Renewing a Thought

By Wendy Wood

When the bible refers to “the heart” it is referring to the control center, the soul, of the person.  The heart includes our thoughts, emotions, and desires.  Our thoughts drive our desires and our emotions reveal what those desires are.  Because our thoughts drive our desires and our desires drive our actions and words, our thoughts matter greatly!  God does not leave us without instruction regarding our thoughts.  In fact, God's word is clear that we are to change our thoughts!  Our thoughts are to reflect the truth of who God is and reflect a trust that He is faithful to keep every precious promise He has made.  Change in our lives begins in our thoughts.  In order to be transformed from one degree of glory to the next to be like Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18), we must transform our thoughts.

Slowly and prayerfully read through the following scriptures.  After each one, write in your own words what God says about thoughts.  

Romans 12:1-2 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Ephesians 4:22-24  “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,  and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Philippians 4:4-11 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.  Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;  do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.  For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.  We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ”

Consider your own thoughts.  What circumstance or relationship are you thinking about the most right now? When you are driving, doing laundry or dishes, when your house is quiet and you have time to think, what are you turning over and over in your mind?

Quote your thoughts below.  Really try to quote your thoughts, not just get the idea down. We all tend to have phrases or sentences that repeat and grow in our thoughts.   For example:  “I have to have a husband who treats me well.”  “I shouldn’t have to keep repeating myself.”  “Why can’t he just be kind.”  “I can’t keep doing this.”

Look up the following scriptures and write them out.

Job 42:2 

Ephesians 1:11

Romans 11:33-36

Psalm 119:68

James 1:17

Psalm 84:11

Romans 8:31-39

Joshua 23:14

Hebrews 7:25

1 Corinthians 10:13

Matthew 28:20

Romans 8:28-30

Look back at those thoughts you quoted above.  Second Corinthians 10:3-5 warns us that our thoughts are “lofty opinions raised against the knowledge of God”.  How are those thoughts in opposition to the knowledge of God? 

How do these thoughts reflect a lack of trust in God’s sovereignty?

How do these thoughts reflect a lack of trust in God’s wisdom?

How do these thoughts reflect a lack of trust in God’s goodness?

How do these thoughts reflect a lack of trust in God’s provision?

How do these thoughts reflect a lack of trust in God’s love for you?

How do these thoughts reflect a lack of trust in God’s promises?

How do these thoughts reflect a lack of trust in Christ’s provision on the cross?  Christ endured every type of temptation, yet did not sin.  As He perfectly fulfilled the law of His Father, He was the perfect sacrifice to take your sin on Himself to the cross and be the atoning sacrifice.  He removed God’s wrath from you!  Christ now lives to intercede for you!  He left His Holy Spirit to dwell inside you and enable you to honor the Father!  How do your thoughts reflect that you doubt this truth?

As you examine your thoughts in light of who God is, what is your response?  What specifically do you need to ask God to forgive you for?

As you look at the scriptures you wrote out above, what do you want to thank God for?  (We are to bring our thanksgiving to God according to Philippians 4, see above.)

Write out new thoughts.  In light of who God is and what He has done for you in Christ, what new thoughts do you need to focus on to transform your mind?  Again, use quotes that you will think over and over.  Include scripture verses or phrases from scripture.  God’s word is powerful!  For example “It would be nice if my husband treated me well, but nothing can separate me from the love of God, including an angry husband.”  “This relationship is hurtful, but it is one of the ALL THINGS God is using for my good to make me more like Christ.”  “God is not withholding good from me.  He does good so my definition of good needs to change.”

Put these things into practice (Philippians 4:9-10).  As soon as you catch yourself in “old thinking”, STOP!  Repent of raising a lofty opinion against the knowledge of God.  Repent of thinking things that are untrue, unlovely, impure, dishonorable, and not worthy of praise.  Thank God for His goodness, wisdom, the gift of Christ. Then think your new thoughts over and over.

Our thoughts are habits.  It takes time and effort to change them.  But you do not do it alone!  God works the change in your heart and enables you to pursue righteous thoughts.  Commit to trust Him in this process.

Renewing Your Mind and Why It Matters

By Nancy Williams

Romans 12:1-2 (CSB)

Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

This is a verse that everyone of us needs to meditate on to remind us that our true worship is to be a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. We are called to glorify God.

To do this, verse 2 tells us that we are not to be conformed to this age. In other translation it says world and I like this translation of age to remind us that society, culture, popular opinion changes over generations and that is not what we are to follow.

We are told in verse 2 to not be conformed to this age but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.

Our mind should not be like the world around us. Because we live in a sin fallen world, we need to remember that our minds are also sin fallen. Which means, our minds do not think correctly about our own sin and can have dark thoughts about the goodness of God. Just like our personality and emotions all of these parts of who we are, are in need of transformation. We are being made into His image which means, mind, personality and emotions need to be transformed which is part of the sanctification process. We are being transformed so that we can be pleasing to God.

Our minds, because they are sin fallen or corrupted by sin, do not need more education or knowledge – knowing more is not what will transform us. Let me say that again, knowing more is not what will transform our sinful mind. Just like our hearts our minds need the gospel to transform us.

When God created the heavens and earth He spoke, and it happened. Adam and Eve wanted to be like God and ate of the fruit allowing sin to enter the world separating us from knowing God until Christ came, lived a sinless life, died on the cross and rose again to pay the price so that we can have a right relationship with God. Until we have a right relationship with God fully surrender to the Lord, our minds cannot be renewed spiritually.

Isaiah 14:12-14 is an example of how we live our life apart from God. Some believe this passage is the fall of Lucifer, but it doesn’t fit with all of 14 so is probably talking about King Nebuchadnezzar who is a perfect example of someone who is not spiritually renewed. Let me read Isaiah 14:12-14

12 Shining morning star,

how you have fallen from the heavens!

You destroyer of nations,

you have been cut down to the ground.

13 You said to yourself,

“I will ascend to the heavens;

I will set up my throne

above the stars of God.

I will sit on the mount of the gods’ assembly,

in the remotest parts of the North.

14 I will ascend above the highest clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

The phrase “I will” is interesting, in the sense that every time it is said in Isaiah 14, it is being said by this king who wills to be like God. When the king said he will ascend to the heavens and set his throne by God or make himself like the Most High. It did not happen, even though he declared it and wanted the glory, the worship and fame. This is important because we still make these “I will statements” for our own glory but they look more like seeking myself-will, self-glory, self- gratification, self-righteousness and self-sufficiency. We make it all about us so it is easy to buy into this age’s thinking that you can have it your way, you deserve better, you can be whatever you want to be, be your own boss, maker of your destiny or no one has the right to tell you how to live.

