“Watch out for people who cause divisions…such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests.” (Romans 16:17-18)

Food For Thought: I strongly believe that job number one for every Christian as it relates to our personal responsibility in the church is to protect the unity of the fellowship. There is no greater effort to which one can expend his energy. Likewise, there is no greater sin than to be party to disharmony and division among God’s people.

Several sobering passages in Scripture stand as eternal warning signs to us not to enter this territory. One of the most sobering reminds us that to engage in such behavior is to incur the displeasure and anger of God,

“There are six tings the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: …a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.” (Proverbs 6:16-19)

Jesus reminded us that where disunity exists, destruction of the fellowship is not far behind,

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” (Matthew 12:25)

Paul felt very strongly about disunity as well. Instructing his young protégé, Titus, in how he was to manage the local church, Paul said that division requires an immediate, consistent and aggressive response from church leadership,

“Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You can be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.” (Titus 3:10-11)

That’s how repugnant division and disunity is to God, and on the flip side, just how important unity and harmony is to him. In Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17, our Lord interceded for his church before the Father, praying,

“I pray for all who will believe in me…that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” (John 17:20-21)

Of all the things Jesus could have prayed for, he was most concerned about the unity of the church. And since it was that important to Jesus, we must allow it to become that important to us as well. We must be very alert to any attitudes and actions on our part, or on the part of others, that would lead to even the smallest crack in the unity of the fellowship to which we belong. We have no right to harm the unity for which Jesus bled and died to preserve.

In light of that, I would suggest a few things that will help you to become one of those true heroes of the faith who helps preserves the unity of the church:

One, realize most of the stuff which causes division really doesn’t matter in the larger scheme of things. Paul told Titus, “avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels…these are unprofitable and useless.” (Titus 3:9) Most of the stuff that divides Christians just doesn’t matter. So just let it go.

Two, realize that there is more that unites us than divides us. We have so much common ground in Christ. If we would focus on that, our differences would be minimized and our common love for Christ would be magnified. Paul challenges us to “do the things that lead to harmony and promote peace in the church.” (Romans 14:9)

And three, get tough with those who selfishly push their own agenda at the expense of maintaining “the unity of the Spirit through the bonds of peace.” As Paul said, warn them once; even warn them a second time. Remind them that God hates disunity and detests the one who foments it. If they continue, if they are a chronic divider, Paul says to “mark them.” In other words, get tough, because the unity of your fellowship is more important than the feelings and wishes of some unhealthy, selfish, immature person who is willing to risk it to get their own way.

God loves unity. And God will bless you if you will love it too.

Prayer: Father, I want to declare right here and now that I will be one of those brave believers who will defend and protect the unity of your church, even if it cost me everything I have. God, I would also pray for my local fellowship as Jesus prayed for his church, “make us one as the Father and Son are one.” In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Godhead three in one, I pray. Amen.”

One More Thing… “Into the community you were called—the call was not meant for you alone; in the community of the called you bear your cross, you struggle, you pray. You are not alone even in death, and on the Last Day you will be only one of the great congregation of Jesus Christ. If you scorn the fellowship of the brethren, you reject the call of Jesus Christ.” –Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“I commend to you Phoebe…she has been helpful to many, and especially to me.” (Romans 16:1)

Food For Thought: So who was Phoebe? We don’t really know, except that she was a deacon in the church in Cenchrea—which brings up a whole different matter about women deacons. I won’t go there for now, but, hey, the Bible sure does…

Anyway, we don’t know much about Phoebe, or the other people Paul names as he closes out the book of Romans. Now at this point, I want to do something normally guaranteed to lose your interest at this point—I want to list those names for you. But before I do, promise me that you’ll read through this entire list. You probably won’t be able to pronounce them names correctly, but that’s okay. I can’t either. I just read them really fast and with a lot of gusto, so when people hear me they think I must be an expert in ancient languages. Try it—you’ll impress your friends. So here they are:

There’s Priscilla Aquila, Penetus, Mary, Andronicus, Junia, Ampliatus, Urbanus, Stachys, Apelles, the household of Aristobulus, the household of Narcissus, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis, Rufus and his mother, Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and his fellow Christians, Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, Olympia and her Christian friends, Timothy, Lucias, Jason, Sosipater, Tertius, Gaius, Erastus, and last but not least, Quartus.

