goals

Thoughtless Thinking and Random Reasoning

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Cloud computing conceptSome people find solitude in silence, and they give deep reflection to their thoughts.  There are others who negotiate life at a harried and hurried pace that allows no time for deep thought.

Have you ever stopped to think about how you think?  Please understand the question:  I asked “how” you think—not “what” you think.

When you start to think about your thinking, you can begin to reframe and reorder your life in a more positive context.  There are several places in the Psalms that indicate the writers were more than thoughtless thinkers:

  • Psalm 77:6: I meditate within my heart, and my spirit makes diligent search.
  • Psalm 119:15: I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways.
  • Psalm 119:27-29: I love Your commandments more than gold, yes, than fine gold! Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things, I consider to be right; I hate every false way. Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them.

When you read these verses, did you notice the due diligence that was exercised?  You can see it in words like:

  • Meditate
  • Diligent search
  • Contemplate
  • Consider

Solomon encouraged people to weigh the wisdom of words, before believing them: The simple believes every word, but the prudent considers well his steps (Proverbs 14:15.)”

Before you leave on a trip, you probably spend some time mapping your route.  How much thought do you give to your spiritual destination?  Do take just some random route or do you know where you are going?

Are you living your life in the blink of a second, or are you taking time to think and reckon?

Will You Rise Above?

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riseabove Some people allow their life to be defined by  failure.  Others learn valuable lessons from their  failures and even see them as a blessing from:    Chuck Colson is one of these people, and he  recognized the benefits of his burdens:

The real legacy of my life was my biggest failure.  Being sent to prison was the beginning of God’s greatest use of my life!

Colson’s life was a living example of something that Billy Graham said: “Mountaintops are for views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valleys.”  Colson had lived the mountaintop experience as Attorney General during the Nixon administration.  When the Watergate scandal forced the resignation of President Nixon, Colson was sent to prison for the role he played in that fiasco.

During the valley years of his incarceration, Colson became a Christian, and God eventually spoke to him about the many and varied needs of his fellow inmates.  Colson would later start Prison Fellowship as an outreach ministry inside prison walls throughout the country:  This is the fruit that started to grow during Colson’s valley years.

Society is often premature in its attempt to label a person a failure.  Let me give you a couple of examples:

  • Daniel Defoe wrote Robin Crusoe while he was in prison.
  • John Bunyan wrote the Christian classic, The Pilgrim’s Progress, while in the Bedford jail.
  • While he was confined in the castle of Wartburg, Martin Luther translated the Bible.

The hopes and dreams of each of these people were shattered; but, they refused to wallow in self-pity.  Seeing their faith, God turned their tragedy into triumph and their burdens into blessings.

History is full of examples of people who defied the odds and overcame their failure.  B.C. Forbes has said:

History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed.  They finally won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats.  disappointments acted as a challenge.  Don’t let difficulties discourage you.

Tragedies and trials are experienced by everyone at some time in their lives.  I want to make sure you understand that last sentence, so I’ll repeat three of the words:  “experienced by everyone.”    When you go through your time of personal sorrow, loss, or disappointment, remember that this is not an experience that is unique to you—it is universal in its scope.

As a Christian, Jesus has promised to walk with you through the hard times.  He said:  “Come to me, all of you who are weary and over-burdened, and I will give you rest! Put on my yoke and learn from me. I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls, and my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).”

2015: A New Year of Decision

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opportunity-knockingThe last chance to do something with the opportunities of 365 days of 2014 is gone, over, and lost.  The 8,760 hours have ticked-tocked themselves away, and they have joined Grandfather Time in the hallowed halls of history.

At the stroke of midnight, the future became present, and it gifted us with a new year full of fresh opportunities and precarious choices.   The challenge of 2015 is to recognize the divergent path that lies within each decision you will make.

This divergence is seen in the lucid language of David as he chronicles the lives of the blessed man and the ungodly.  Notice the distinctive contrasts between the two.  As you read this first Psalm on this first day of 2015, I hope it will inspire you to be discriminating in the decisions you make, and resolve to live the blessed life throughout this year.

Psalm One (Amplified Version) . . .

1 Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.

2 But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.

3 And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].

4 Not so the wicked [those disobedient and living without God are not so]. But they are like the chaff [worthless, dead, without substance] which the wind drives away.

5 Therefore the wicked [those disobedient and living without God] shall not stand [justified] in the judgment, nor [b]sinners in the congregation of the righteous [those who are upright and in right standing with God].

6 For the Lord knows and is fully acquainted with the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly [those living outside God’s will] shall perish (end in ruin and come to nought).