This is why renewing the mind matters because the mind is sin fallen and needs the gospel verse 2 of Roman 12 reminds us that

“Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

We need to transform our minds so that we know the good pleasing and perfect will of God. The word transform is the Greek word “Metamawfao” which is also used in Mark 9:2, Matthew 17:2 and 2 Corinthians 3:12-18.  In the Mark and Matthew passages it is used for the English word transfigured. In Matthew 17:2, He was transfigured in front of them, and his face shone like the sun; his clothes became as white as the light. This type of transformation or transfiguration is from the inside out. It is a spiritual transformation and needs spiritual things to help transform it.

2 Corinthians 3:12-18

“12 Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness. 13 We are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from gazing steadily until the end of the glory of what was being set aside, 14 but their minds were hardened. For to this day, at the reading of the old covenant, the same veil remains; it is not lifted, because it is set aside only in Christ. 15 Yet still today, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts, 16 but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

You see we are all born spiritually blind, we have a veil like Moses covering our face, until we understand what Christ did on the cross. We walk around dead in our trespass (spiritually blind). When we surrender our life and ask Jesus to be Lord of our life He replaces our veil with a helmet of salvation. This helmet of salvation helps us to seek and hunger for spiritual things. And one day Christ promises to come back and He is looking at those with veils and helmets and He is seeking all those with helmet of Salvation on to replace them with the crown of life. This is the Sanctification process making us more like Him.

Being Sanctified is an important part of our walk with God and one many of us do not understand.

There is a great quote by G.K. Chesterton “A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.” If we want to go against this age, we need to be alive in Christ and that happens with the renewing of our minds by putting our faith in Christ to remove our veil.

Romans 12:2

“Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

So how do we spiritually renew our mind so that we can discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

It all starts with prayer.

Your first step is to pray – this is just not asking the Lord to help you with your wants and needs, but to help you in your transformation.

Specifically pray, for God to remove the blinders

Lord show me where I am still blind to my own sin.

Lord where am I aligned to this age and not your word?

Help me to be teachable, dying to my ways, seeking your ways

Lord where is my heart still hardened to your word

Lord where do I not want to obey

What I wills or self-wills do I need to repent of to the Lord

Where am I still seeking to be worshipped – help me to die to this

Renew me from the inside out

Give me eyes to see you, ears to hear you and a heart to love you more than anything else

Lord help me to be Kingdom minded

Help me to be humble

Lord why does this bother or frustrates me

How often do you truly pray like this? We should be praying this out of our breath daily, in every circumstance, minute by minute. In Paul E. Miller’s Praying life book, He calls these breath prayers, and they are part of our spiritual transformation.

Another type of prayer is a lament. What do you do with the grief, sorrow, or anguish you have? God’s word teaches us to lament. Do you know how to lament? This is a different type of prayer. The four elements of a good lament are (1) turning to God, (2)  complaining to God, (3) asking God, and (4) trusting God. There are great examples of how to do this in Dark Cloud, Deep Mercy. During Covid I was frustrated with all the complaints on Facebook, so I wrote and posted this lament.

How long oh Lord, will many live in fear? Seeking to hoard, and not share, forgetting to love you and others. How long oh Lord will men and women of God forget whom they worship? Is this what Moses felt with stiff neck people who do not worship or trust your name? Or Noah when he built an ark, did people see only the world not You. When will we fall on our knees and repent? Lord teach us to worship you apart from gathering in a building but gathering as family, friends and neighbors. Lord show us how to be faithful in worship, tithe and studying of your word without a building. Lord use the weeks we are apart to draw us closer to you. May this time bring us to a place where we will worship You and You alone. Use this time of isolation to heal our families, to help us think of others and most importantly draw us to trust you more. Lord use this time to prepare us for what is to come, may we have a better understanding of how our brothers and sisters in persecuted countries do life without a building. Lord may we be stronger, faithful, bold encouragers of Your word, so that the day you bring us back together will be an amazing time of celebration of who You are and what You have done. May it give us a glimpse of what heaven will be like when all your children, from every tribe and nation are together to worship You and only You.

Lamenting should help us to turn to God, complain only to God, asking God for help and trusting Him with the outcome.

Second Be in the Word

• Read daily and as you read pray – ask the Lord to show you His glory, His plan, His attributes, who He says He is

• Read a different translation – so that you don’t say I already know this

• Ask God to show you your own sin, where you need to grow, where do I need to repent, what do I need to obey and then do it.

• When reading a passage ask yourself How does this help me to love God more, and in light of this how should I be living and then start living this way. We are called to not just be hearers of the word but also doers. If you read something about unforgiveness, do you stop and then pray and go ask for forgiveness.

• Memorize Scripture – I have hidden your word in my heart so that I might not sin against you. I have attached a list of 26 verses you should know. Like 1 Corinthians 10:31 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” Then whenever you are doing something, ask yourself am I doing this for the glory of God? Or 2 Corinthians 5:9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. Am I pleasing God?

Third, preach the Gospel to yourself daily

• Know the Gospel- Jesus lived a sinless life, died on the Cross and rose again and is the Son of God. Do you understand elements of the gospel: Like dying? Trees in the fall are the most beautiful during the dying process. We are most beautiful when we die to self. Or that you are being made new. Who we are today is not who we will be tomorrow and not who we will be in heaven.

• Read the gospel Primer – the poem or a section. One of my favorites is page 39 that takes about all things crucified. If we read this daily there would be more things we would die to, to be like Him.

• Remind yourself that Jesus died even for this

• Read from Valley of vision – sin, repentance, humility

• Listen to Gospel center music or old hymns. What can wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus, His mercies are new every morning, be hold our God or Come their fount of every blessing, bind my wandering heart to Thee Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it Prone to leave the God I love Here's my heart, oh take and seal it Seal it for Thy courts above

We all need things like Valley of Vision, Gospel primer, Sovereign Grace Ministries for kids and adults, Shane and Shane hymns to help us be reminded of God’s truth to our heart, soul, and mind.

Fourth,  Watch or listen to biblically sound sermons

• Pray before you watch or listen ask God to teach you to be more like Him Make sure that the people you are listening to exegesis scripture

• Take notes – review them ask questions like how does this help me love God more and in light of this how should I be living and then do it

Whenever the Pastor asks you to do something, do it as long as it is not sin, little steps of obedience like for Easter Pastor Steve ask you to give to our Global Partners did you do it? We all have something to give. Being faithful not only to hearing the word but doing the word.

Fifth, Be in an accountability/lifegroup

• Be willing to put yourself under authority- church membership, lifegroup, spouse, boss- if you are single like I am, ask someone to speak truth into you

• Pray that you will receive correction well, do not be defensive – Lord show me where this is true, where it is not, what do I need to change to be more like you.

• Share what you are struggling with and what you are putting off and putting on – be honest do not under exaggerate your sin or over exaggerate your feelings or situation.

