Take Every Thought Captive

     I'm sure you've heard the verse: "we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5b, NASB), but how exactly do we take every thought captive? And what happens if we don't?

     First one must understand this principle:

Our THOUGHTS trigger our Emotions.
Our EMOTIONS trigger our Desires.
Our DESIRES trigger our ACTIONS.

     Our hearts and minds operate in this order: Thoughts > Emotions > Desires > Actions. By stopping our temptations at the thought no sin occurs (it is not a sin to be tempted), but as soon as we let it stir our emotions we have given-in, we are now guilty.

     Will we be able to do this 100% perfect, all of the time -- of course not! But, as Christians, we are called to a higher standard. In our pursuit of righteousness, we must not be willing to settle for anything less than God's best.

     So, how do we stop our thoughts in their tracks? The answer is surprisingly simple: if an unwanted thought pops into your mind immediately meditate on scripture and the character of God. Simple, but not always easy.

     If a thought flies into your head and emotions are triggered, then what? Once this has happened, sin has occurred (no matter how justified your feelings may be) and must be dealt with in private. When emotions are high this is NOT the time to go to your friends and "blow off" steam. Venting only causes your mind to dwell and re-dwell on your emotions and personal hurt -- increasing the amount of time spent in disobedience to God's command of taking every thought captive.

1) Go someplace quite and lone. This is a time between you and God ONLY. Experience your emotions with God. Tell Him what you're feeling. Put names on your emotions and the situation. Do you feel angry? Tell God, and tell God why you feel angry. Are you lonely? Sad? Frustrated? Experience your emotions -- vent -- with God.

2a) Confess your ownership of the feelings to God. Don't attempt to justify or qualify your emotions. Confess that you are the owner and these are YOUR feelings.

2b) Repent. Since you did not take your thoughts captive, your emotions have been triggered (eventually your desires and actions will follow if you continue down this path). Reveling in your feelings (whether they feel good -- vengeance -- or bad -- depression) is a sin because you are not allowing God's character to flow into your life.

     The whole verse of 2 Corinthians 10:5 states: "We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ" (NLT). Emotions caused by hurt or frustration are actually prideful emotions. We believe we have a right to feel this way; we are justified. But this is not true; recall the sufferings of Jesus Christ. Of all human beings to ever walk the earth, none had greater justification for anger towards another. Christ was perfectly sinless, yet He was cursed, beaten and killed for sins that were not His. Even through all this, His heart was compassionate towards humanity. If Jesus Christ did not justify Himself what right do we have to justify ourselves?

     Understanding this, we must repent -- turn away from our feelings -- and ask forgiveness from God.

2c) Unconditionally forgive whoever caused the hurt and anyone else involved. Christ forgave us; therefore, we must forgive others.

3) Give everything back to God: your emotions, the situation, the people involved -- EVERYTHING. By giving it to God, you're allowing Him to take control and to fill you with His supernatural peace and strength.

4) Replace the Lies with the Truth. Dive into the Bible. Read and meditate on some scriptures pertinent to you. Fill your mind with the mind of Christ. Let the Holy Spirit fill you up and take over your mind and heart.

     Utilizing these principles will enable you operate under the supernatural love of Christ. Jesus has the ability to work through us in ways we cannot imagine! By setting ourselves aside -- our feelings, our desires, our wants -- we make room for Jesus to work amazing things in our lives. Will it always be easy? No. Will it always make sense? No. Will we always want to lay ourselves aside? No. BUT if we choose to act against our natural, sinful selves, Christ is glorified -- and that is the purpose of Christianity.

This was taken from a brilliant study by Nancy Missler called: Be Ye Transformed.

Fight Until You Die

     This was a manifesto/admonition that a very dear friend of mine wrote. He wrote this when God gave him the call to abandon life in the United States and become a missionary to Bangkok for at least three years... His wife had recently born a son and this was the legacy that he wanted to begin for the sake of his family.

Fight Until You Die.