Whew! My spell-checker is smoking. I don’t think it will ever be the same again.

So what’s up with these names? Simply this: Paul, the great Apostle, the guy who deservedly gets his name in lights almost every Lord’s Day in churches around the world, knew very well that he couldn’t have done it without the help of his friends. If Paul were accepting an Oscar, he be up there for minutes listing off all the people he’d like to thank—these names and many others he mentions in some of his other writings.

This great theologian who was largely responsible for the evangelization of the western world didn’t do it all by himself. He needed a little help from his friends in every city here he preached the gospel and/or planted a church. Though you will likely never hear a sermon or attend a Bible study where these names are given any mention, Paul gives them their props in the eternal Word of God.

My point is, it takes a team to do the work of the Kingdom. For sure, there are leading characters in the Kingdom team, but it’s still a team, mostly of unnamed, unsung heroes who are mostly forgotten—except by God. God never forgets. He appreciates the contributions of each and every one—even the lesser lights. And he has stored up indescribable recognition and reward for them in the Kingdom to come. And Paul’s mention of them here in the last chapter in Romans is a subtle reminder to us of their contribution to his efforts and of their value to God.

Maybe you are one of those unnamed, unsung heroes that mostly go unnoticed by everyone else. But your faithfulness is noticed by God. Perhaps you are a Phoebe to a Paul or a Patrobas to a Peter or a Junius to a John, and you wonder if you really matter. My response to you is, “Yes, you matter. We wouldn’t be effective in building God’s Kingdom without you! It takes a team—and no matter how you feel, you are an integral part of that team!”

But more important than my acknowledgement is God’s. He’s written your name in a book too—one that’s even better than Romans. It’s the Book of Life. And God himself will celebrate your name all eternity long. How’s that for recognition.

So just be faithful doing what you’re doing. Your day is coming!

Prayer: Lord, I thank you for all of the unsung heroes who have quietly but faithfully built your Kingdom throughout my life. People like Emma Miller and Gertrude Martin and Mr. Ewing… They are now gone, and have mostly been forgotten on this planet, but they are not forgotten by you. And they join the long list of others long gone but not forgotten by you. They are the spiritual fathers and mothers of others who now serve in your kingdom quietly but faithfully. Father, bless each one. Wrap your arms around them and remind them that you noticed. And say “thank you” for me.

Great Cloud of Witnesses: “The world was not worthy of the men and women of faith… Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” (Hebrews 11:38, 12:1)

“My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else.  I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘Those who have never been told about him will see, and those who have never heard of him will understand.’” (Romans 15:20-21)

Food For Thought: Are you a missions-minded Christian?

I thought I was.  I grew up in the church where the occasional missionary would come, and if we were lucky, show slides of his work in Africa, or some other far off place that I’d only heard about in settings like that or in geography lessons at school.  Then I grew up and went into ministry as a pastor, and again, the occasional missionary would come and tell the church of what God was doing somewhere far away, and I would feel good that we were a missions church.  I would even give occasionally to support the church’s missions efforts around the world.  I thought I was a missions-minded Christian.

But that begin to change.  I was periodically sent oversees for short-term missions projects by the various churches I served, and my heart begin to get reshaped by what I saw God doing among people who had never heard the name of Jesus before.  My mind was blown away by the signs, wonders and miracles (Paul talks about that in this missions context in Romans 15:19) that I would witness as we proclaim the good News of Jesus Christ.  I’d never seen such things back in the U.S.  I chalked those miracles up to the extreme openness to the supernatural that I saw among these folks living in spiritual darkness, but whatever the reason for them, I longed to see them back home in my church, too.  God was shaking and reshaping my heart for missions.

Then about four years ago, God completely dislocated my heart, and gave me a passion for missions, for reaching people who’d never heard the Gospel of Christ, and now I can truly say that I am becoming a missions-minded Christian (I use the word “becoming” because I’m not sure you ever completely arrive).

