Encouragement – Page 37 – Growing 4 Life

Wednesday Wisdom: The Discipline of Our Thoughts

Leave a Comment / July 3, 2013 November 28, 2018

This week’s Wednesday Wisdom comes from John MacArthur, one of my very favorite resources for biblical teaching. All of his sermons are available for free download from his website Grace to You (gty.org) and I highly recommend them. He has really helped me grow in my understanding of God’s Word. The portion I present here today is from the blog that is found on the Grace to You website. It’s about just how incredibly powerful our thought life is (something we often forget)–

Do you realize that the difference between a sincere, Spirit‑controlled, devoted, godly, obedient Christian and a defeated, weak, struggling Christian is what takes place in the mind? They may be attending the same church, active in the same ministries, and externally doing the same things, but one is defeated and the other lives a spiritually fruitful life. The difference is the thought life.

One day the difference will be made manifest. Paul told the Corinthians that when the Lord comes, He “will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts” (1 Corinthians 4:5). Jesus said something similar: “Nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come to light” (Luke 8:17). And, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known” (Luke 12:1-2).

I urge you to look deeply into the mirror of God’s Word (James 1:23-24), which is a powerful “discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12, KJV). As Jeremiah counseled Israel, “Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem, that you may be saved. How long will your wicked thoughts lodge within you?” (Jeremiah 4:14). And as Paul said, “let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).

How can we deal with the problem of evil thoughts? The process is like mortifying any other sin.

First, confess and forsake the sin. “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7, emphasis added). If your thought life harbors sins of immorality, sins of anger toward someone, sins of vengeance, sins of bitterness, sins of covetousness, or whatever, confess them to God. Repent and ask forgiveness. If we confess, He is faithful and just to forgive and keep on cleansing (1 John 1:9).

Refuse to entertain those thoughts. Purpose to abandon your wrong thought patterns immediately and begin to build new, righteous habits. If you find yourself slipping into old ways of thinking, confess your sin and refuse once again to give place to evil thoughts. Consciously direct your mind to fix itself on pure things: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:8). In other words, reprogram your mind with truth and righteousness.

Feed on the Word of God. “Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11). The Word insulates the mind. It strengthens the heart. It occupies the soul and fortifies it against evil thoughts. Only as we use the sword of the Spirit skillfully can we mortify our fleshly imaginations (Ephesians 6:17).

Avoid evil attractions. Don’t expose yourself to activities, images, or conversations that provoke evil thoughts. Like Job, make a covenant with your eyes (Job 31:1)—or with your ears, or with whatever sensations lead you into evil thoughts. Refuse to feed any tendencies that draw your imagination into wickedness. This is what Jesus meant figuratively when he said, “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell” (Matthew 5:29-30).

Cultivate the love of God. David said in Psalm 119:97, “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.” And then four verses later he said, “I have restrained my feet from every evil way.” If we set our minds on things above, things on the earth will cease to hold the same fascination for us (Colossians 3:2). “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21)—and where your affections are set, your thoughts will be there as well.

David ended Psalm 19, his great paean to the sufficiency of Scripture, with these words:

Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not rule over me; then I will be blameless, and I shall be acquitted of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer (vv. 12-14).

That is the state of mind of every truly godly person. It is also the goal of biblical instruction: “love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5).

So, how’s your thought life?

You can find this post here, along with many other helpful resources.

150 years later

Leave a Comment / June 27, 2013 June 27, 2013

Next week it will be 150 years since that terrible battle of Gettysburg. Over the weekend, we spent some time there visiting the delightful little town. Only a few bullet holes gave evidence that such a terrible battle had been fought there. As we drove through the beautiful, rolling hills of the countryside, there wasn’t a sign of the tragedy anywhere. Sure, there were a few cannons and fences–but the human tragedy that played itself out those three days wasn’t seen on any of the faces around us. 150 years is a long time. Long enough to recover from the terrible human losses and financial setbacks.

As I wandered through the halls of the Visitor’s Center, those three days were played out vividly in my mind. I thought of the young boys who had given their lives by the thousands in this battle. I thought of the innocent farmers and townspeople who got stuck in the crossfire and lost everything they had. I thought of the thousands of people who poured into the town, looking for their loved ones after the terrible days were over. No matter which side you were on, the casualties were high.

I was about halfway through when I came across this quote written by a soldier named T.T. Fogle and taken from a letter to his sister: “O, sister, you folks at home have no idea what a soldier has to endure…I have been cold, hot, wet, dry, ragged, dirty, hungry, and thirsty, marched through clouds of dust, waded mud knee deep, and suffered from fatigue and loss of sleep.”

It reminded me of Paul’s passage in 2 Corinthians, where he talks about what he has endured for the sake of the cross–

in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. ~2 Corinthians 11:26-27

That passage reminds me that we believers are soldiers in a battle. For a long time now, we have been able to hang around the edges of the battlefield, enjoying our accommodations quite nicely. But the battle here in this country is heating up considerably. It only takes a few moments of internet surfing or tv news-watching to realize it. And we are being flanked on all sides — from the media, the lawmakers, and the so-called church, which has twisted Christianity into something that would be unrecognizable to the godly men and women who have gone on before us.

Are we prepared to fight the battle? Or are we still back in our tents playing games?

I make no prediction as to whether this country will survive this attack on its core values. That battle will be won or lost by the will of God. But the fight, more importantly, is for the destiny of each human soul. The battle is raging in our homes, our churches, and our workplaces. Are we standing up for the truth? Are we willing to take a bit of ribbing or name-calling or even the loss of reputation to stand for what is right?

I think we can join Sallie Myers, who said this a few days before the battle: “We may expect a battle both near and soon. God help us! For surely our cause is one of justice and humanity.”

