our blog
Apr
The War Inside
War. Take any history class and you’ll spend the majority of your time discussing it. Now with the United States at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, military conflicts, unfortunately, remain a huge reality. Images flood the evening news, showing the brutality and danger of war zones.
Another war – one we’ll likely never see on television – is taking place, too, one that touches even closer to home. And just like any war, life hangs in the balance. Many of us don’t realize it, but we’re in this war. Its battleground lies right between our ears.
Satan knows that if he captures your mind, he can completely cripple you. Creating a stronghold over your mind is his best tactic for weakening the potential power your One Word can have on your heart. Gaining such presence in your thoughts allows him to alter the lens through which you view the world and your part in it.
Instead of recognizing this as war, we instead engage in what seem like harmless head games. But if we view this as war, doesn’t it then sound insane to sit back, remain idle, or even retreat? It is crucial we fight back, first by identifying the start of our thoughts, then willfully surrendering them by declaring our trust in God as the only one who gives us the desires of our heart.
By thinking our thoughts – by taking control of our minds – we go on the offensive against the enemy. This clarifies our perspective. Remember the old sports saying – the best defense is a good offense.
Our struggles don’t come about randomly or by coincidence. There is a purpose behind it and a natural path with a definite direction. It boils down to a need we are not allowing God to fulfill and is ultimately a lack of trust in Him when He says that He will provide for our needs. We are impatient, selfish and obsessed with instant gratification. We don’t like waiting on God’s timing, so we begin to justify and rationalize our actions so we can convince ourselves that what we did wrong was actually right.
More often than not, our realizations of truth come from experiencing it through regret rather than faith.
The thoughts that trip us into temptation don’t just randomly show up. They have points of origin. These initial stages of our thoughts usually go unnoticed until it is too late. When we allow our thoughts to stay long enough to take root, they can then lead to great physical and emotional pain. Identifying our thoughts’ origins is critical if we are to capture them before it is too late.
However, we cannot stop at just identifying the start of our thoughts. Understanding when and why they take place is drastically different from doing something about them. It will remain easy to justify and rationalize our actions, while at the same time, keeping the desire to meet our needs as the determining factor in our decision process. This leads to indifferent actions, in which we ignore the bigger audience (God) we need to answer to.
Until we take the next step in willfully surrendering and declaring our trust in God, we will remain helpless, unable to conquer our thoughts. Willful surrender involves (1) acknowledging that acting on these thoughts may lead to the satisfaction of our felt desire at that particular moment and (2) surrendering that potential satisfaction, denying ourselves that so-craved instant gratification.
Surrendering this thought is a declaration that you are seeking God as your source for life, fullness and joy. We do this through reflex thinking – when a thought creeps into our head, we capture it and surrender it over to God, regardless if it takes one time or a thousand to deal with it.
Stack each thought up against your standard. It is not enough to eliminate your old system of thought—it must be replaced with a new system. This is why it is so crucial to understand what it means to bring every thought into obedience to Christ.
- Identify the start of your thoughts by reading 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. Reflect on the following questions: (1) Can you trace the thought path that typically leads you to a response that you know is not useful or helpful (temper, lust, gossip, etc.)? Where do those responses come from? (2) What situations do you normally find yourself in when these thoughts begin to appear? (3) What emotions do you experience in this initial stage?
- By responding to the thought, you were hoping to have a certain need met. If ultimately every longing we have is a longing for God, what need were you looking to have met by yourself rather than God? Justification and rationalization stand as two of the greatest threats to the mind. How have these two elements of temptation wreaked havoc on your thoughts and altered the lens you use to view your circumstances?
Are you looking for a way to keep your word in front of you all year long? Register for a My One Word account! One of the key features of a MOW account is an online Word Journal that allows you to capture your thoughts to reflective questions like you see above. You can go back at any time to read your completed journals to see how God has been moving in your life through your word in 2010. If you already have an account, the questions from this blog have been posted to your Word Journal — log in to your account to start your Word Journal today!