• Share what you are learning, what you are struggling with and encourage others. When was the last time you had a conversation with someone about what God is teaching you or are you more excited to share about something that happened on a TV show?

• We all need to be Paul, and need a Paul in our life, we also need to be Barnabas and need to have Barnabas in our life. Who are you speaking truth to and who are you encouraging?

These five steps should help you to renew your mind so that you can be more like Christ by the renewing of your mind on spiritual matters so that you can be transformed from the inside out.

Some books that are helpful –

Praying life – Paul E. Miller

Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy - Mark Vroegop Gospel Primer – Milton Vincent

Valley of Vision – Puritan Prayers

Conscience: What It Is, How to Train It, and Loving Those Who Differ -Andrew David Naselli, J.D. Crowley

That little voice in your head – Andrew David Naselli

The Gospel Bible Study – She Reads the Truth Apps

She reads the truth New City Catechism

Verses to know

1 Corinthians 10:31 – Life is all about giving God glory

2 Corinthians 5:9 – The one we want to please is God

Philippians 2:3-4 – Focus on others, not yourself

John 15:5 – We are totally dependent on God for success

Jeremiah 17:5,7 – Trusting in people will ruin you, trusting in God brings blessing Romans 12:18 – Do all you can do to seek resolution. Even then, you may not succeed.

Philippians 4:11-13 – The key to joy is not changing your circumstances but in being content

Hebrews 12:15 - Bitterness will ruin you

Philippians 4:8 – We are responsible for what we think about

Ephesians 2:10 – Christ saved us that we might do good works

John 10:27-28 -If we belong to Christ, He keeps us safe

Hebrew 13:17 – We are accountable to our church leaders

1 Timothy 6:10 – The love of money leads to other bad behavior Proverbs 24:26 – Truthful and gracious comments of a brother are gentle John 3:27 – God provides for our daily needs

James 4:1-3 – This is why we fight and quarrel

Psalm 84:11 - God’s overall provision and protection

Proverbs 13:15,21 – Life gets harder when we continue in sin Colossians 1:19,20 – God reconciles all things through Christ

James 1:2-4 – Consider all things joy

1 Peter 3:18 – Christ died once for all

Galatians 6:7-8 – The sowing and reaping principle.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 – Christ’s love motivates my personal change Luke 6:43-45 - You say what you say because it’s in your heart to say it Proverbs 4:23 – Your heart is control center

Psalm 63:3 – God is better than life itself 

Self-Talk and Sanctification

by Chris McGarvey

We talk to ourselves. We counsel, advise, coach, and even command ourselves. Most of us are familiar with our internal monologue. It’s why we resonate with this quote by Martyn Lloyd-Jones,

“Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. … Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you.”[1]

Perhaps you know your need to preach to yourself and not just listen to yourself, but are you aware of whose voice your inner voice imitates? Who do you sound like when you talk to you? I’m specifically referring to the tone of voice in your head. Does it sound like Jesus? Or does it sound more like a harsh drill sergeant, a hard-to-please father, or a hypercritical, disappointed mother?

Think of what the narrative in your head sounds like, especially when you fail.

• Are you often condescending, demeaning, mocking, or sarcastic in tone? (“Nice job!” “Way to go, idiot!” “What is wrong with you?!”)

• Do you often remind yourself that you’re failing at pretty much everything?

• Do you ever castigate and condemn yourself?

• Do you ever tell yourself you’re worthless and will never amount to anything?

Having believed Jesus’s gracious words for your justification, are you now seeking to be sanctified by bullying yourself into submission? Does your inner voice sound more like “the accuser of the brothers” (Rev. 12:10) or the gentle and lowly Lover of our souls (Matt. 11:28-30)?

Prosecuting or Defense Attorney

The name Satan literally means “accuser.” The devil is a prosecuting attorney bent on your condemnation. Jesus, however, is your defense attorney (1 Jn. 2:1). He is not your prosecuting attorney. Is your inner voice serving as a loudspeaker for Satan’s accusations or the Son’s gracious intercession (Rom. 8:34)?

We can be brutal with ourselves, can’t we? Even downright abusive. Where did we learn this? If you saw a counselor and he spoke to you like you sometimes speak to yourself, you might file a report. You’d certainly never go back!

Jesus never abuses his people. He is lovingly stubborn, relentless even, but he is never cruel. He is never annoyed or disgusted with us. He never rolls his eyes at us. He never lashes out at us. Of course, he had hard words for hardened, self-righteous hypocrites, but repentant sinners heard loving words of forgiveness, cleansing, and hope. Jesus is the suffering servant of whom it was written, “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench” (Isa. 42:3; Matt. 12:20). A thrice-denying apostle was restored without browbeating and I told you so’s.

Sensitivity to the Spirit

If the Son of God is an advocate for us in heaven, the Spirit of God is the helper-advocate in us on earth. So, what does he sound like? How does God speak to us, by the Spirit, in the privacy of our minds and hearts?

Not with the saccharine sentimentality of self-esteem slogans. Not with flattery or the “power” of positive thinking. He tells us the truth. But he does so with the love and tenderness that is the heart of God for his children. We quench and resist and grieve the Spirit when we submit to the devil’s brutality in our self-talk. Part of what it means to be sensitive to the Spirit is to listen to the words of God to us, wedded to the heart of God for us.

God hates our sin because he loves us! He is tough on sin because he is tender with sinners. Satan only hates us. He leads us into temptation and then capitalizes on our sin in order to condemn us. Satan is soft on sin in order to be hard on us.

Oh, how we need to learn to tell the difference!

• The Spirit wants you to loathe your sin.

• Satan wants you to loathe yourself.

• The Spirit’s will is to redeem and renew you, convicting you to set you free.

• Satan’s will is to enslave and destroy you, condemning you to hold you captive.

• The Spirit says, “There’s something wrong with you. I’m here to help.”

• Satan says, “What’s wrong with you?! You’re hopeless.”

• The Spirit appeals to your identity in Christ to draw you back from wandering (“That’s not who you are. Repent and come home.”).

• Satan questions your identity because of your wandering (“And you call yourself a Christian?!”).

Taking Pages from Satan’s Playbook

In your experience, when someone (a parent, spouse, boss, coach, or spiritual leader) belittles you and beats you down, is it the most effective way to help you change? Of course not. Then why do we talk to ourselves that way? Why do we try to build ourselves up by destructive means?

Why are we taking pages from Satan’s playbook to accomplish God’s goals? Our ears need to be tuned, by the Spirit, to the voice of Jesus (including his tone), so that our inner voice will echo his. We are to hate our sin, but we are not to speak hatefully to ourselves. We are to deny ourselves, but we are not to despise ourselves.