I will fight to die to myself everyday. I will lay myself on the alter of God so that Galatians 2:20 can take root in me. "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." I will die to self and surrender my life to be lived out by Christ. In so doing, I shall be given the ability, grace and courage to finish the race and to fight the good fight. Through Christ, I will fight until I die.

What will I fight for? I will fight for the glory of God among all the nations. I will fight to honor the gospel and the Word of God. I will fight for the bride of Christ to be prepared for her coming groom. I will fight for personal death for the purpose of sanctification. I will fight to be Christ to my wife and to my children. I will fight for those who have no voice. I will fight for those who are unaware that a war is raging and who are dead in their sins. I will fight to the death so that my death will be the sweetest moment of my life. I will fight, and I will fight until I die. 

I am not a missionary to Bangkok. I am not strong or great or mighty.

I am a woman. I am young. I am single.

     Yet, I will fight, for it is not I who fight, but Christ in me. I am a witness to the glory of God every moment I wake up and step out of bed. My smallness offers testimony to the greatness of God because it is obvious that I do not have the strength to do that which I am called to do. I am a woman and must offer encouragement and guidance to the women and men whom I encounter. I am young and must be an example of the righteousness and selflessness of Christ to those both younger and older than I. I am single, but I will fight for my future husband and unborn children -- for their honor, for their future, for their hope in Christ.

And I will fight until I die.

There is nothing we can't face...

The battle is not ours
     We look to God above
For He will guide us safely through
     And guard us with His love.

So do not be afraid.
     We need not run and hide,
For there is nothing we can't face
      When God is at our side

     It is easy for me to see how God uses different circumstances to make us into the people He wants us to be. We are promised:

... that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28 NASB)

     The bad things, the good things, the less than perfect actions, the more than terrible events, the mistakes, the successes... Everything! God works everything into an opportunity to bring Him glory. Understand, this does NOT give us the right to do whatever we want in whatever manner we choose:

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! (Romans 6:1-2a NASB, emphasis added)

     God commands us to be the absolute best we can be, BUT this does not mean we can be (or even should try to be) perfect. Perfection is reserved for God alone, but as Christians we are to do everything within our abilities to become as Christ-like as possible.

     This is a concept that I understand well. The Lord has granted me a strong faith; so, believing His promises to be true is very natural for me. What I am just learning, and struggling with, is humility. I want to do so much for God, but for whatever reasons, He is choosing not to allow me the opportunities that I want. My struggle is being content with the abilities and resources God has given me. There is so much that I want to do and that I want to be -- I want to grow and reach more people for the glory of God -- BUT that is not always God's way.

     We are to become less so that Christ can become more. If we are constantly preoccupied with how much "range" we have as Christians, we have lost our focus. God has created each and every one of us unique and with a special, specific purpose. He has intricately designed you to do something for His kingdom. This may be something that, by earthly standards, is very, very small; however, doing something small unto the glory and obedience of God is of infinite worth to Him. All the glory, money or prestige of the world is worthless if it is not in obedience to the will of God.

     God uses everything: "good" events and "bad" events, but He also uses people: great big billionaires and little tiny elementary schoolers. There is nothing "too big" or "too small" that God cannot or does not use to further His glory. We may never know in this life all of the little things we did that brought honor to the Kingdom of God, but God sees EVERYTHING, and He uses EVERYTHING for His good.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ESV)

     God uses the weak and the strong. In fact, in weakness, God is more clearly made known and His glory is more readily seen.

Psalm 139:13-14 NIV

For you created my inmost being;

     you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

     your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

     God created you intentionally. We live in a sinful world, depraved and full of imperfections, but God knew you and designed you before the world was made. He knew everything you would do and everything you would be. To be discontent with the resources and abilities God has given you is to shake your fist at God and say, "God, you made a mistake." The world is broken because of sin, but God has provided a way out. He has given us new purpose and new hope.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)

     And in His will we are unstoppable!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13 NKJV)

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."