Apr
VIDEO BLOG: April’s Focus
This month on the MYONEWORD.ORG blog we have been talking about how to use your word as a catalyst for long range change by seeing it as a “lens” to look through instead of a “promise” you need to keep. In our latest video blog, Mike Ashcraft, (pastor at Port City Community Church), reveals how seeing his word as a “lens” has been affecting how he has used his word “re:guard” throughout the month of April.
To view all of the posts from this month’s focus of “creating a lens” for your word, visit the category page here.
Apr
Treasure Hunt
I have a feeling my relationship with my father-in-law is where the phrase “they come from two completely different worlds” originated. Granted, I have no physical evidence to prove this claim, but it wouldn’t surprise me if I came across a Wikipedia note confirming my suspicions. I’m a city boy whose idea of roughing it is no air-conditioning or cable television while my father-in-law is Mr. Outdoors who built his dream house with his bare hands (literally). Trying to impress him with my carpentry skills or ability to put up a tent are now legendary family stories always guaranteed to give the listener a good chuckle.
So, you can understand my hesitation when he asked if I’d be interested in geocaching during our last visit out to California. Let me guess. You have no clue what he is talking about. Don’t be embarrassed, neither did I.
After googling the term, I learned that geocaching is a high tech version of treasure hunting. You got out into the woods, with GPS in hand, searching for a hidden container. My father-in-law loved the thrill of the hunt and the excitement he felt over finding a film canister filled with a surprise after hours of searching. The prize was priceless in his eyes. From my point of view, it seemed like a lot of work just for a little, inexpensive trinket. There was one gift, but two drastically different reactions. It all had to do with the lens we were using to view the gift.
The lens we use to view a gift has the ability to alter our actions, motivation and thought process. Take God’s grace for instance. To be lavished with grace is an incredible gift. Yet, if we are honest, the lens we use to see grace makes us question what to do with the gift we’ve encountered. In some ways, we see it as a burden; wonder if there are strings attached or foolishly attempt to pay back the gift.
Our motivation for living out our One Word becomes a way to prove our worth, make up for past mistakes or cause our actions to be fueled by guilt. And during those times of inevitable failure or struggles, our distorted view of grace only condemns us even more. This is why today we want you to spend a few moments reflecting on the perspective you have of grace by reading Ephesians 2:4-7:
4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
Notice the language of this verse. But don’t look for answers. Simply read it again and let it soak. Let the picture come into focus. Rich in mercy. This is God’s currency. Dead in our transgression. Dead. God made us alive. Raised. Seated. Intimate. Connected. Vibrant. Full. Alive.
Why? Why would God, rich in mercy, make us alive to be with Him? Verse 7 proclaims one of the most underestimated treasures in the universe. God gave us His grace so we might see the incomparable riches of His grace. Stop for a moment and let this truth influence the lens you are using to view God’s grace.
I’d go as far as saying that words and thoughts cannot fully capture its’ worth because it shines light on the heart of God. When we receive His grace, we receive Him and capture a glimpse of the reflection of His character.
If someone gave you a million bucks, would you thank them? The riches of grace are INCOMPARABLE. That is why there are no words. So instead of a prayer, just draw near to God and receive His great love for you. Receive His life for you. Receive the incomparable riches of His grace. And live today by seeing life through the lens of knowing that you have treasure beyond imagination.
- How is the lens you are using to view God’s grace influencing the way you respond and live out your One Word?
- What parts of your life are you hesitant towards allowing God to form your heart and change your perspective? What drives this hesitancy?
Are you looking for a way to keep your word in front of you all year long? Register for a My One Word account! One of the key features of a MOW account is an online Word Journal that allows you to capture your thoughts to reflective questions like you see above. You can go back at any time to read your completed journals to see how God has been moving in your life through your word in 2010. If you already have an account, the questions from this blog have been posted to your Word Journal — log in to your account to start your Word Journal today!