Resist and Rehearse

Satan doesn’t want you to change (unless he can co-opt your success to make you proud and self-righteous). When you fail, he stands over you wagging his finger to keep you down. He starts up the beat-you-down broken record, increasing the volume.

God does want you to change. He’ll expose and convict you of your sin, because you’re precious and beloved. And when you fail (again), he’ll happily help you rehearse the gospel (again). This is your heavenly Father, teaching you to talk.

Resist the devil and his voice will flee your mind. Rehearse the words of God, tuned in to his tone. Counsel yourself not only with his words, but also with his heart.

[1] Spiritual Depression: It’s Causes and Cure (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1965), 20-21.

Chris McGarvey

Chris McGarvey (MDiv, TEDS) is the lead pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Wilmington, DE. He’s been in pastoral ministry for over 20 years. He and his wife have five children.

Have This Mindset

By Wendy Wood

God, in His Word, tells us to pay attention to our thoughts and even commands us about what our thoughts should be (Hebrews 4:12, Philippians 4:8, Proverbs 4:23).  God tells us this because what we are thinking about will greatly determine the words and actions that come out of us.  Jesus said that what comes out of the mouth originates in the heart (Matthew 15:18).  So, as I was reading Philippians 2 in the past few weeks, I was again struck by the command to ‘Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).  Paul has just told us to do nothing for selfish gain but to humble ourselves and consider others worthy of serving and loving.  It is easy to agree with Scripture, after all, it is God’s breathed out Word.  But it is much harder to stop and think about how to live this out.  Thankfully, God provides what we need to be able to live this way!

This “mind… is yours in Christ Jesus”.  Paul shows us how Jesus first lived this out as an example for us.  Jesus was in the form of God but did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.  Jesus was equal with God.  He is the exact imprint of the nature of God (Hebrews 1:3)  But, he didn’t “grasp” it.  He didn’t have a tight grip on his status that he refused to let go of.  He didn’t cling to being God so tightly that he refused to serve and descend to meet people where they were.  No!  Jesus willingly let go of his status so that he could serve.  Jesus humbled himself and took the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of man.  Paul repeats the same words he has just commanded us to do with “count” and “humble”.  Paul is linking what we are called to do with what Jesus did.  Jesus had to be both the true Son of God and human to be the perfect sacrifice and atonement for our sins.  Jesus humbled himself.  He willingly lowered himself to human and servant status and demonstrated the highest form of counting others more significant by being obedient to death on the cross.  This is an example for us to follow.  When we are commanded to count others more significant than ourselves, we are not to find people who we think are “below” us in status or importance or the roles we have.  We are to willingly choose to humble and lower ourselves and serve others at great cost to ourselves, just like Jesus did.

But, Jesus was much more than an example.  He is the grace that enables us to live this way.  We cannot will-power our way into loving others this way.  If you try to do this on our own, we will be exhausted, frustrated and bitter.  This “mind… is yours in Christ Jesus”.  Jesus didn’t stay dead when he was obedient to death on the cross.  “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name” (Philippians 2:9).  Jesus’ resurrection and exaltation is the power that his Spirit gives us when we are in relationship with Him by grace through faith.  When we are content in Christ we can serve others well.  Paul showed us this in Philippians 4:12-13 when he said, “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”  Doing “all things” refers to being content in Christ.  Only when we are content with God’s love and grace in our lives can we willingly give up status to humble ourselves.  We also have the promise that God exalts the humble.  1 Peter 5:6 says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.”  God encourages us to look forward to the reward he offers!  God notices and repays those who choose to humble themselves to love and serve others.

So, what is your mindset?   Do you look at those around you and consider their needs ahead of your own?  Where do you need to count others more significant than yourself and humble yourself to serve?  Are you a boss at work but like to keep your hands clean and not help out wherever is needed?  Do you like to lead at home by giving commands rather than being a servant and doing the work yourself?  Do you like to keep track of how much your spouse does to serve you and make sure it feels equal?  Take some time and ask God to reveal where you need to grow in willingly humbling yourself and counting others worthy of your service.

Set Your Minds on Things Above

Colin Smith

Set your minds on things above. (Colossians 3:2)

All of us are on our way, either to something that is infinitely better, or to something that is infinitely worse. People sometimes talk about “living your best life now.” That’s only possible if you are going to hell. If hell is your future, your best life is now.

But if you are going to heaven, your best life is to still to come. For a person outside Christ, this life is as good as it gets. But for a person in Christ, your pain in this world is the only pain you will ever experience. Your struggles in this world are the only struggles you will ever endure.

This is as tough as it gets for you, because your future is absolutely glorious! Without Christ this world is as near as you will get to heaven. With Christ this world is as near as you will get to hell. It is better to suffer any illness, endure any sorrow, carry any burden and be in Christ, than it is to enjoy any lifestyle you can imagine without Him.

Today, I have the joy of lifting your eyes up to your future joy in heaven, so that you will find strength, courage, and comfort to endure the difficulties of life that confront you today.

In heaven, you will serve God as you always wished you could

They are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple. (Revelation 7:15)

Every Christian serves Christ, but none of us serves the Lord as we would like to serve Him. All who love Christ worship Him, but none of us worships as we would like to worship. Don’t you find yourself at times asking, “Why is my heart so sluggish? Why is my response to the grace of God so restrained, so calculating?”

Every Christian wants to serve Christ, but we find ourselves in conflict, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38). We throw ourselves into serving Christ and into living for Christ, and then we get tired or we become discouraged. We get bogged down in our unsolved problems and our unanswered questions, but it will not always be so. In heaven you will serve God as you always wished you could. “Day and night” they serve Him. No tiredness there!

Here, we go through seasons of feeling distant from God, and we want to have a new and fresh experience of God. But in heaven you will be before His throne. You will be with Him, and you will enjoy Him forever!

In heaven, Christ will lead you into ever increasing joy

The Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water. (Revelation 7:16)

You may think, “Heaven’s going to be a wonderful place where I’m going to discover all kinds of marvelous things.” Yes it will, but John is telling us, “It’s better than that.” What’s missing?

Christ is the great Shepherd of His people. He feeds them and that is why they are never hungry (7:16). And He leads them—Christ does this for us on earth, and He will do this for us in heaven too, “the Lamb will… guide them to springs of living water!” The great joy of heaven is that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself will lead you into ever increasing delight.

Perhaps you have a favorite place to vacation. You keep going back, and over the years, you’ve gotten to know it better and better. After many years, you know most of what there is to know. You have eaten at every restaurant. You have shopped at every store. But you will never get to that place in heaven. Heaven will be an infinite world of new discoveries, and Jesus Christ will unfold them to you.

