The Refreshed Mind

Recently I read Romans 12:2 and it seemed like I was reading it for the first time. God encourages us to think outside the box of this world's thinking (which is not a bad idea these days) and experience the transformation that happens in your mind when it is refreshed by the word in any given situation.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing (refreshing) of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:2

The world's ploys and scheme of things can drop a gloomy veil over our surroundings. We can't see it, but we can feel it.  The very second God's word crosses our mind everything seems to lift. It is just like the morning fog that lifts as the light from the sun burns it off.

The word of God is refreshing! God challenges us to prove it to ourselves. Try it you'll like it! The word buoys our hearts and lifts us so often beyond what we ask or think! We have decisions to make about many things. A while back I was tentative about where we were planning to go to get away from the snow.  My husband was eager to go to a certain place and I just hadn't thought about it. I felt like I lacked the enthusiasm to do the things necessary to do it but decided to just give it to God. I just didn't worry about it; neither did I dive in and work at it to overcome my lack of enthusiasm. Well, as the days went on I started looking forward to the getaway. I didn't have to work hard or long in preparation, things fell into place so beautifully. I was abundantly blessed by it all. The whole thing turned out better than I could have expected.

There is so much in our lives that God can influence and bless. We just have to let him. Many people are afraid of God because of things they've been taught, or things they've done or experienced. They may be just afraid of things they don't really know about or are just plain afraid of everything.

Several months ago I decided to select a verse to think about for a month at a time and when something came up I really leaned in on the particular verse during that time. The verse quickly became my harbor and safe haven! God will not knock us over the head with the word, but God is very eager to prove his word when we apply it. All that is required is a willing heart. That is really not a tough thing to do.

The Genuine Example of Leadership

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. 

John 17:17-26

Clothed in Righteousness

Often what you put on can determine how you feel.  When you have just the right dress, suit, shirt, shoes or hat, it adds something to your overall demeanor. By the same token, you could put something on that is very uncomfortable or isn't suitable for an occasion, it can make you feel less than you should.

What if you had worms and clods of dust all over your body?  How would you feel.? In Job 7:5, Job describes this very condition. He had so many negative things hit him all at once.  By all worldly standards he could have felt very badly about himself and in an irrecoverable funk. Righteousness was on his side:

I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. Job 29:14

The word 'clothed' in this verse is use seven times in the book of Job. This is the 5th use.  Righteousness put his mind in a different place. It was a grace place, gave him confidence and guarded his heart.

And that ye put on (clothe with) the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Ephesians 4:24

Under the New Testament covenant,God has given us something to clothe us that is permanent. It works from the inside out. It is God's wonderful gift of holy spirit. Righteousness is confidence, assurance and access to God without worrying about where we have failed or fallen short.  God's love is so much bigger that we can ever imagine. When we get to the place of really believing it, we are released from anything that pulls us down. Job lived in the Old Testament time; we live in the New Testament time after the resurrection  and ascension of Jesus Christ. We are connected in a unique way to our God. There are plenty of negative things going on on around us, but God's gift informs us and equips us to handle what ever comes up and produce fruit of the spirit when we utilize that gift and trust him:

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering (slow to anger), gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness(coachable), temperance (self-control): against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

These qualities don't need to be legislated like the works of the flesh. It is great to be around people who understand the spirit of God as it works in each of our lives. It is 'church' in the true Biblical sense of the word.

What Are We afraid Of?

God is so good to us:

7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.......2 Timothy 1:7-8

The word for 'fear'  is translated from the greek word 'deilias' (Strongs #1167). It is used in this form only here in 2 Timothy.  There is a relative of this word found in 4 other places: Matthew 8:6, Mark 4:40, Hebrews 12:28, Revelation 21:8. This word for fear has been defined as the fear of losing, dread and timidity that causes one to stand back from God.

The fear of losing is rampant today. People constantly compare one another to each other. Ambitious rivalry is everywhere. People are so afraid of losing that they lie, gossip,  and demean each other just to get ahead or get to the top of I don't know what. I wonder how many people really know how serious it is to call good evil and evil good.

The more you have confidence in God and how he really sees us despite our warts and failings, the the greater the capacity to love becomes.  We are not in competition with anyone.  The competition is in our own minds for our own minds.  Sometimes it is such a good thing to say to God, 'Hey God keep me posted on where this is from or where I am going with this in my mind' when we start thinking about something or even when we evaluate what is going on around us. The ultimate goal in any situation is power, love and sound thinking. These three qualities work together for good. Love is center-stage to both power and sound thinking.

