“A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash.”
Proverbs 15:14 (NLT) Our minds control everything else about us. Our thoughts influence our feelings. And our feelings impact our actions. What you think matters, because everything starts in the mind. To be a responsible person, you have to control your thoughts. But let me relieve you of some false guilt: You’re not responsible for every stray thought that passes through your mind. Stray thoughts enter our minds for a variety of reasons, like conversations you hear by accident, things you see, or stuff the Devil puts in your mind. You’re responsible for how you deal with those stray thoughts. Martin Luther said it like this: “You can’t keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.” God will hold you accountable for what you allow to enter your mind. It's amazing what some people watch—not to mention what they let their children watch. Many followers of Jesus spend their time watching TV shows and listening to podcasts that have absolutely no moral, emotional, or educational value. They pay good money to see deviant behavior as entertainment. People watching such shows have told me, “When I go see those kinds of things, it just doesn’t phase me. It doesn’t bother me. It doesn’t affect me.” But that’s just not true! Scientists have done study after study that says you never really forget any scene you see. Even if you don’t consciously recall the scene, that idea will come right back to your mind—in living color—when something else stimulates the thought. In other words, “Garbage in, garbage out.” What you put into your mind will inevitably bear fruit in your behavior and beliefs. In fact, when cheap entertainment doesn’t bother you anymore, it’s a warning light that you’ve already passed the threshold. One of Satan’s greatest tricks for attracting you to sinful lifestyles is comedy. That’s why on TV or in movies, deviant behavior often starts in a comedic situation. If Satan can get you laughing at something that is sinful, then you’ve already lost the battle. Sin isn’t funny. Sin put Jesus on the cross. Proverbs 15:14 says, “A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash” (NLT). Are you hungry for more knowledge of God, or are you content to keep a steady diet of entertainment that breaks his heart? You have the power to decide what you feed your mind.
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“A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance.”
Proverbs 28:13 (TLB) God is always ready to give you another chance. That’s a foundational piece of Christianity. We’ve all been irresponsible. We’ve all messed up. The Bible tells us, “Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 NLT). You’re not meant to go through life with a guilt trip about all the ways you’ve been irresponsible. Guilt destroys your confidence, damages your relationships, keeps you stuck in the past, and even hurts your health. A report a few years back said 70 percent of people in the hospital could leave if they knew how to resolve their guilt. God wants far better for your life than that. You don’t want to live with guilt. And here’s an important truth to always hang on to: You don’t have to. Instead, God wants you to live with a sense of promise and hope. He can even bring good out of the foolish decisions that you’ve made if you’ll give those failures to him. How do you do that? Admit to God you’ve made a mistake. It doesn’t surprise him. And it won’t change his perception of you. When you take this step, here’s what you can expect from him: God forgives instantly. The very moment you admit your sin to God, he forgives you. God forgives freely. You don’t need to earn it, and you’ll never deserve it. God forgives completely. He wipes your sin absolutely clean. The Bible promises that a “man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance” (Proverbs 28:13 TLB). If you’re mired in guilt and shame, then you’ll likely perpetuate whatever problem you have. You’ll tell yourself that you blew it, so you’re bad. Since you’re bad, you believe you’ll blow it again. It’s a nasty cycle we often can’t seem to escape from—at least not on our own. You need a power beyond yourself. You need a Savior! You need to let go of your guilt and live in the freedom of God’s forgiveness. “Hard work is worthwhile, but empty talk will make you poor.”