Thomas Boston says, “The divine perfections will be an unbounded field, in which the glorified shall walk eternally, seeing more and more of God; since they can never come to the end of the infinite. They may bring their vessels to this ocean every moment, and fill them with new waters.”[1]

This joy will go on increasing forever! Think about looking through a photo album. The joys you experience in life remain in your memory so that you continue to derive happiness from them—things that happened ten years ago or twenty years ago.

Jonathan Edwards asks, “Do you think it will be any less in heaven?” The joys of heaven will accumulate: “Their knowledge will increase to eternity; and if their knowledge, their holiness; for as they increase in the knowledge of God, they will see more of his excellency (beauty), and the more they see of his excellency (beauty) the more they will love him, and the more they love God, the more delight and happiness they will have in him.”[2] Friends, we are talking about exponentially increasing joy! What will that be like after a million, million ages?

In heaven, all your wounds will finally be healed

God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. (Revelation 7:17)

Every tear! Literally, the tears will be wiped “out of their eyes.” This is telling us God removes, not only the tears, but also the source that produces the tears—even our tear ducts! The baggage you carried—there’s nothing to carry now. It’s gone. The temptations you battled—there are no battles now. The pain you suffered—there’s no suffering now.

John sees the glory of heaven, the presence of Jesus, the glory of the new creation, but then like a drumbeat you have this repeated statement of what will not be there: No death; no mourning. No sins to confess; no temptations to overcome. No sickness to suffer; no pain to endure. No crosses to carry; no fears to face.

All your questions will be answered. All your doubts will be resolved. All your longings fulfilled. All your needs met. Your joy will be complete. And God will wipe away every tear from your eyes. If you have been washed in the blood of Christ, it will not be long before you are there too.

Longing to depart, ready to stay

Look at what lies ahead of you, and it will help you to face whatever you are facing today. Donald Macleod reminds us that heaven is our Father’s house: “What a grief it must be to God that so few of His children want to go home! Here we are, in enemy territory, amid the sufferings of the present time, beset by sin and seeing our Father’s name dishonored all around us and yet we want to stay!”

Macleod recalls Paul’s longing to depart and be with Christ, which the apostle says is “better by far.” But at the same time, Paul says that he has to be ready to stay and continue serving the church. “This surely is the healthy Christian attitude: Willing to stay, for the sake of the work still to be done, but longing to get home.”[3]

Serving Christ will be your great delight in heaven, so find joy by serving Him now. Following Christ will lead you to springs of living water in heaven, so find life by following Christ now. Christ will wipe every tear from your eye in heaven, so find comfort by drawing near to Him now.

—

[1] Thomas Boston, Human Nature in Its Fourfold State, p. 302, Sovereign Grace, 2000

[2] Jonathan Edwards, Works, Vol. 2, p. 618, Banner of Truth, 1974

[3] Donald Macleod, “Monthly Record of the Free Church of Scotland,” p. 125, 1990

This article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s message “Heaven,” from the series The Inside Story of Your Future Life, Feb. 26, 2012.

Think About Your Thoughts

by Lucy Ann Moll

Jennifer asked me how to change her thoughts. She had spiraled deep into discouragement and wanted to feel like her old self: upbeat, positive, happy. “This isn’t me,” she shared. “I keep thinking negatively about everything over and over and over. I don’t know how to stop.”

In this article, you learn three new ways to think about your thoughts and learn how to stop life-sapping thinking:

1. Ask yourself if your thoughts glorify God.

2. Change the thoughts he wants you to change

3. Take every thought captive.

1. Ask Yourself an Important Question

What you say to yourself matters. What you think becomes who you are. You want to think well, don’t you? Then you need to ask if your thoughts glorify God.

Words kill, words give life;

they’re either poison or fruit–

you choose. Prov. 18:21

A helpful place to begin is writing down your thoughts in a small, spiral notebook that’s easy to carry with you. When a negative thought pops up, write it down and note what was happening around the time of the thought. Do this for about three days. Don’t concern yourself with changing your thoughts at first. The point is to become aware of them.

You may become aware of thoughts you didn’t even know you were thinking!

Do you say one of these uglies to yourself?

Very often women silently tell themselves things like:

• I’m such an idiot.

• No one likes me.

• I’m ugly.

• I can’t do anything right.

Did you have any of these thoughts?

Practical help: Review your list of thoughts. Which are the most common ones? When did you tend to have them? Are they glorifying to God? Jennifer had most of her automatic, negative thoughts in the morning before she got out of bed and asked God to show them to her. She wrote out Psalm 139:1-2:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my thoughts.

Point out anything in me that offends you,

and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Psalm 139:23-24 

Like Jennifer, you can ask yourself whether your thoughts are glorifying to God.

2. Change Your Thoughts

Which thoughts is God nudging you to change? Not sure? You could measure your thoughts by the instruction of Philippians 4:8.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Jennifer noted that one of her recurring thoughts was, “I’m never going to get better.” This thought is in opposition to “whatever is true.” As a Christian, Jennifer is promised by God to become more and more like Jesus Christ, who says “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10b). This process is called “progressive sanctification.”

When she told herself this life-killing lie, her discouragement worsened. Has this happened to you too? Sadly, negative thinking begets negative emotions. Conversely, says Brian S. Borgman in Feelings and Faith, “Right thinking about God produces and cultivates godly emotions such as peace, joy confidence, and hope.”

You keep him in perfect peace
    whose mind is stayed on you,
    because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)

Practical step: Measure your thoughts against Phil. 4:8 and ask God which one you need to change.

3. Take Every Thought Captive

God wants you to walk in the truth. You Enemy has a game plan to get you to believe lies — lies about yourself, about your circumstances, and about the Gospel.

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

To take every thought captive to obey Christ, you need to replace the lies with the truth. Go through the list of thoughts you wrote down. For each one that is not true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, or commendable, find a Bible verse that replaces the lie with the truth. Jot down the Bible verses you’ve found on index cards or sticky notes.

Yes, it is work to find life-giving Bible verses and write them on card or notes but well worth it. Do you think that looking up verses isn’t worth the effort? Do you have other obstacles? What are they? Why not discuss them with a trusted Christian friend?

2 examples to get you get you started.

Life-sapping thought: God doesn’t love me. He doesn’t care.

Life-giving truth: “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8

Life-sapping thought: Life must go well for me. If it doesn’t, this proves I’m a worthless loser.

Life-giving truth: “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:11-13.

Practical help: Each time your have a negative, life-sapping thought, read the index card or sticky note you made with the life-giving truth. As you repeat this process of taking every thought captive to obey Christ, you will discover that the negative thoughts diminish in frequency and power.

This was Jennifer’s discovery. As she read John 10:10 each time she thought “I’m never going to get better,” she noticed that she thought it less often and she experienced hope and joy. She’s applying the same process to other life-sapping thoughts she has. Her discouragement if lifting. She’s beginning to feel like her old self.