     "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."

     These are some of the most famous words in literature geek-dom. The opening lines to The Hobbit are well-loved and well-remembered. However, does anyone know how this phrase came into existence? I was talking with my English Professor and he gave me the story:

     Tolkien was a professor at Pembroke College. One afternoon, while he was grading papers, a random line popped into his head, and he scribbled it at the top of one of the papers he was grading: "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." Tolkien did not know what a hobbit was. He did not know why the hobbit was living in the ground. He simply thought the line sounded interesting and wrote it down. It was sometime later that Tolkien sat down to create a story around this mysterious creature living in the ground.

     What does this mean? I remember my professor telling me this story, and, as he spoke, I began wondering if I could apply this to my life. Sometimes random stuff floats around and somehow bumps into us. Other times, we find ourselves doing things, and we don't quite know why. Some people have a particular inclination or desire that has been verily born into them, but they don't know for what reason or for what purpose. Once in a while a sudden urge or idea will come upon us, and we will have no idea from whence it came or how we're supposed to react. It can often feel as though life is just a bunch of strange incidents, feelings and oddities -- none of which make sense. Sometimes we feel lost in a great big world of storms and raging winds; not knowing if we are to remain grounded during the storm or if we are to allow ourselves to be taken by the currents. Sometimes we feel like failures doing nothing original, having no ideas of our own, seeming to have no talents or skills to offer the world.

    BUT... the world is much bigger than it at first may seem. This is not something that should strike fear into the heart of any Christian, for, if the world is so large is not our GOD larger still? God is the one who created us. He is the one who knew before the foundations of the earth were laid what your name was going to be. What your favorite color was going to be. What you'd enjoy, hate, love, loathe. He designed you with an intricate purpose. AND since He knew everything you would think and do before you were born, He has decided to use everything you have gone through and everything you think you're unworthy of accomplishing to enhance His glory and His kingdom AND to draw you into a closer relationship with Him.

    That's a pretty big God.

     What makes life difficult is understanding conceptually how big and powerful God is but not TRULY living this belief through every fiber of our being. This was a huge struggle that I had battled for years. What made it impossible for me to truly understand was my belief that I had gone through so much and done so many things that if I couldn't conceive of an alternative, an alternative couldn't exist. This is a plague for many who are intellectually or experiencially gifted. I can look back now and see how silly this belief was: me, a tiny human being, who though that I could understand the depths of God and complain that His actions were either unfair or unreasonable. I fell for the deception: "it cannot get any better than this" -- especially concerning my relationships. Since I could not conceive of any man being as good or better than the guy I was looking at, a better guy could not exist. I had been so many places and seen so many people, I thought I knew best.

     I was wrong.

     But God in His mercy uses everything for His glory if we are willing to obey Him. Some things don't make any sense. Sometimes we feel like shaking our fists at God, wondering why He has decided to put us in these circumstances. BUT God is so much bigger than anything we can imagine! And just because we may not receive full understanding in this life does not mean we will not receive full understanding in the presence of God in heaven.

     I am aware that this doesn't always make us "feel" better in the midst of our hardships and shortcomings. But day by day, minute by minute, moment by moment, this is something we can take comfort in: God is bigger and smarter than us.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. -- Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

     If this is a struggle for you, the best advice I can give is that this is a moment by moment battle. Any time you feel the weight of hopelessness or uselessness crushing upon you, pray. Carry a pocket Bible with you and read it whenever the wave hits you. Again, this is a moment by moment struggle. At 7:39AM you can be sitting on top of the world, but at 7:41AM you can be so deep in the depths of despair there seems to be no light at all. TAKE COURAGE! No matter what your feelings are, God remains true. Prayers and Scripture readings will help you align yourself with Him, and in the end, isn't that the whole goal?

School's on it's way...

With fall fast approaching, I was thinking about how many people whine and complain when it comes time to do homework or get up early to catch the bus. I understand that school isn't always fun, but we are called to be witnesses wherever we go. Do complaining, joyless people really convey the love that God has for us?