Proverbs 14:23 (CEV) What you say has a direct connection to your heart. Whatever your heart is filled with is going to come out of your mouth. If you’re filled with anger, anger is going to come out of your mouth. If your heart is filled with depression, it’s going to come out of your mouth. If your heart is filled with joy, that’s going to come out of your mouth. The Bible says in Mark 12:30, “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength” (NLT). You could also say it like this: Love God with all your talk, all your feelings, all your thinking, and all your acting. God shaped you to primarily be a talker, feeler, thinker, or doer. Heart people have a hard time being quiet. They’re talkers. When you’re a heart person, you’ve got to let it out. You’ve got to tell other people. Heart people love to tell stories. They love to sit and converse, especially in heart-to-heart conversations. The world needs people who are communicators. We need people who can lead discussions and who can verbalize what the rest of us feel. We need teachers, counselors, and coaches who can teach us and direct us. We need comedians. We need preachers. We need all of these people who are built on verbal skills and who are able to move the world forward. God’s warning for talkers is this: You also have to act. Proverbs 14:23 says, “Hard work is worthwhile, but empty talk will make you poor” (CEV). In other words, you’ve got to move ahead. You’ve got to stop only talking about your plans and start making them happen. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
James 1:22 (NIV) It says in Mark 12:30: “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength” (NLT). One way to look at this verse is to focus on loving God with all your talk, all your feelings, all your thinking, and all your acting. God shaped you to be primarily a talker, a feeler, a thinker, or a doer. Talkers love God with their hearts. Feelers love God with their souls. Did you know that you can also love God with your intellect? Thinkers love God with their minds. When you’re developing and strengthening your mind, it is an act of worship. Thinkers love Bible study. Psalm 119:97 says, “How I love your law! I think about it all day long” (GNT). People who are thinkers fall in love with the Bible when they become believers. There is no other book in the world like it! It has the answers to life’s questions, including: Why am I here? Where am I going? What is the purpose of life? Does my life matter? What’s the past? What’s the future? Where did I come from? We need thinkers because the world needs consideration. Somebody has to be thinking through complex issues and the implications of what the rest of us are doing. We need people who think through tough problems and bring solutions to the table. That’s why we need scientists, writers, philosophers, and innovators. But thinkers have to be careful to practice humility. The Bible says, “Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom” (Proverbs 3:7 NLT). Why? Because God is God, and you’re not. Humility is a choice. Not once in the Bible are you ever told to pray for God to humble you. It says to “humble yourself before the Lord.” It’s a choice. Humility is something you do to yourself. Nobody else can do it to you. They can humiliate you, but they can’t make you humble. In essence, humility is total dependence on God. It’s not denying your strengths; it’s being honest about your weaknesses. Thinkers also need to be careful to practice what they know. If you know it, then do it! James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (NIV). God’s Word is our manual for life; he wants us to use it to learn how to do things his way. He’s our Creator, and he knows the best way we should live. And we can count on this: God is always right there with us, helping us to follow his instructions. “Each of you as a good manager must use the gift that God has given you to serve others.”
1 Peter 4:10 (GW) Your abilities are for the benefit of other people. The Bible says in 1 Peter 4:10, “Each of you as a good manager must use the gift that God has given you to serve others” (GW). Nobody is good at everything. Nobody has every talent. There are no perfect people who can say to the world, “I don’t need anybody else.” We need each other. We were made to work in teams! That’s why you need a small group and a church family. We’re better together. Here’s the key to success: Build on your strengths so that your weaknesses become irrelevant. Every successful person does this. Just work on what you’re good at, and make it better. Here’s a second rule of success: Team up with people who are good at what you’re not good at. Team up with people who complement you. Everybody has something to contribute. Nobody has it all together. We need each other. This, by the way, is one of the purposes of marriage. In marriage we’re put together to complement each other’s strengths and to compensate for each other’s weaknesses. What happens when we don’t compensate for each other’s weaknesses? We criticize each other. That’s not what marriage is for. Marriage puts two sinners together—so there can be no perfect relationships. But in a marriage, you know the other’s weaknesses, so you can help compensate for them. For example, take bill paying and budgeting. Who should do it? The one who does it better! The Bible doesn’t tell us who should do one role over another. Just figure out who does it better, and in doing that, you compensate for each other’s weaknesses. That’s why my wife, Kay, always drives; she’s a much more careful driver than I am. This also applies to your work. If you want your business to be effective, here’s the key: Staff by SHAPE. Help people discover their SHAPE—their Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences—and put them in the positions they’re good at. When you do that, you don’t have to manage them and you won’t have to motivate them. Why? Because they’re doing what they love to do, and they’re good at it. God wants every person to use their abilities to help other people. We need each other! “Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves."
