My Thoughts Control The Direction Of My Life

In review of Proverbs 4:23 it says, “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts” (GNT).

Proverbs 4:20-23

Solomon reminds me to pay attention to what he saying. Listen carefully to these words. Don't lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into my heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole bodies. Therefore I need guard my heart above all else, for it will determine the course of my life.

My heart (the cockpit of my life where my feelings of love and desire are generated from) will dictate to a great extend how I live, because I always find time to do what I enjoy. Solomon tells me to guard my heart above all else, making sure I concentrate on those desires that will keep me on the right path. Make sure my affections push me in the right direction. Put boundaries on my desires: Don't go after everything I see. Look straight ahead, and keep my eyes fixed on my goal, and don't get sidetracked on detours that lead to sin.

What I’m reminded of all the time is that God is far more interested in changing my mind than changing my circumstances.

My first desire is to want God to take away all of the problems, pain, sorrow, suffering, sickness, and sadness. But God wants to work on me first, because transformation won’t happen in my life until I renew my mind, until my thoughts begin to change.

There are three important reasons for me to learn how to manage my mind:

1). Manage my mind because my thoughts control my life.

Proverbs 4:23 reminds me to, “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts” (GNT). My thoughts have a tremendous ability to shape my life for good or for bad. For example, maybe I had accepted a thought someone told me when I was growing up: “You’re worthless. You don’t matter.” If I accepted that thought, even though it was wrong, it had shaped my life. I must choose what thoughts I will let affect me for good or for bad.

2). Manage my mind because it is the battleground for sin.

All temptation happens in the mind. Paul says in Romans 7:22-23, “I love to do God’s will so far as my new nature is concerned; but there is something else deep within me, in my lower nature, that is at war with my mind and wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. In my mind I want to be God’s willing servant, but instead I find myself still enslaved to sin” (TLB). One reason I get mentally fatigued is because there’s a battle in my brain 24 hours a day. It’s debilitating because it’s intense, and it’s intense because my mind is my greatest asset. Satan wants my greatest asset!

3). Manage my mind because it’s the key to peace and happiness.

An unmanaged mind leads to tension. A managed mind leads to tranquility. An unmanaged mind leads to conflict. A managed mind leads to confidence. When I don’t try to control my mind and the way I direct my thoughts, I will experience an enormous amount of stress in my life. But a managed mind leads to strength, security and serenity.

“Letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace” (Romans 8:6 NLT).

Bottom Line:

Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.

What this means to me:

I need to guard my heart above all else, for it will determine the course of my life.

In summary, I need to really guard my heart above everything else, for it has the power to determine the course of my life. My heart is the cockpit of my life. It determines how I live. Therefore I should concentrate on those desires that will keep me on the right path. I need to put  some boundaries on my desires, keep my eyes fixed on my goal and avoid being sidetracked. God is far more interested in changing my mind than he is in changing my circumstances. Transformation won't happen in my life until renew my mind, until my thought begin to change. Therefore I need to manage my mind because my thoughts control my life, and it's the battleground for sin, and it's the key to peace and happiness.

Today’s I need to consider what I’ve been filing my mind with that please or disappoints God. I need to practice those things that will help me manage it. When I feel myself getting distracted I can bring to mind Proverbs 4:23 and remind myself to guard what I fill my mind with. This morning Father I pray and ask for your continued wisdom and guidance in how I handle my job, how I lead my team and how I interact with others. Help me to live a life that will help make a difference in the lives of others. These things I pray in your Son Jesus name, amen!

Faith Will Help Me Focus My Goals

In review of Ephesians 3:20 it says, “God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!” (The Message).

Ephesians 3:20-21

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within me, to accomplish infinitely more than I might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever.

His power at work in me can do far more than I can ever dare ask or imagine. In my union with Christ and through his empowering Spirit, I can be complete. I have all the fullness of God available to me. But I must appropriate this fullness through my faith in Him and in my prayers as I live each day for him. I can ask the Holy Spirit to fill every aspect of my life to the fullest.

Setting goals is important because the Bible tells us that Jesus set goals. In fact, he often announced publicly what his goal was for the next phase of his ministry.

So why should I set goals? Here are three things I have come across this morning:

1). I need to set goals because it is a spiritual responsibility. If I don’t have goals for my life, I have already decided to let other people run my life. When I don’t decide in advance what’s important, I’m letting other people decide. I end up wasting my time and my life, because I haven’t clarified how I want to grow as a follower of Christ. The Bible says that to be spiritually mature, I have to set your goals and move toward them as I keep my eyes focused on them. Paul said in Philippians that, “I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize . . . I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done. All of us who are mature should think in this same way” (Philippians 3:12, 14-15 CEV).

2). I need to set goals because they are statements of faith. As a believer in Jesus Christ, when I set a goal, I’m saying, “I believe that God wants me to accomplish this by this time. This is what I believe God is going to do in my life.” Goals aren’t just a statement of faith. They stretch it. The bigger my goal, the more my faith will be stretched. And that pleases God. Ephesians 3:20 says, “God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!” (The Message).