We need not be ashamed, politely correct, reticent or scared to share how good God is. The love he has planted in our hearts will facilitate the power needed and the sound thinking to help others even if they are enemies. When David dealt with Saul the word says:

14 And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the Lord was with him. I Samuel 18:14

How much God can help each one of us is easy to see when we look in the New Testament . God is so, so good to us!

Ideology, Fact, Truth and Freedom

An ideology is the specific collection of a body of men's ideas, that are connected. Ideas come from the human mind. An ideology usually develops within a group and becomes the central core of its beliefs. In our country, we can look at the 'isms' to see examples. Liberalism, republicanism, nationalism,  and conservatism are examples in the political field. In the religious field we have, denominationalism, non-denominationalism, taoism, buddhism, catholicism, trinitarianism, unitarianism, and protestantism to name a few. Each of these examples have a body of ideas built around a common ideological belief system.

Facts can be subjected to and manipulated by ideology using the tools of context and time. Here is an example. Let's say January has been a warmer month than usual. That could be a fact if you live at the equator, Miami beach or even in Chicago (not this year). Someone who believes that the globe is heating up might use these facts to support a theory on global warming (whether right or wrong). Facts can change; so can theories about facts.

Absolute truth does not change. It is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Hebrews 13:8

The truth about Jesus Christ never changes since God first spoke about him as the promised seed in Genesis 3:15. He is the mediator today between God and man (I Timothy 2:5) In Revelations 19, he is the King of kings and Lord of lords.   

So, 'What is truth?' This is a question that has been asked throughout the ages. Jesus said that 'we shall know the truth and the truth shall set us free.'(John 8:32) Truth is the antidote to worry, fear, bondage, compulsion, oppression, depression, insecurity, loneliness and every other negative the world has to offer. It is the only thing that really works and continues to work when it is believed.  Big negatives started plaguing humanity when the first man and woman doubted the warning of God to not partake of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. All the remedies man has come up with to get lasting peace fails. Drugs, alcohol, man-constructed religion, entertainment, money and yes, ideologies all fall short, very short of what God's infinite love and wisdom has given us.
God has provided so much to man to see the truth. The natural world that God created, formed and made teaches us about the truth (Genesis 1:20). The word of God is truth. Jesus Christ lived the truth. He is the way, the truth and the life. The spirit of God at work in the hearts and lives of those who have seen the truth and the gift of holy spirit and it's enablements confirm the truth.

My belief that God exists does not come from an 'ism' or man's ideas about God.  God is the source of all truth. When I started seeing that, freedom started to become a reality for me and I am still growing in that freedom. Absolute freedom comes from God. Until the entire human world understands this, the negative things of this world will not change. Individuals gain the freedom Jesus talked about as they develop a relationship with God. Romans 10:9-10 says it so simply:

⁹ That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Marriage and Family Life -It's Complicated - David

David was a great man. As he rose up to help deliver Israel from its enemies, he gained in stature.  At the same time, his family expanded and so did the complications. From the Old Testament, we know that David had more than 8 wives, more than 20 children.  As I read on in II Samuel, the rivalries and pressure seem to come more and more from the family.

I am reminded of the disfunction in Jacob's family. Polygamy causes problems and was not part of God's original creation. It was initiated into culture by one of Cain's offspring. It became part of the culture in succeeding generations. It was part of the culture at David's time. Polygamy was not in God's design when he put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Whenever something isn't the best in a given situation, it gets 'complicated' carrying with it burdens and pressures.

God placed Adam in the garden to work and enjoy. He made Eve to be a 'help meet' as a strong support, under-girder and companion. The marriage relationship is a unique godly arrangement. God made men and women to be different, yet equal.

'Different, yet equal' is a big deal.  It is not 'same and equal'; it is not 'different and unequal'.  In the feminist movement we see a blurring of 'different and same' and the other side of that is the blurring of 'equal and unequal'. In addition to this, every individual, male or female, has distinct traits, abilities and upbringing. The bottom line for all relationships is love and respect if it is going to be a genuine relationship.