And it all began with thinking about her thoughts. Do you want to replace your negative thoughts too? May I invite you to contact me? We can set up a time to talk on the phone for a free 15-minute consult. I also have a downloadable ebook you make like — “Transform Your Thoughts Journal.”

Sharing hope with your heart,

Lucy Ann Moll

Posted at: https://www.lucyannmoll.com/think-about-your-thoughts/

May the Words of My Heart... Meditation

Trevin Wax

An interesting topic for a church history dissertation would be the origin and rise of choosing a “life verse”—a portion of Scripture chosen by a Christian as especially meaningful, words that serve as a banner over his or her life. I believe the practice is recent, appearing only in the past hundred years or so, yet it is widespread among evangelicals who accentuate the personal power of hearing God’s Word.

During my first trip to Romania as a 15-year-old, I claimed Psalm 19:14 as my life verse.

May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you,
LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

Whatever church we visited, when given an opportunity to speak, I spoke about this prayer. In the years following, other passages of Scripture have marked my life in immeasurable ways: the majesty of Romans 8, the parables of Luke 15, and especially the incomparable and indispensable Lord’s Prayer, which I recite every morning, noon, and night.

But as someone whose work involves words—reading them, thinking them, writing them, speaking them—I keep going back to Psalm 19:14.

During the two and a half years I served my church as teaching pastor, I prayed these words out loud every week after reading the Scripture at the start of the sermon. One of the most meaningful notes I received was from a third-grader in our congregation who wrote the verse out word-for-word on a piece of paper and gave it to me along with a word of thanks for how I prayed that verse before I preached. Fernando Ortega’s musical treatment of this verse (artistically combined with the Philippians 4 “whatever is true” passage) has been a regular on my playlist for more than a decade now.

The longer I live and speak and write, the more I feel the weight of my dependence upon God to answer this request. I’ve discovered that this is a prayer I’ve grown into, not something I could ever grow out of. As long as I have breath, I will continue to ask for God’s blessing on my words.

May . . . The verse is a prayer. I am asking Jesus to do something for me that I cannot pull off by myself. Apart from him, my words and thoughts will deviate from righteousness. The prayer expresses the passion of my heart to please the heart of God.

. . . the words of my mouth . . . The average person speaks more than 7,000 words a day. In my line of work, which involves leading a team, speaking, and writing, my average likely exceeds 10,000. That’s a lot of talking. Jesus told us “the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart,” and on the day of judgment, “people will have to account for every careless word they speak” (Matt 12:34, 36). It’s not hard for careless words to tumble out of the heart and crush someone else’s spirit. I’ve been on both the receiving and giving end of careless words. I know my heart’s tendency toward self-justification, self-defense, and self-promotion. Self, self, self. For this reason, I need Psalm 19:14—a prayer that stands as a guard around my lips (Ps. 141:3).

. . . and the meditation of my heart . . . The psalmist anticipates the Savior, who pointed beyond mere words to the heart where sin is incubated. Meditation is a settled state of thought, like the alignment for the tires that keep a vehicle from drifting. It’s the default setting of the heart. Unless I pray for my heart’s deepest, default state to be pleasing to God, my heart drifts toward self-centered ways that give rise to selfish words and actions.

. . . be acceptable to you . . . Pleasing. Acceptable. I love the modesty of this prayer. It’s not a request for words that sparkle and shine. It doesn’t ask for deep thoughts that are brilliant or awe-inspiring. The focus isn’t on the power of the words and thoughts or how they might land on the ears of others; it’s on the pleasing and acceptable nature of the expression, and how they find favor with God. I’m not asking for a bestselling book. I’m not asking to be a world-renowned speaker. I’m not asking to be the best, to stand out or shine. The prayer is merely that my inner life and outer expression would be acceptable to the King who made me. That it would pass the test of acceptability and bring him joy.

. . . LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. Here we have the reason why this prayer is uttered in the first place. The Lord is the sheltering rock, the one who protects us from ourselves. He is the Redeemer who delivers us from our sin, forgiving our careless words in the past and empowering us to speak life in the present. So many times, I’ve prayed this verse and then run away from its significance, falling prey to self-centered thoughts and words. But the prayer ends by acknowledging the character of God, upon whose mercy we fall, whose hands lift our heads and renew our eyes—our strength and our Savior.

And so, we pray for words of courage and conviction; words that express truth and grace; words that bring comfort and healing; words that never flatter or deceive, but always edify and exhort; words that reflect well the the character of our Rock and Redeemer.

Posted at: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-wax/may-the-words/

What Would You Do For an Idol?

Macy Wilson

I idolized a career in the arts for a very long time. My whole life, music has run in my veins, so I spent a few years jumping from singing to songwriting to acting, trying to land on one to start my life on. In my early years of high school, I wanted to sing or act for the rest of my life so badly, it hurt. I did unhealthy things to become a “better” actress and dancer, and I got to the point where I truly hated myself, because I thought I looked and sounded nothing like a traditional musical theatre actress. Give 14-year-old me a mirror for a couple minutes and she could come up with more flaws than there are minutes in a day.

Nothing was going to stop me from achieving this dream, though. If excessive working out, an overly restricted diet, an intense daily stretching routine, braces, an expensive skin-care regimen, and no social life was the way to a successful career, then so be it. 

A couple years later, I realized this wasn’t going to be my career. I felt a calling to counseling and ministry, but agonized over the idea of not spending the rest of my life in the performance world. It legitimately hurt. That is one of the most vivid memories I have of the excruciating pain it is to uncover an idol in all its hideousness and to start to dismember it. It felt like dismembering myself--and it was. This idolatry had taken over like a cancer, but I had been physically hurting myself to protect it.

It may not always show up as obviously as an eating disorder or constant obsession over self-image, but all idolatry is destructive. We are told often, but how many excuses do we make for our graven images? 

“I think this is an idol.”
“No, it’s a good thing. It’s good to love and enjoy it.”
“You sure do love it a whole lot.”
“It’s just who you are. This is a part of you.”
“Should it be, though? If it was taken away, I’d be devastated.”
“It’s just the way God made you.”

There is a whole lot of danger in that internal conversation, and I am certain that I’m not the only one who’s been over this script.

Isaiah 44:12-20 describes the work put into fashioning an idol, and the folly that idolatry is. The men in this passage make good things; tools, carpentry, food, and wood for fuel are all good. The folly is when the things they make become their all. The ironsmith works away at his tool, but forgets to drink water and becomes faint. The carpenter creates and cries out to an unresponsive idol. Men cut down great cedars, work for hours on end, and achieve things, but they end with ashes to eat, no water to drink, and a deluded heart.