Romans 12:3 (NLT) The Bible says that God wants you to listen to your heart. To know what he wants you to do, he wants you to look at what you’re made to do. But most people these days are moving so fast that they don’t have time to listen to their hearts. We’ve got to slow down! We’re all in such a hurry, stressed with too much to do, not realizing until later that we didn’t have to do so much. That describes most people today in America. They’re speeding with no direction. But God wants you to slow down and listen to your heart. Romans 12:3 says, “Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves” (NLT). I suggest you get alone with God and ask these questions: What do I love to do? What do I dream of doing? What fascinates me? What can I talk about, think about, and study all day and not get bored? Where have I been most effective in my life? An 80-year-old woman was baptized. She wanted to be a small group host. That’s pretty cool—an 80-year-old small group host! She said, “I just wish I had learned years ago that we serve God out of our design, not out of duty.” It would be great if everybody could learn that truth. That’s what SHAPE—your Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences—is all about. We serve God out of our design, the way he shaped us. We serve God not out of duty but because we love him. When you do what God has wired you to do, it brings him glory. That’s the way to live. Don’t serve God out of force or design or guilt. Serve him out of delight and gratitude. Start by making a careful exploration of who you are and the work you’ve been given. In other words, discover what God put you on earth to do. Then go do it with joy! “Look, I’m standing at the door and knocking. If anyone listens to my voice and opens the door, I’ll come in and we’ll eat together.”
Revelation 3:20 (GW) God gave you a heart, and he has placed in you passions, desires, and dreams. But unless they are under his control, they will be misused, they will be abused, they will be misapplied, they will be misdirected, and they will be wasted in your life. All around the world, there are millions of passionate people with interests and dreams and ambitions that are being misused and abused. And it breaks God’s heart. That’s why, in spite of their talent and their passion, those people are unhappy. When your passions are misused, it makes you miserable. Some of you might be thinking, “I’m not really passionate about anything right now.” You know what that means, don’t you? It means you are disconnected from God. You cannot be connected to God and dispassionate. When you are plugged in to God, it’s like plugging in to 220 volts. You get passionate! God is a passionate God; he’s emotional. The only reason you have emotions is because you’re made in his image. God has loved you with an everlasting love. And he gets jealous when he sees you ignoring him for something else. But no matter what you’ve done, he will always love you. That’s passion! When you spend time with God on a daily basis and you get plugged in to him, you can’t help but be passionate. You start to develop God’s heart for the world. You start to feel the way he does. That’s because you become like whoever you hang out with. Would you like to have more energy in life? More enthusiasm? More get-up-and-go? Here's where to get it. The word “enthusiasm” comes from the Greek words en and theos--en meaning “in” and theos meaning “God.” When you get en theos, you’re going to be enthusiastic. The closer you get to God, the more energy, vitality, and passion you will have in life. The further away you get from God, the more bored and apathetic you become. But opening your heart to God is a choice. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says, “Look, I’m standing at the door and knocking. If anyone listens to my voice and opens the door, I’ll come in and we’ll eat together” (GW). Jesus Christ has been standing and knocking at the door of your life for a long time. But he’s a gentleman. He’s not going to bust the door down. You’ve got to open it up. “Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”
Galatians 6:9 (NLT) In the waiting room of life, you can choose to panic. That’s our natural response! We tend to focus on what’s going on around us. We let our circumstances convince us that there is no reason to wait patiently, to be at peace, to trust, to hope. Instead of panicking, you can choose to trust God. To be able to do that, you need to remember two things: One, God is never in a hurry. And two, God is never late. God’s timing is always perfect. What happens in those times where it appears that God is late? God is getting you ready for a miracle! There are so many examples of this in Scripture, including the story of Lazarus (John 11). Lazarus was one of Jesus’ best friends, and he had two sisters named Mary and Martha. They lived in Bethany, which was just a few miles from where Jesus was on the day Lazarus got sick. They sent word to Jesus that his friend was gravely ill and asked him to come to them. Jesus could have easily been in Bethany in an hour or two. But it took him three days to go about five miles. When he got there, they told him, “You’re too late! We’ve already buried Lazarus.” Jesus wasn’t late—because he already knew what he was going to do. His goal was not to heal Lazarus. His goal was to raise him from the dead. Jesus’ goal was not to just make Lazarus well. His goal was to do a miracle of astronomical proportions. Jesus walked up to Lazarus’ tomb, told them to roll the stone away, and said, “Lazarus, come out.” And Lazarus did! Sometimes God lets a situation get so bad that only a miracle will do. God already knows what he’s going to do in your life next month, next year, and in the next decade, and his plan for you is good. Don’t panic. Don’t give up your faith. Hold on. Keep praying and serving and meeting with God’s family. Keep sowing. Keep believing. Because you’re getting ready for a miracle. “After waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.”