33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband. Ephesians 5:33

We should certainly not let the confusion of the world determine our definitions of love or respect. Hollywood or even Hallmark movies should not be defining love for us. God is the author of love. Respect or reverence is for the person. We should be respectful to one another in all our dealings.  This does not include respect for beliefs and ideologies if we disagree. Every person has a right to believe whatever they want to believe, but no one has a right to force us to believe what we don't think is right. This goes for marriage relationships and adult family relationships. In fact it is the standard for all adult relationships.

If verse 33 in Ephesians 5:33 is to be the standard for marriage, polygamy would obviously put a strain on a marriage.  Raising 20 kids with 8 different mothers would definitely be tough. God made things so simple because he loves us. Man has complicated things throughout the ages with his own inventions and excuses.

Nathan the prophet

The word 'prophet' congers up many images to the modern mind.  Many years ago, I used to think of a prophet as the guy with a beard standing on the corner yelling "Repent!" Haven't seen one of those guys in a while and my understanding of the ministry of a prophet has changed quite a bit.

Many people think that a prophet only foresees the future. A prophet speaks for God (present past or future). His job is to speak what God wants spoken to his people and warn people as to the consequences of their actions. An example is found in I Samuel 20. The people had rejected God and asked for a king.  Samuel was charged by God to listen to them and 'protest solemnly' (warn) by telling them the down side of of having a king rule over them. God wanted Samuel to listen first then warn them.

In my trek through the Old Testament I have gotten to know several prophets.  The first use of the word prophet comes in Genesis 20 referring to Abraham and it is an interesting story for it first use. Key words in that record are prayer, restoration, and healing (this is the first use of the word 'healing').  Abraham got into a serious situation because of fear. Prophets are not perfect. It is an interesting study to read.

During David's reign, Nathan, the prophet, appeared on the scene. The name 'Nathan' means 'a gift of God'.  Prophets are truly a gift in that they relate the truth from God's heart. It is a loving ministry which genuinely looks after God's people by listening to God.

In II Samuel 7 we read that David wanted  to build a house for God and at first Nathan told him to do what was on his heart.  As it turns out Nathan was speaking from his own thinking. That same day, God told Nathan to tell David that he would not be building the temple. Nathan went back to David and related God's words to him. It was God who would make this decision and it was David's son Solomon who built the house.

Nathan appears next in the famous record of David and Bathsheba. David had inappropriately exerted his power over a married woman and further complicated the matter in trying to solve his indiscretion by having her husband sent to the front lines of a battle where he was killed. Nathan was sent by God to confront David. He didn't yell at him to "repent". He told him a story about a single lamb belonging to a traveler that was slaughtered by a wealthy livestock owner to illustrate God's heart on the matter and David woke up as to what he had done. David recognized his own untoward actions and repented. Psalm 51 shows his heart in his recognizing his sin and that of going to God for help to heal him and restore him:

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51

David eventually married Bathsheba and they had more children, two of which appear in the genealogies  in Matthew and Luke.  Bathsheba (as wife of Urias) herself, is listed in the Matthew genealogy (one of four women listed) and is part of the Christ line genealogy.

Nathan appears again at the death of David to help protect Bathsheba and her children and to make sure the right descendant of David inherited the throne.

Prophets don't have X-Ray vision, they have God vision. Nathan didn't read David's mind as he was trying to clear up his mess and making more of a mess. At that point, maybe David would not have listened. He went to David to get him to see what he had done. Prophets don't see right through you. They hear from God and then act. It is a very loving ministry because what's right comes from God's heart.

The Lesson of Kudzu

When I went to visit my parents in South Carolina, I noticed a strange vine growing up and over the tops of trees, houses, fences and anything else it could grow on top of. My Dad who knew a lot about botany, told me it was a plant called Kudzu that came from Japan and had been planted in areas that had trouble with erosion. It has been planted along the and overpowers everything quickly. Kudzu is very oppressive stuff!  It steals the light of the sun from everything! It destroys everything it it path. I saw many broken down shacks where it had grown over the tops of, covered and destroyed.

The thing is that Kudzu seemed like a good idea to solve a problem and make agricultural work easier, but it is a monster in disguise, a wolf in sheep's clothing!  Many, many things in life are like the Kudzu plant. I often have had grand ideas to do something that seem so perfect and when all was said and done, they turned into dragging doldrums.