When I reached the breaking point I realized that I had spent so many wasted hours cultivating my idol; all the days I missed a Bible reading or didn’t pray often, I guarantee you I spent counting calories, running, and obsessively reading over musical scores. All that work, and I never felt satisfied. In Christ, I am content. When Christ is my all, I lack no good thing (Psalm 34:10). He is worth daily sacrificing all the things I hold tightly and clinging to the cross instead. 

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace

Posted at: https://macyleew.squarespace.com/articles/what-would-you-do-for-an-idol

Your Thoughts Reveal Your Functional Identity

Mark Grant

It benefits you to explore your functional identity during a season of difficulty. Wayward hearts and vulnerable souls can easily skew their identities, resulting in the construction of false worship structures, which when present, can lead to increased hopelessness and difficulty during trials.

Caring for a friend in the midst of a trial is difficult. Feelings of inadequacy can surface as one searches for the perfect words in an attempt to ease the weariness of their soul. Empathic listening is always the perfect starting point, but if “soul care” is to take place, the conversation must go deeper than superficial discussions.

With gentleness and patience, the conversation must lead and encourage them to engage with God to embrace His Sovereign and purposeful work in their lives. God uses all things for their good (Romans 8:28-29), and often these seasons provide fertile ground to expose idols of the heart and gaps in an individual’s Gospel understanding.

Due to our fallen natures, we tend to be blind to the things that move us, which are the catalysts that fuel our engines. Often those who are biblically literate have no sound grasp on the ruling motives of their hearts.

One may question the wisdom of this line of reasoning during a season of difficulty. For example, how does directing a wife to understand the idols of her heart help when she is reeling from her husband’s recently confessed adultery?

From a Christian, gospel-driven perspective, this type of conversation is profitable both practically and spiritually.

Suffering brings weariness to the soul, which can be made worse with sin and idolatry (1 Peter 2:11). The purity of your worship directly impacts the health of your soul, and the identification and dismantling of false worship structures (idols/misplaced desires) will help your soul find rest.

Heart idols are the fruit of improper thinking, and if this thinking is left unchecked, the conclusions reached in the midst of a season of suffering can lead to further harm by seeking counterfeit solutions.

Even in the midst of a life turned upside down, you must remember Christ didn’t come to save you from a bad marriage, or a lousy job. Your greatest need remains Christ; for your salvation and your ongoing sanctification. As Paul Tripp said,

The good news of the kingdom is not freedom from hardship, suffering, and loss. It is the news of a Redeemer who has come to rescue me from myself. His rescue produces change that fundamentally alters my response to these inescapable realities.

Humility positions you to receive Christ’s grace (James 4:6). As David Powlison states,

Christ powerfully meets people who are aware of their real need for help. Christ’s forte is our acknowledged need in the face of compulsions from within and pressures from without” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

1. How can you help a friend biblically understand themselves and to better respond to their season of suffering?

2. How can an individual navigate through all the storylines, the emotions, and the hurt to help their friend see the tendencies of their heart?

One way is to recognize how their worship reflects their identity. It is often effective to use a person’s self-defined identity as an entryway, helping them ascertain their purpose in life, and gain a more accurate assessment of themselves and their environment (Psalm 139:23).

This avenue of inquiry can often bring a freshness and clarity in their thinking as they focus on the workings of their heart; ideally leading them to a renewed dependence on Christ for all things (John 15:5). Asking these kinds of questions can help them find rest for their soul, and empower forward moving, hopeful-filled progress.

Christian counseling is counseling which exposes our motives—our hearts and our world—in such a way that the authentic Gospel is the only possible answer. – David Powlison

A Christian’s True Identity

The Westminster Catechism states man’s chief purpose is to, “Glorify God and enjoy Him forever” though sin has taken humanity away from this original position and purpose.

Individually, we were created to serve God, but sin confused everything, tangling our hearts with pride, false idols, false securities, and false saviors all knotted together into one disordered mess from which we cannot free ourselves. Only by grace are we given eyes to see the depth of our complex hearts and two-faced motives, and only by grace do we find a Great Physician committed to untangling our disordered hearts.” – Tony Reinke

Hearts are continuously enticed, tempted and deceived from the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16).

Hidden and insidious desires are always looking to shape lust-filled hearts. You choose things that you perceive as good and desirable; things you think will result in success, comfort, and significance. Over time these selections metamorphose into your identity.

How do we make an identity out of temptation? By collapsing what you desire with who you are. – Rosario Butterfield

A man may desire to become successful in his career. There is nothing wrong with this desire, but if he is not careful, he can start to place his value in his career. As a result, his career becomes his identity, and his focus turns away from Christ and onto the many opportunities or threats to his career. As a result, his joy, or soul-health, links to his performance at work, which can manifest a multitude of false worship structures.

A woman desires to be the perfect mother and starts to define her worth as such. When this happens, her children’s behavior in public will take on a self-focused commentary, and she becomes fearful about how their actions reflect her parenting ability. Her joy, or soul-health, links to something apart from Christ.

False identities can even attach themselves to ministry. If a pastor’s identity shifts away from Christ to being a pastor, his allegiance will become askew. He will analyze trends in church attendance, the reception of his messages, or the divorce rate of couples he counsels and reaches unfortunate conclusions about himself.

In all cases, their thinking turns temporal and their focus inward. God’s role of provider becomes the primary attribute of worship, and unanswered prayers lead to unbelief.

Given the wayward tendencies of fallen hearts, the first step you must take each and every day is to remind yourself of your true identity. During the business of family and work, with all of the entanglements of church and community, you must continue the daily work to orient your life to Christ (Colossians 3:11).

“If I may speak my own experience, I find that to keep my eye simply upon Christ, as my peace, and my life, is by far the hardest part of my calling. A thousand such surrenders I have made, and a thousand times I have interpretatively retracted them.” – John Newton

You can see the well-known pastor and hymnist engaged in the conflict we all face as Christians. You want to do right but find yourself doing the opposite (Romans 7:15). It is the daily call to die to yourself (Matthew 16:24).

Understanding the Battle

The fight for your identity is the same flesh-Spirit battle you face as a Christian (Galatians 5:17). The enemy, while using the world’s temptations, aligns with your flesh to shift your identity, and ultimately your focus away from Christ.

We should be careful at the temptation to minimize our involvement in taking the bait, for, the sinner’s rebellious nature finds the forbidden thing more attractive, not because it is inherently attractive, but because it furnishes an opportunity to assert one’s self-will. – John MacArthur

Seeing yourself in the light of truth requires Spiritual discernment (Obadiah 1:3), and a firm grasp of the Gospel to overcome the indwelling shame, fear, and guilt that is resident in your flesh, and which makes it so difficult to accept the truth about yourself (John 2:25).

The freedom of the Gospel only comes when your focus is building up your new identity in Christ and leaving fleshly-inspired identities behind (Philippians 3:13-14).