Hebrews 6:15 (NIV) When you’re waiting on God, remember that you’re in good company. Millions of saints before you have sat in God’s waiting room. You’re not alone! In fact, if you’re in the waiting room right now—maybe you’re waiting on a job, on an answer, or on a result—there are a lot of people around you who are in that same situation. Hebrews 11:2 says, “People who lived in the past became famous because of faith” (ICB)—and every one of those people had to wait. Think about Hannah, who had to wait years to have the baby that she was praying God would give her. Think about Joseph, who had a God-given vision of being a ruler from a very young age but spent 14 years in a prison for a crime he did not commit. Think of Moses, who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years while he waited for his next assignment and to know his purpose in life. Think of Abraham, who waited a hundred years before he had Isaac, the child God had promised him years before. Think about Noah, who waited 120 years before it rained. Think of David, who was told he would be king but then was sent back to the pasture to shepherd for years before he ever saw the inside of a palace. God waited thousands of years before sending the Messiah that had been promised. And he spent 400 years in silence before Jesus was born, with no message for the people who were waiting for deliverance. Your wait may seem too long for you to handle. But there were many faithful people throughout history who waited far longer than you and still trusted in God’s goodness and promises. We get in a hurry. But God is never in a hurry. Waiting is essential to your faith, so God is going to use all the time it takes to make you into the person he wants you to be. Hebrews 6:15 says, “After waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised” (NIV). While you’re waiting, remember those who have waited faithfully before you who saw God answer in ways even bigger than they imagined. Ask him to help you wait faithfully too. “Remember today what you have learned about the LORD through your experiences with him.”
Deuteronomy 11:2 (GNT) Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and across the wilderness to the Promised Land. It should have only taken them a few weeks, even with a large crowd. But it took them 40 years. What in the world were they doing? For 40 years, they were walking around in a circle. God was giving them one test after another and saying, “Will you trust me?” There were seven tests. Every time they failed the test, he sent them on another lap around the wilderness. But even in that wilderness, they were not there by accident. Some of you are in the wilderness right now. Remember this: The way to the Promised Land is through the wilderness. You’ve got to go through that waiting period. You’ve got to go through that desert. You’ve got to go through that dry spell. You are waiting in the wilderness for a purpose. And while you’re waiting, you need to keep a record of the lessons you’re learning. Numbers 33:2 says, “At the LORD’s direction, Moses kept a written record of their progress” (NLT). The Bible also says, “Remember today what you have learned about the LORD through your experiences with him” (Deuteronomy 11:2 GNT). Are you keeping a written record of your progress in the Christian life? Are you writing anything down? You need to start keeping a journal when you’re waiting. A journal is different than a diary. A diary is for events; a journal is for lessons. In the waiting periods of life, little lessons lead to big successes. Some of the tiniest lessons you’ll learn in dry periods, in depressing periods, in discouraging periods will be the keys to big successes in your life. Little lessons lead to big successes. So you need to write them down! Psalm 119:33 is a good prayer to pray when you’re in the wilderness and waiting for God to deliver you: “GOD, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course” (MSG). Say to him, “God, I don’t want to wander around. Teach me how to live so I can get through this with the minimum amount of time. I don’t want to be here for 40 years. I don’t want to go in circles. Teach me the lessons for life so I can stay on track and grow in spiritual maturity.” |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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