So much in this world is full of hype! So many things and ideas are pushed at us. We fall prey to the latest rage, fads and the desire to be 'with it'!  The outtake many times on following what goes on around us and not our heart, in the end, oppresses us. All that we experience in life can be evaluated by the peace in our heart.

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:17

The mind in the above verse is the intellect. Understanding is what we do with our minds.  God's peace goes way above and beyond all that we think. Sometimes our minds seem so over-jammed  with what we perceive is going on around us and what we have to do, it is hard to get up and out from under all that pressure.  We just have to let go  and let God's peace get us up. That is when we become ready to rock and roll!

The peace of God is so real.  We don't just act peaceful, doing peaceful things, we are inwardly peaceful. God loves us even in our scrambled yucky moments.  He doesn't want anything stealing the light  of his son away from us or have anything overpower us. He wants us to live free. Sometimes we just need to chill and let God's light warm us and let him guard us from something overshadowing our peacefulness!

Coming Face to Face with Jesus Christ

The apostle Paul did a 180° turn in the course of his life. He met Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus.The meeting utterly changed him. The strong, bold confrontational Saul was transformed. He had been the Hebrew of the Hebrews, learned in the scriptures of the Old Testament and a rising religious star. In a moment of time, he realized he had been so wrong. Out of his imperfection, God brought him true righteousness. He became a follower of God's son.

The birth of Christ happens over and over again in individual people's lives. It is not confined to a day.  Amidst all the hoopla and whirl of the world, there is a message to be reminded of as to what Jesus Christ means to anyones life. Jesus Christ life brings us to the true peace that can only come from God. God perfect love is manifested in his son to also draw others to Him.

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:14

Believing

Ephesians 3:20 is a super-charged verse!

20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Ephesians 3:20

Our minds are limited.  God's thinking is not! Believing is really not something we push our minds harder and harder to gain.  Believing is trust; it is loving God and knowing that he is with you. The grace of believing is that it is ours, to be confident that God can go way farther than our limited expectations. He is bigger than our minds; he is bigger than our works.

Believing is based on love. You just have to know how much God loves you.  'Power working in us' is energized by His love. In reality, the more I soak my head in the word especially on the topic of love, the more I can believe. I want that energy from God.  It changes the way I perceive what's going on around me. I can love so much better when I am tapped into God's love. True peace is the natural  result for all involved.

There was a time in my life that I worked so hard to please God.  It took growth and understanding to see how futile that was. When we love God, we let him work. We listen and allow him to inspire us and then carry out what he puts on our heart to do.  Keeping the trustful peace and guarding it like a great treasure is our goal.  Stress, pressure and achievement are not part of the formula.  God's ability is involved and that's a no brainer. However, we live in a world where there are forces that deny God and his love. Just as in the beginning, in the garden of Eden, the opposition to God constantly calls to question the existence of God and his promises.  God's willingness is just as real as the evidence that exists for God's ability.  God's willingness is seen throughout the Old and New Testaments!

I can do all things

There are millions of memes found throughout the pages of FaceBook. A meme to FaceBook users is like a 'quotable quote',  a seemingly wise saying that brings a quick point of inspiration to our minds. It is a good idea to think about the thought each one is transmitting. Is is really based on God's Word which will bring the effective results or is it like candy filled with sugar that seems sweet but actually promotes thinking that is empty.

As I continued to study the Word, I'm pretty sure I made memes out of key verses of the Bible. The context surrounding key verses should never be taken lightly when anyone quotes a singular verse. The context can change the whole meaning of a verse.   Philippians 4:13 is a good example.

13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13

It's a magnificent verse, but it can be taken the wrong way that a believer can do anything he wants and God will empower him. When we lift verses out of context, we have to be careful.  This verse can sound like we can accomplish anything because we have Christ in us.  If we read verse 13, we need to look at the verses leading up to it.

10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. Philippians 4: 10-12

Paul made the point that that it is 'whatsoever state' a believer finds himself that he can be content. It is interesting that both sides are shown, abasing AND abounding, being full AND being hungry, abound AND suffer need. Both sides show learning, knowing how and instruction.

The greatest thing  a person can learn is to trust God in any situation. Contentment is a pretty low commodity in today's world.  We are always in a fight to root out seeds of discontentment in response to negative things that present themselves. Not only do negative things impact us but prosperity can  also affect us in the wrong way. We are challenged  in both directions. It is through the risen Christ we find true contentment in dealing with life and keeping our minds balanced.