Many Christians never fully get to this point. Their souls are too tender, too sensitive from past evil or years of poor soul care. It is similar to providing care to a burn victim; any attention initially brings the pain. It is too excruciating to peel back the many layers of life’s self-centered solutions to allow a new identity (2 Corinthians 5:17) to take root. As a result, they stand firm in who they think they are, daily defending their self-reliant tendencies and self-righteous ways.

Enticement is the hidden danger of a false identity; it has no power or legitimacy and requires “self” to defend, justify, promote, refine, reinvent, and maintain. You could say it creates a heavy yoke (Matthew 11:30) and a propensity towards unbelief. Thus, when helping a hurting friend think correctly and biblically about their identity, the process must be executed with patience, gentleness, and love.

A Final Word

I believe it is important to state that a properly aligned, in Christ identity does not eliminate suffering from your life, but it does create a new type of freedom, as evidenced in the life of Apostle Paul. It is evident that his life was full of hardships (2 Corinthians 11:23-29), but he was able to respond positively. For instance, despite being in jail, Paul was able to see a gain (Philippians 1:12), but only because his identity was in the Gospel; his joy was Christ’s joy.

When evil enters your world, it only impacts your temporal life. Your identity in Christ is eternal and remains unchanged leading you to experience a peace that surpasses your understanding (Philippians 4:7).

To illustrate, I will borrow from Chicken Little’s demise. Some of life’s difficulties and challenges, represented by rocks of varying shapes and sizes, will fall from the sky and disrupt your existence. If your identity is in something other than Christ, that rock will deliver a crushing blow to yourself, leaving you dazed and confused.

If your identity is in Christ, these rocks will no longer have a crippling effect. Although they still have to be dealt with, you can navigate around the obstacle and address the disruption in a much calmer, Gospel-centered, liberating way–in a way that reminds you (and others) that you are living characters in God’s wonderful story of redemption.

Three Future Articles

This article is an introduction, discussing how your identity reveals your worship structures. Three additional articles will follow to help further your understanding and provide practical examples.

1. The first exposes and uncovers the role your inner voice plays in the spiritual battle. If left unchecked, it leads you away from your in Christ identity, leading you down the path to sin.

2. The second article addresses how your identity determines how you respond to the heat of martial conflict, and how an in Christ identity allows for a redemptive response.

3. The third article discusses the importance of having the right identity for a wife caught in a loveless marriage.

I hope this series will help equip you to minister to the souls God has placed in your path.

Mark Grant

Mark Grant was raised in Columbus, Ohio and attended Ohio State. He married Lesa as he finished his MA in Mechanical Engineering. He moved to Los Angeles to work in the Aerospace Industry. After 5 years of a difficult marriage, he and Lesa were saved. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Portland, Oregon and were blessed with a daughter. He currently works for the Navy as a civilian engineer. He lives outside Philadelphia.

Posted at: https://rickthomas.net/thoughts-reveal-functional-identity/

Lord, Help My Anxious Thoughts

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (ESV)

My oldest son has played sports since he was 10 years old.

He excelled in many different positions on the football field, but when he entered college, he was asked to play a new position — one he has never been in before. To say he was anxious is a huge understatement. He made many major mistakes — the type that cost his team wins. The more he tried to correct what he was doing, the worse the situation got. He kept trying different techniques, but the pressure was just too much for him.

He finally found solace when another player gave him some advice that had very little to do with the game. His friend told him his identity was not in how he performed, but his identity was in Christ alone. He told my son he didn’t have to be afraid of failing because God was with him and loved him during every single play of the game — whether good or bad.

The anxiety my son felt trying to perform on the field is the same anxiety my daughter often feels when she’s about to take a test or enter a brand-new social situation.

What my son’s friend told him echoes the words I tell every single one of my kids: You have a resting place, you have help, you have someone to uphold you, and you don’t have to be afraid.

Often when we see our kids struggling, we just want to slap a verse with some commands onto the situation to somehow make it better. We say something like, “Don’t be afraid! You have nothing to be anxious about. Things will be fine.” And while there may be a time and a place for that, it’s better to remind them of all the reasons why they don’t have to be afraid.

God says it so clearly in Isaiah 41:10: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Too often we tend to focus on what our children should be doing — instead of what God has already done and what He promised to continue to do for them. Maybe it’s time to give our anxious kids some good news instead of more commands to stop being fearful. That was exactly the help my son needed. He needed to hear the good news of the gospel. I think we all do.

As believers, we’re promised in Philippians 1:6 that the One who started the work in us will complete it, as the strength to endure comes from Him. We are never left alone to deal with our anxiety. God promises to help us and our kids. He will be my help as I help them.

We each need someone in our life to remind us of these truths and other beneficial ways to support good mental health. In some instances, we need to seek out help from a trusted professional if the anxiety is overwhelming. There is no shame in asking for help.

The truth is, God is holding fast to you and your children, and nothing will ever change that. Pray the Holy Spirit reminds you that you and your kids are held, you are His, He is with you, He promises strength, and He will keep you safe in His care.

Gracious Father, You are trustworthy, and yet I forget that. Too often I try to work out every situation in my own thoughts without once acknowledging You. Give me the right words to help my child. Give me a heart of love and patience. Use me to remind them that You are with them, You will be their God, You will strengthen them. Remind me You will uphold them, You will be their help. Please be my help today. Be my strength today. Remind me that You have promised to love me and my children eternally — and that You will never leave us. Please let me rest and trust in You, and help me teach my kids the same. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY

Psalm 55:22, “Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” (ESV)

John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (ESV)

RELATED RESOURCES

If your son or daughter is suffering from anxiety, you probably have more questions than answers: What is causing the anxiety? Is this normal teenage angst or something more serious? What can I do to help? Jessica Thompson’s How to Help Your Anxious Teen: Discovering the Surprising Sources of Their Worries and Fears will help you understand the issues surrounding teenage anxiety and how you and your teen can experience greater freedom and peace.

CONNECT

For more from Jessica, connect with her on Instagram and Twitter at @thejesslou.

Enter to WIN a copy of How to Help Your Anxious Teen by Jessica Thompson. In celebration of this book, Harvest House Publishers is giving away 5 copies! Enter to win by leaving a comment here. {We’ll randomly select 5 winners and email notifications to each one by Monday, August 26.}

REFLECT AND RESPOND

What are some ways you can help your children remember who God is in the middle of their anxiety?

© 2019 by Jessica Thompson. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 31 Ministries thanks Harvest House Publishers for their sponsorship of today’s devotion.

Posted at: https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2019/08/21/lord-help-my-anxious-heart?fbclid=IwAR38T4b5aAZQvkoqZ_LeWzsaYyB88BKWq-iP5VcfYGbpZhb97cf2KzIEOA8