanding you to do, look at yourself in the mirror and say "it is not too difficult for me."

God's Temple

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16 NET)

This is one of the things about Christianity that separates itself from all the other religions in the world. Our God is a living god, He is not dead. All the other religions serve a dead god. What makes this even more extraordinary is that not only is our God a living god, but His Spirit is living in us! Yes, when we became Christians, the Spirit of the living God CHOSE to live inside of us! Think about it, the Creator of the universe and everything in it, the stars, the moons, our earth, the trees, the mountains, the lakes and river, and us humans...He is living inside of us! Wow! If we really grasped a hold of this truth, then we would really think about how we conduct ourselves. Would we be watching on TV or the movies the same shows we are watching now? Would we be speaking to each other the same way we are speaking now? Would we be behaving like we are behaving now? This is a challenge to each person, myself included. 

Take Away: The next time you look in the mirror, look at yourself knowing that the Spirit of God is living on the inside of you and ask yourself, "where (not if) do I need to make changes in my life that glorifies the Spirit of God inside of me?"

Remembering

Think about the circumstances of your call, brothers and sisters. Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position. (1 Corinthians 1:26 NET)

In this passage, Paul was talking to the Corinthians about remembering how they became Christians. In that culture, position in culture was very important, wealth was important, and wisdom was important, that meant that your were somebody...not much different that today's standards. However, in God's kingdom, none of that matters. God doesn't look at the "Who is Who" book, and He doesn't look at the "Top 10 Wealthiest People in the World" and He doesn't look at who won the Pulitzer Prize or the Nobel Peace Prize. God's kingdom is based on love, and He chose to love and accept you, so much that He adopted you into His family. According to today's standard, I am not wealthy, I don't have a position of notariety, I am not the smartest person around, I not the best looking guy around (you don't see me on the front cover of Men's fitness nor on GQ), I am not a lot of things, but what I am stands head and shoulders above everything...I am a child of God, and He loves me and accepts me...defects and all. 

Take Away...Whenever you are feeling "not worthy" by today's standards, whenever you are feeling down because you may not be rich, or smart, or whatever, remember Who calls you His. Remember that the King of Kings chose you to be in His family, chose you to have a relationship with, and above all, remember that He loves you!

Closing Doors

When they came to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to do this, (Acts 16:7 NET)

There are many times that we try to go somewhere or do something, and each time we try, the proverbial door closes, an obstacle appears that prevents us doig or going. In Acts 16:6-7 Paul tries to go to two different places, but the Holy Spirit prevented him from going. It wasn't until Paul stopped "doing" and he rested that God showed him what to do. There have been many times that I wanted to do something, and each time I tried, something prevented me from doing it. At first I would get mad and frustrated because I wasn't getting my way. But after this kept happening, I knew something was up and I finally said, "Okay God, You are obviously keeping from from doing this, so I am going to stop and wait on You." I would say most of the time I would eventually find out why He was preventing me from doing what I wanted to do. Someimes we get in our mind that what we want to do has got to be the best thing ever, so why would God want to stop us. We don't see the big picture, but He does, and this is where trust comes in. Do you trust God or do you trust your circumstances? 

Take Away: When you are trying to do something or go somewhere, and every time you try, the door closes, take a step back and stop doing. Ask God, "okay, You are obviously keeping me from this, so I am going to trust that there is something I don't see that is not good for me, so what do You want me to do?"

When you are discouraged

Why are you depressed, O my soul? Why are you upset? Wait for God! For I will again give thanks to my God for his saving intervention. (Psalms 42:5 NET)

It doesn't matter what kind of life you have lived up until now, each of us has had good times, and we have had bad times. We have had times where we were discouraged, and we have had times where we have been encouraged. It's those sad, discouraging times that we seem to lose our focus on God, and focus on our situation at hand. When we find ourselves going through those times, we need to remember that God is on our side, that He is there, wanting to help us, but if we are constantly looking at our circumstances and not God, then we have more or less tied His hands in helping us. The psalmist is telling us that when we are discouraged, sad, down and out, whatever you want to call it, it is not the end of the world. In fact he gives us instruction during those times. He is telling us to be patient, wait for God, and while we are waiting, start thanking and worshipping Him for what He is about to do. 

