YOU ARE WHAT YOU... 

I expect we have all heard the saying, you are what you eat.  Now, this isn't a blog about nutrition, but I would have to agree that there is a lot of truth in that saying.  What we put into our bodies becomes part of us.  If we make sure to eat the foods that build muscle, bone and brain, we are most likely going to be healthy.  On the other hand, if we can't resist junk food and soda, we are heading for disease.  

But, this post is not about what we eat, but instead about what we think.  Scripture is full of exhortations to think about good.  Consider the following verses: 

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.  Philippians 4:4-9 (ESV)

Here we are told quite a bit about how we should think.  He starts by telling us to rejoice.  Rejoicing has to come from joyful thoughts.  When we think about what God has done for us through Christ, when we consider the many blessings he bestows on us, we have reason to rejoice.  

Next, he tells us not to be anxious.  Anxiety often follows negative thinking.  Then follows the well-known list of things we are supposed to think about.  The result--peace.  

We are constantly being inundated with things, which if thought on, can lead to anxiety and a lack of peace. 

We need to feed our minds with a diet of regular meditation and study of God's word, continual
prayer and daily worship.  These will build a healthy spirit.  If, however, we choose to fill our minds with mental "junk food" our spirits will grow weaker. 

When you choose entertainment be sure it will build your spirit.  Watch out for movies, television programs, music, books and video games which lead to spiritual illness.  Temptation is all around us to "enjoy" such things.  Satan tries to tell us that we are strong and a little bit won't hurt us.  Don't listen to him.  He is the father of lies.

When you wake up in the morning, start with prayer.  Thank God for keeping you through the night.  Ask him to bless the coming day to his service.  

Meet with God early in the day by reading scripture and thinking about what he is telling you.  Maybe you are someone who likes to journal, if so, write your thoughts on the scripture.  

Pray throughout the day.  We are told to "Pray without ceasing." in I Thessalonians 5:17.  When the Spirit brings to mind a prayer need, pray as you go about your daily tasks.

When evening comes, take time to worship before you go to bed.  Before you drop off to sleep go over some memorized scripture and praise God.  

Think about the following story: 

Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

 GOT STRESS?

If you have any stress in your life, welcome to the club.  We all have stress, worries, concerns, things that get us down.  As Christians we know that we are not supposed to worry.  We are not supposed to fret (Psalm 37).  But, we do struggle.

I am gradually reading through Timothy Keller's book on prayer.  So far, I would say that it is an excellent book and I recommend it.  The other day, I came across this paragraph:

"Years ago I was preaching on the Lord's Prayer and commented--rather offhandedly--that since adoration comes before asking for 'daily bread,' we need to spend time thanking and praising God for who he is before we go to our prayer list of needs.  One woman in my congregation took this to heart and a couple of weeks later related what a difference the advice had made.  'Before,' she said, 'I would run right to my prayer list and the more I went through all the problems and needs the more anxious and burdened I would get.  Now I've started spending time thinking about how good and wise he is, and how many prayers he's answered of mine in the past.  And when I get to my own needs--now I find I can put them in his hands and I feel the burden coming off me rather than on me.'"  Timothy Keller, Prayer, pg 190

I have usually started prayer with some praise and thanksgiving, but this really resonated with me.  Some years ago I started writing down requests whenever someone would ask me to pray about someone or something.  As we all know, it is easy to say you will pray and then forget to do so.  Keeping the list has been very helpful.  Then of course, there are the needs of my children and grandchildren.  

Maybe you have children who have left the Lord.  Perhaps you lost a loved one and the grief is still powerful.  Maybe you are overwhelmed by the evil in the world.  Perhaps abortion has struck close to home.  You might have a child or grandchild who has bought into the transgender lies.  It is so easy to become anxious even as we pray fervently.

It is when we stop to think of the greatness of God and all the amazing things he has done in the past and even in our own lives that we can rest and know that he is taking care of things.  

Consider Psalms 106 and 107.  The psalmist recounts many mighty deeds of the Lord.  He praises God and calls on him to act.  

Sometimes just remembering the creation, where God spoke all things into being, can remind us that God is bigger than all the problems.  

Have you seen the images sent from the James Webb Space Telescope?  With this amazing technology we can see more of the great works of the creator.  The writer of Psalm 8 calls the creation the work of God's fingers!  How can we not praise such a God!?

Spend time meditating on the greatness of God.  Consider his mighty works.  Remember how he has worked in your life in the past.  Look at the kingdom of Israel and how God worked for them.  Thank him!  Praise him!  Adore him!  Then lay all your burdens down before him.  Give him those wayward children.  Give him the grief, the pain, the sorrow.  The God who created the world, raised the dead and healed the sick, is able to take all of those things and leave you with peace and trust.

 

 

FORTRESS

"But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.
O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love."  Psalm 59:16-17 (ESV)

This morning in our morning worship after breakfast, we read Psalm 59.  Today when we read the psalm I was struck by the idea of fortress.  What is a fortress?

Dictionary.com gives these two definitions of fortress:  1. a large fortified place; a fort or

group of forts, often including a town; citadel.  2.  any place of exceptional security; stronghold.

The psalm says that God is the fortress of the psalm writer.  Looking at the above definitions it seems obvious that the second definition is closer to what the psalmist is thinking.  

God is indeed the place of exceptional security.  He is a stronghold.  He is impregnable.  When we are in God, our fortress, we need not fear the enemy.  

The enemy will constantly attack our fortress.  We will face the flaming darts of the evil one.  He will try to lure us from our stronghold, our fortress.

As long as we stay in the fortress, we will be conquerors.  We need to keep our focus on our fortress.  If we stray, we are in grave danger.  

We might be tempted to believe that we are strong and can fight the evil one alone.  This is the pride that comes before a fall.  We are weak and hopeless outside of our fortress.

As Christians we also have a fortress that might be defined as the first definition; a large fortified place.  We have the body of Christ, the church.  Being a part of the body gives us strength.  We have each other's back.  We help each other stay in the fortress and resist the evil one.  We have even more to rejoice in than the psalmist had.  Just as the writer rejoiced in God, his fortress, and sang of God's strength and steadfast love, we can do the same.  We praise God and rejoice in the body of Christ.  

Stay in the fortress!  Don't wander away!  Sing praises to God, our fortress!

Search the term fortress in your Bible study program and you will find many times when God's people recognized God as their fortress.

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