3). I need to set goals because they focus my energy. Focus is the key to an effective life. If I spread my energy out and diffuse it over a whole bunch of things, I won’t make an impact at all. But if I focus my life, it’s going to be powerful, and it will change the world around me..

Afterall, I don’t have time to do everything. But here’s the good news: God doesn’t expect me to do everything! The key to being effective in life as a follower of Jesus is to do what matters most and forget everything else. Goals will help me maintain that kind of focus. “I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something—not just the air” (1 Corinthians 9:26 NCV).

Bottom Line:

His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine.

What this means to me:

By means of his power working in me, I am able to do so much more than I could ever ask for, or even think of.

In summary, His power at work in me can do far more than I can ever dare ask or image. I have the privilege of having all the fullness of God available to me. But, I must appropriate this through my faith in Him and in my daily prayers as I live for him. Setting goals is import, as Jesus set goals. I need to set goals because it is a spiritual responsibility. If I don't I'm letting others decide and I will end up wasting my time and life. I have to set goals and move toward them as I keep my eyes focused on them. Secondly I need to set goals because they are statements of faith. I'm saying I believe that God wants me to accomplish this by this time. I also need to set goals because doing so will focus my energy. This way I won't spread my energy out and diffuse it over a whole bunch of things and not make any impact. I don't have time to do everything, so the key to being effective is to do what matters most and forget everything else. Goals will help me maintain that focus.

As I reflect on the past year, I'm not sure I had goals of my own that I focused on. Especially at work, I let others decide for me base on not being focused on what I know I needed to do. I never really thought of goals as being a statement of faith in doing what God would have wanted me to do. Without my own specific goals at work, I was not able to focus my energy and make the impact I wanted to.  I will consider today what kind of goals I need at work to do the things I know need to be done.

Father I thank you for your blessings and your never ending love for me. I pray today for your continued wisdom and guidance in my job, leadership and response to others. I ask for you to help me focus and have clarity on the goals I need to establish for what I know needs to be done at work. Also help me consider and do what I can to help out in ministry at church (perhaps a small group discussion leader at Financial Peace training.) These things I pray in your Son Jesus name, amen!

Jesus Wants to Bear My Burden with Me

In review of Matthew 11:28-30 it says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (RSV).

Today’s passage comes from Matthew 11:28-30, where Jesus promises rest for my soul. He tells me that if I am tired from carrying heavy burdens and loads, I can come to him and he will give me rest. Take the yoke he gives, put it on my shoulders and then learn from him. For he is gentle and humble, and in him I will find rest. For his yoke is easy to bear, and it makes the burden much lighter.

A yoke is a heavy wooden harness that fits over the shoulders of an ox or oxen. It is then attached to a piece of equipment the oxen are to pull. A person can be carrying heavy burdens of sin, excessive demands, oppression/persecution, or weariness in the search for God. Jesus frees people from all these burdens. The rest that Jesus promises is love, healing, and peace with God, not the end of all labor. A relationship with God changes meaningless, wearisome toil into spiritual productivity and purpose.

The yoke emphasizes the challenges, work, and difficulties of partnering with Christ in life. Responsibilities weigh us down, even the effort of staying true to God. But Jesus' yoke remains easy compared to the crushing alternative. Jesus doesn't offer a life of luxurious ease, the yoke is still an oxen's tool for working hard. But it's a shared yoke, with weight falling on bigger shoulders than mine. Someone with more pulling power is up front helping. Suddenly I am participating in life's responsibilities with a great Partner, and now any frown can turn into a smile, and that gripe into a song.

If you don’t really understand what a yoke is, it’s hard to understand what this passage means. When Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you,” it sounds a lot like he was going to give me something else to deal with. My burden is heavy enough already, Lord! I don’t need to take on an additional load! Knowing what a yoke is, a board with two arches in it that you put over two cattle so they can pull a cart and that is halves the load. Without a yoke, one animal’s got to pull that entire load by itself. But if you yoke up one animal with another, then the two animals pull the load together, and the load is half as heavy.

So when Jesus says to take his yoke, he’s not saying he’s going to give me an additional load, rather He’s saying he’s going to share my problems. He’s going to share my load. He’s going to take my stress on himself and bear it with me.

He uses three notable verbs in this Scripture: come, learn, and take. Jesus says, “Come to me. Team up with me. Then, learn how I do it. Take on a lighter load. This is going to reduce my stress. This is going to make it easier for me to navigate.”

When yoked with Christ, I move together with him. I move in the same direction and at the same speed.

Bottom Line:

If your carrying heavy burdens and concern, come to Jesus and rest. Take the yoke he gives, and put it on and learn from him. For He is gentle and humble. His yoke is easy to bear, and his burden is light.

What this means for me:

If I examine my life and think about the heavy burdens and workload I experience, he tells me to take his yoke and put it on. He will partner with me and teach me his gentle and humble ways. With his help my burdens will be easier and the load will be much lighter.