When we walk down the halls at school, try smiling to the newcomers, the people you've never really talked to, the bullies, the nerds, the preps... everyone no matter where they come from or what their reputation is. Since God is love and we are to love the way Christ loved, smiling is a simple way to show off God's love.

At my job, the simple act of smiling has everyone utterly baffled! No one can understand why I'm always smiling. Why should I? Pay is low, customers are rude, managers are demanding -- in school it might be, teachers are mean, homework takes hours, and my classmates are evil! -- so, why in the world should I smile all the time?

My answer is very simple: I am grateful that I even HAVE a job. I am grateful that I am even BEING paid to work. I am happy to be a witness to people in a dark world. I am joyful that I am a Christian, and that Jesus died for ME. I am grateful that I have a home to go to and food on in my refrigerator. I am grateful that I live in America where I can freely own a Bible. I am grateful that I can borrow my Mom's car. I am grateful that I have a room to myself, that I have my own computer, that I can paint my room whatever color I want. I am grateful that I can buy books and art supplies. I am grateful that I have tons of clothes -- that I have clothes at all! -- that I have shoes and make-up and friends... The list can go on and on and on...

The point I'm trying to make is why shouldn't I smile? I know who God is and He's in charge of where I am and how things go. I have so much and I don't deserve any of it! And even if I had nothing, I'd still have Jesus Christ and that is something I could never earn -- ever! When I put things in perspective like this, I find it hard to understand why so many people constantly complain about their situations -- especially minor ones.

So, no matter what's going on, or how bad things may seem, remember that Jesus is with you and that is a cause to smile for.

Chicken or the Egg?

I just saw one of those "un-answerable questions" and I felt the urge to tell the world that I know the answer to the age old question, "the chicken or the egg?"

Ready?

SINCE God created the world and everything in it, He created both the chicken and the egg.

(Genesis 1:20) "Then God said, 'Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.'"

Chickens are birds, so we will group them with the birds (no brainer.) Therefor God directly created the chicken -- not the egg first.

This is a rather trivial question. What's important is that we know God created everything! He's in control of the world -- whether we like it or not. And we can get blessings by working with Him or curses by working against Him.

I for one want to be blessed. So here's the REAL question: How can I know if I'm working with or against God?

#1. Are you praying in accordance to his will?

That question sounds a lot harder than it actually is. To pray in accordance with God's will simply means that when you pray, "Thy will be done," you really mean it! If you want to go to NYC and become a supermodle and you pray, "They will be done," you have to be okay with the fact God might want you to scrub floors in a hospital in South Africa. Not that everything is always that "extreme" but we have to understand that if we REALLY want God to do His will, we've got to be okay with wherever He puts us, whenever He puts us there.

#2. (Do I really have to say this?) Are you being the best example of Jesus Christ that you can be?

WWJD I'm sure everyone remembers that from our 3rd grade Sunday School classes. But that acronym has many more ramifications than it is given. When Jesus saw people selling in the temple, he took the time to braid His own whip to drive them out (and who says Christian shouldn't get involved in the military!) When Jesus was eating with sinners, none of them felt scared or judged, rather, they loved Him. Now our big question is, are we behaving in the same way Jesus did? Do we "love the sinner, hate the sin," or do we wrap everything together and hate the sinner too? Do we allow people to walk all over out beliefs, or do we stand up and fight for what we know is right?

Those two points pretty much round everything off. Pray so that you know what to do, then behave in the best manner as you do it. (Told you it was pretty simple.) The hards part of all, however, is... You have to do this every moment of every day. Live the life. Sure, we makes mistakes and fail all the time, but as my youth pastor once said:

"Imagine life as a race. All of us Christians are running to the finish line (heaven). Don't run just to finish, run like you're gong to win. If you run like you're going to win, you'll try a lot harder than if you're just running to finish."