Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Wednesday 3-5-08 "Thinking"

Greetings Internet Campus,

Proverbs 119:97
Oh, how I love your instructions!
I think about them all day long.

If we are going to develop into the people that God has created us to be, we need to spend some time on our mental growth. I don't necessarily mean intelligence or knowledge...I'm talking about our way of thinking.... Let's ask ourselves three honest questions:

1) What do I find myself thinking about and why?
2) Am I reading?
3) Can I defend what I believe?

The first statement is maybe the most challenging. What do you find yourself dwelling on mentally the most? Is it food? finances? sex? I have found that those topics that take over my thought life crowd out my thoughts about God. What thoughts right now are blocking you from getting closer to God? I believe that our first challenge as Christ-followers is to change the way that we THINK about things. See them through Christ's eyes...leaning on the faith that He will take care of the details. Is your brain holding you prisoner? Want to connect to God's thoughts? Take some time to think about things that are good....things that are right...things that are holy. When you do, you will find that you can start to experience the life that God created you for.

The next statement seems a little odd...reading? I have found that people who lead, read. All of them. If they are effective leaders..they are constantly seeking new information through books. When I was growing up, my mom would challenge my brother and I to shut the TV off and pick up a book...stretch our imaginations. Well today, I've found that if I want to be effective at what I do...I need to learn from those that are doing it. Of course, the Bible is my primary guide to life...I've got to stay in it everyday. In addition, my growth is dependent on learning from other people that I respect. I probably can't get an appointment to sit down with Billy Graham...but I can read his book about ministry. I can read John Maxwell's books about leadership. I can read James Dobson's books about parenting....you get the idea. There are literally millions of words on pages in bookstores that can make me a more effective thinker. If I don't take advantage of the knowledge of others, I will start to stagnate. Stagnant thinking leads to a wilting thought life. We've got to fill our heads with quality words if we want to grow AND eliminate unneeded thoughts.

The last statement requires some digging. When was the last time you asked yourself..."Why do I think that?" When I was in high school, I used to love debate. It gave me the chance to spend time laying out why I believed what I believed. I went to the library, researched my topic, and could defend it all afternoon long when called to. When was the last time you defended something you believed in? How much scripture is memorized? Why do you believe what you believe? If we're going to grow to our potential...we've got to continue to strengthen our thought life.

Write it down: In your journal today, pick one of these three points that needs the most work. Commit to making a change in your mental fitness.

See you tomorrow as we tackle the last two parts of our Ethos.

Pastor Brian

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