Fear of Man

“17) Get up and prepare for action. Go out and tell them everything I tell you to say. Do not be afraid of them, or I will make you look foolish in front of them. 

18) For see, today I have made you strong like a fortified city that cannot be captured, like an iron pillar or a bronze wall. You will stand against the whole land— the kings, officials, priests, and people of Judah. 

19) They will fight you, but they will fail. For I am with you, and I will take care of you. I, the LORD, have spoken!” (Jeremiah 1:17-19 NLT)

God has instructed us to be bold, to step out and be a witness for Him and to speak His words of healing and comfort to the hurting. But how many times have we come across someone that was hurting, but were afraid to tell them how God could help them because we were afraid of what they might say, afraid that they would speak badly about us to their friends and family...in essence afraid that they would reject us. Our culture today is set against God and His word, but so was the culture of the first century when the church was just beginning. But that didn't keep the Apostle Paul from speaking out. Yes, he went to jail, but he also wrote two thirds of the New Testament and many were saved because he spoke out. The boldness that Paul and many others that went before us had came from the God, He is the only One that can strengthen us to stand and speak to the hurting. Yes, there will be people that will not accept what we are telling them, but remember what God said to Jeremiah, "they will fight you, but they will fail!" 

Take Away: The next time you see someone hurting, think about what God told Jeremiah, think about how Paul spoke out and shared healing words to the hurting. Use that as encouragement to battle the fear of what others would say and do, and then speak God's truth to the hurting. Remember, those fears will come, but they will fail for God is with you!

The Real Enemy

For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, (2 Corinthians 10:4 AMP)

When was the last time you got upset with someone because of something they did? Is that person the one you should be getting upset with? According to scripture, the answer is no.

The Bible says that our enemy is not flesh and blood (other people), but it is the strongholds and mindsets we have in our minds. When you get upset with someone, what is really happening is that a "button" was pressed inside of you that caused you to react in a destructive way. For example, I came out of many years of low self esteem, so what I thought I needed was constant validation from people. As a musician I had to be perfect because if I wasn't then people would look down at me...those are the thoughts that would go through my mind. So when someone would say, "Kent, you made a couple of mistakes in that piece you just played," instead of taking that as encouragement to practice more, I would take it personally and think they not only didn't ike my playing, but thought I was a horrible person, and therefore I would get upset with that person, and I would verbally lash out at that person. What God is saying in 2 Corinthians is that my battle is not with the other person, but with my mindset. Instead of getting upset with the other person, I need to re-direct all that energy, face my "wrong thinking" and allow God to heal me in that area. 

Take Away: the next time you find yourself getting upset with someone because of something they said, or did, instead of getting angry with them, take a step back and ask God, "why am I reacting this way, what is it inside of me that needs to be healed?" He will show you truth, and it is the truth that will set you free.

What are you seeking?

But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. (Matthew 6:33 AMP)

What are you seeking? Are you seeking a better job? Are you seeking a solution to our problem? Are you seeking better relationships? Are you seeking justice to a wrong done to you? If you are seeking any of these things, then you are seeking the wrong thing. What you should be seeking is His kingdom and His righteousness and you should be seeking this FIRST! So what is His kingdom? First Corinthians 4:20 says "For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power. (NET)." This means we need to do things God's ways, with love, with joy, with peace, with patience, with kindness. When you do this, you will be seeking His kingdom, and when you do this, then everything else will be added. God already knows what you need (Matt 6:32), and He said He will supply all your needs (Phil 4:19). So why be seeking these "things" when He is already going to provide them if you seek Him? So instead of seeking a better job, seek the One who can get you the better job. Instead of seeking the solution to your problem, seek the One who can give you the solution to the problem. Instead of seeking better relationships, seek the One who will find relationships that you need. Instead of seeking justice to a wrong done, seek the One who will deal with each person in the way they need to be dealt with. You will know that you are seeking Him and not the solution to your problems because when you do, you will be able to walk with joy, peace, patience, kindness and love and not worry about the solution.