In summary, I can get Jesus assistance with my heavy burdens and load. I can come to him and he will give me rest. I simply just need to take the yoke he gives me, put it on my shoulders and then learn from him. For he is gentle and humble. In him I will find rest, for his yoke is easy to bear and it will greatly make the burden much lighter. A relationship with God changes meaningless, wearisome toil into spiritual productivity and purpose. I need to come and team up with him. Learn how to do it. And then take his yoke and lighten my load. I pray this morning for your continued guidance and wisdom in handling my tasks, leading others and serving others. These things I pray in your Son Jesus name, amen!

Getting Back to God in 2019

In review of Jeremiah 29:13 it says, “When you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed” (The Message).

Today’s verse is from Jeremiah 29:11-13. Where Jeremiah, speaking for God tells me, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans He has for me. They are plans for my good and not for disaster, to give me a future and a hope.” When I pray, He will listen. If I look for him wholeheartedly, I will find Him.

I'm encouraged by a leader who stirs me to move ahead, someone who believes I can do the task he has given and who will be with me all the way. God is this kind of leader. He knows the future, and his plans for me are good and full of hope. As long as God, who knows the future, provides my agenda and goes with me as I fulfill his mission, I can have boundless hope. This won't mean that I won't be spared pain, suffering, or hardship, but that God will see me through to a glorious conclusion.

God has not forgotten me. In times of deep trouble, it may appear as though God has forgotten me. But God may be preparing me, as he did the people of Judah, for a new beginning with him at the center.

According to God's wise plan, his people (including me) are to have a hope and a future; consequently, they could call upon him in confidence. Although the exiles were in a difficult place and time, they did not need to despair because they had God's presence, the privilege of prayer, and God's grace. God can be sought and found when I seek him wholeheartedly. Neither strange lands, sorrows, frustration, nor physical problems can break my communion with God.

How do I get back to him? There are three things I need to do to get back to God.

First, get fed up with your life. Nothing is going to happen in my life until I get dissatisfied with the way I am, until I can say, “I don’t like this. I’m tired of being stressed out all the time. I’m tired of being frustrated all the time. I’m tired of being overworked all the time. I’m tired of feeling distant from God.” Why does God let me get to this point? Because he loves me just the way I am, but he loves me too much to let me stay that way. He will not let me waste my life. God tells me in Jeremiah 29:13, “When you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed” (The Message).

Second, own up to my sin.

Isaiah 59:2 says, “The trouble is that your sins have cut you off from God. Because of sin he has turned his face away from you” (TLB). It’s much like having prayed and feeling like God was a million miles away or like there was this wall between us? Where does that come from? My sins have separated me from God. But if I feel far from God, guess who moved? God has always been there. He loves me unconditionally, and he’s waiting for me to own up to my sin so I can have a right relationship with him again.

Thirdly, give up control. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “We all show the Lord’s glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings ever greater glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (NCV). True transformation happens when my heart moves from self-centeredness to God-centeredness. Am I there yet? That kind of transformation doesn’t happen overnight. God is going to work on me my entire life. But to start the process, I have to make a decision to repent and, “in view of God’s mercy, to offer myself as a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1 NIV).

What I’m being reminded of this morning is that God desires to be close to me and he promises that when I seriously seek him, I will not be disappointed.

Bottom Line:

If you look for Him wholeheartedly, you will find Him.

What this means to me:

You will seek me, and you will find me because you will seek me with all your heart.

In summary, God has plans for me and they are plans for my good and not my devastation, to give me a future and a hope. When I pray, he will listen. If I look for him wholeheartedly, I will find Him. God is a great leader who believes that I can do the task he has given me. He promises me to be with me through it. While at times it may appear that God may have forgotten me, he is preparing me. I can seek and find him if I wholeheartedly look. In order for me to get back to him, I need to "get fed up with my life and the way things are going / turning out."  Next I need to own up to my sin, which has cut me off and kept me disconnected from a close relationship with him. Lastly I need to give up control. I need to move from self-centeredness to God-centeredness. God desires to be close to me and he promises that when I seriously seek him, I will not be disappointed.

Going into this holiday break I had, I had experienced a year in which I had been stressed out, frustrated and overworked. God had taught me a lot about myself, and my humility. This year, I want to continue to get closer to God. I need to consider what sin in my life am I allowing to block me from my closeness with him. In retrospect, the thing that comes to mind is my own self-centeredness. I will need to give up control of my situation and how I have been managing it. I know the things I need to do to clean things up and bring organization and process. I need to concentrate I accomplishing this through him and his guidance.

Today Father, I thank you for the wonderful time I had off. I thank you for my new grandson Xander and the time I've had with Logan. Today I ask for your guidance and wisdom in my work, relationships, leadership and responses to others. Help me work stress free today and just enjoy life. These things I pray in your Son Jesus name, amen!