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.