The beauty and hope of this whole battle is the future! Just like Gettysburg has recovered 150 years later, so we, too, shall be fully recovered if we know Jesus Christ personally. The hope of eternity grows brighter and brighter as the battle before us grows more and more frightening. We know where we will be in 150 years. Let us hold on to that hope, as we fight in the trenches here.

To close, I leave you with this quote from the NY Times from those days, which profoundly describes the heated battle we are in for this country right now: “The contest touches everything and leaves nothing as it found it. Great rights, great interests, great systems of habit and of thought disappear in its progress. It leaves us a different people in everything.”

Wednesday Wisdom: As Long As You Are Glorified

1 Comment / June 26, 2013 June 27, 2013

I stumbled upon this song quite by accident but it struck a chord within me. In a one-dimensional world of Christian music, mostly based only on ME, this song fell like refreshing rain as this turns our focus instead towards God and glorifying Him, no matter what befalls us. What is the purpose of trials, anyway? The line in the song says it best: “I long for nothing else, as long as YOU are glorified.” Comfort, convenience, pain-free, tear-free are all nice things to be but they are no guarantee when we walk with the Lord. This songs says it better than I ever could. (I have included a link after the lyrics, if you’d like to hear it)–

As Long As You Are Glorified

Shall I take from Your hand Your blessings
Yet not welcome any pain,
Shall I thank You for days of sunshine
Yet grumble in days of rain
Shall I love You in times of plenty
Then leave You in days of drought
Shall I trust when I reap a harvest
But when winter winds blow then doubt

Oh, let Your will be done in me
In Your love I will abide
Oh I long for nothing else as long
As You are glorified.

Are You good only when I prosper
And true only when I’m filled
Are you King only when I’m carefree
And God only when I’m well
You are good when I’m poor and needy
You are true when I’m parched and dry
You still reign in the deepest valley
You’re still God in the darkest night.

So quiet my restless heart!
Quiet my restless heart!
Quiet me restless heart in You.

You can listen to this song here.

Never Underestimate

Leave a Comment / August 22, 2011 August 22, 2015

In the current wave of a few great books, Christians have been encouraged to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the poor and the orphans. And this is a call that was needed! But I can’t help but wonder if, in the enthusiasm of stepping up and out of our comfort zones, we haven’t forgotten something–

There are still ministries here that are well worth our time and efforts. There are still jobs right here in small-town America (or wherever you are, for that matter) that need doing. They should not be viewed as second class or unimportant in our eyes. Things like–

-Teaching Sunday School to children. Teaching children about God’s Word is so imperative in a time where Sunday School may be the only place children ever hear about God. I have heard many testimonies of adults who became saved through a Sunday School teacher’s ministry. This job can never be underestimated.

-Taking care of elderly parents, or grandparents, or aunt, or church members. Many of us have elderly people in our lives. Let’s not forget them in our excitement to minister in other, more “impressive” ways. I have a feeling that they may get pretty lonely. Many of them have lost their spouses, their friends, their brothers and sisters. They have doctor appointments that they may need help getting to or may need help with some housework or repairs. Sometimes just visiting can be a big boost to their spirits. Especially if we take some little children along.

-Opening up our homes to others. Paul tells us in Romans 12:13 that we are to be given to hospitality. Do you open up your home to the friends of your children? Or to your church group? Or to anyone outside your small circle of family or friends? If so, then you are doing some important work for the Lord. Teens need a good place to hang out. Meeting for a meal in a home is a great way to get to know other church members on a much more personal level. Perhaps there is an unsaved family that you know well enough to have them over for a meal. It is easier to discuss spiritual matters in a home than beside a soccer field or baseball diamond.

-Serving at our church by cleaning up or serving in the nursery or helping in the kitchen or doing the lawn or organizing activities or anything else that helps keep the church running smoothly. We cannot discredit these services. They are often done with little, if any, reward. They have no glamour attached to them and are viewed as unimportant jobs, kept deep in the shadows of the bigger stuff – like adopting orphans or working tirelessly to feed the poor. But they are jobs that someone has to do to keep a church running smoothly and functioning so that church members can grow both spiritually and closer as a church body.

-Ministering in the place we find ourselves most often–the workplace. Your workplace may be your home. Teaching your children about God is a very important work. Or it may be that you find yourself surrounded by unbelievers in an office, or in a restaurant, or on a construction crew. All of these workplaces will lead to ample opportunities to show that you live by different standards and to share the gospel. Or perhaps you are a teacher. Questions from students can lead to some great discussions. I can think of a few teachers who have really come alongside my husband and me in encouraging our kids in their walk with the Lord. What a blessing!

-Serving right here, right now. I have a friend that visits an inner city classroom each week to help children with their school work. I have another friend that teaches public school children about God for an hour each week through a special program. I have another friend that has taught English to foreigners. I have a friend who faithfully teaches a Bible study to other women. I also have friends who work hard at spotting needs that need to be met and then do their best to meet them. Each of these individuals saw an opportunity to minister and then stepped up to be the one to fill the need.

That’s just a very incomplete list of things we can do to serve the Lord in our lives in a practical way. Let’s not forget that the Lord has placed you where you are for a reason. And your job is to find out what that is. Where does the Lord want you to serve? It may be that you are called to foreign service or to adopt an orphan. But it also may be that you are called to build up the church body by serving there on the board or in the Sunday School classroom. It may be that you are a great cook and have a gift for making people feel cared for through the wonderful food you prepare.

May we not grow discouraged as many of us labor in the shadow of the “big stuff”. Let’s do whatever we are called to do to the best of our ability. Always. Knowing that we are serving the Lord and it is all for His glory.

Colossians 3:23-24 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for^[a] you serve the Lord Christ.