thinking

Have a Dream in Your Heart

“For God does speak — now one way, now another — though no one perceives it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds,” – Job 33:14,15 It is said that we dream all the time, not just when we’re sleeping, but also when we’re awake. There is a truth to this if you think about it. For example, if you were sitting at a quiet bus stop with no one around and no distractions from electronic devices, you’d begin to daydream. You would begin to think of your immediate concerns, maybe your groceries or a family need. But if you sat there long enough, you’d begin thinking and picturing other aspirations. These actions are important as they happen daily, moment by moment in our imagination, which is a gift from God.  When I think about our

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A Second Conversion

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:38 “Our hearts are restless until they rest in Him.” This famous quote is from St. Augustine of Hippo, who is one of the most famous and influential theologians in Christianity, other than the Apostle Paul. Hailing from Africa, St. Augustine was also a philosopher whose writings influenced the development of Western philosophy and Western Christianity. St. Augustine and Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician who we focused on yesterday, are separated by 2000 years but both probed and answered the age-old questions regarding the need to connect with God and worship Him.  Both of these theologians came to the Lord through reasoning and mental exercises. Pascal’s reasoning is famously known as Pascal’s Wager, which argues that it is in one’s rational self-interest to act as if God exists. I actually think it’s

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Make Jesus Your Top Priority

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:33 Did you know there is no such thing as a neutral mind? Your mind is the control center for your life and your thinking patterns become your habits and your habits crystalize into circumstances. This is why it’s imperative that you focus on what you’re thinking about. When Jesus says, “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you,” He is giving a very clear directive that gives us a priority in our thinking.  Though we often see the devil portrayed in images of demonic possession and animal sacrifices, his work in our lives is actually much more sinister. Jesus broke the bondage of demonic powers and their physical control over your life 2,000 years ago. So today, rather than being

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You Are a Mind

“Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” – Romans 8:5,6 Dallas Willard, an American philosopher and Christian scholar, once made the assertion that a human being is first and foremost a mind. What do you think about that? A person has a mind that influences a will and from that will, decisions are made that forge the course and trajectory of their life. This is why there is so much power in changing the way we think, both individually and as a society. In order for real change to be affected in churches, schools, and ultimately the world as a whole, minds must be

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Prepare Your Mind

“‘Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 2:16 Since we’ve already established in previous devotions the importance of moving from a posture of waiting to one of preparation, the next logical question is how do we do it? For the next few days, I want to talk about four specific things we can do to get ready to receive God’s best for our future. Taken from the ancient Hebrew ceremonial cleansing ritual called Mikvah, which the Jews would undertake whenever they entered the temple for worship, I hope these practical steps will empower us to focus on actively preparing for our next season. The first thing we must do to set the stage for what’s to come is to prepare our minds. Just as Jewish worshippers would wash their heads as a way of

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