It happened when I reluctantly got involved in a church-planting project in a remote, unreached region in Africa.  I was reluctant because I knew that my involvement would require a lot of my own personal resources, and to be successful, would require significant resources from my church.  And I was afraid that if we got involved to the extent I thought we needed to be involved, that the resources would flow away from other worthy projects to this one…we’d simply be “robbing Peter to pay Paul,” so to speak.  I figured our resource pie was stretched, and limited.

But as I was stressing over this likely scenario, something wonderful happened.  God spoke to me.  Now though I believe God speaks to me through his Word and leads me through prayer all the time, I don’t often claim to have heard the voice of God—in fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever claimed that.  But God spoke to me.  Not in an audible voice or through writing on the wall or some other sensational sort of way, he simply and clearly spoke to me through a strong inner impression in my spirit.  And he addressed my stressing over how our involvement in this Africa project might affect our other efforts.  And the message was this:  “Ray, if you will take care of the things I care about, then I will take care of the things you care about.  And I care about a lost world.  I care about people who have never heard my name.”

Well, that was good enough for me.  And the long and short of it is, we jumped into this project up to our eye-balls, and we began to see a miraculous flow of resources both for this project, and for those other projects that I was so concerned about.  But more than that, I was able to witness a revival, a book-of-Acts-type revival in this region in Africa that was beyond my wildest expectations.  In a region where only a few believers attended a few churches, we’ve seen over a thousand churches planted and 50,000 believers added to those churches in just four short years.  And it’s still growing, and showing no signs of slowing.

And what God has done there through the faithfulness of our church has changed my heart forever, and given me a true passion for missions.  I still have a passion for my local church (that’s missions, too), but I have an added ambition, and that is to keep our congregation focused on reaching people who have never heard the name of Jesus Christ.

That was Paul’s ambition, according to verse 20.  That is God’s ambition, according to verse 21.  I hope that you will open your heart and let God make it your ambition as well.  I hope that you will travel with me down the path of becoming a missions-minded Christian.  And I will make you the same promise God made me:

If you will take care of the things God cares about—a lost world, God will take care of the things you care about—your world.

What a deal!  That’s an offer you can’t refuse.

Prayer: God, you so love the world that you came to it, giving your very best by giving your Son to die for it.  And I am the beneficiary of such extravagant love.  Now Lord, you have called me to go to the world and give myself to reach it with the same Good News that reached me.  I am committed to that down to the very core of my being.  Help me today to bring that Good News of your love to someone, and may it change their live like it changed mine.

One more thing… “If you will take care of the things God cares about, God will take care of the things you care about.”

“The Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or what we drink, but of living a life of goodness, and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 13:9-10)

Food For Thought: I have a confession to make, so I hope you will extend me some grace…a lot of grace. So here goes: I like really stupid movies. I won’t name any so as not to endorse them, but let me just say that these kinds of movies are really “dumb and dumber”, if you get my drift. I’m a sucker for slapstick comedy…sophomoric humor. My wife doesn’t get why I like these kinds of flicks…but there is just something about the humor that provides a mental vacation from the otherwise serious life I live.

So in one of these dumb movies—it’s an old one that you wouldn’t be familiar with—there’s a great line that I think is really theologically profound. A camp counselor is trying to pull his team of young boys out of the mullygrubs. I mean, these guys are depressed! They’re down on the camp; they don’t like the activities, they think the competition stinks, and they hate the food! And what are they doing about it? They’re griping, they’re moaning, and they’re complaining. So the counselor says to these guys that all these things they hate about the camp really don’t matter in the larger scheme of things. And as he’s laying this truth on them, he gets them to chant, “it just doesn’t matter…it just doesn’t matter…it just doesn’t matter.” And before you know it, the cafeteria is rocking with this sing-song chant that now, all the boys are chanting: “It just doesn’t matter…”

That’s it…that’s the profound theological truth that I wrested from this film:

“It just doesn’t matter!”

Why don’t you try it? Just says it ten times…slowly at first, get the cadence down, and let it roll until it begins to sink into your soul.

There is something to that line, and it has tremendous value to the Christian life. You see, most of the things we get uptight about, particularly as it relates to how other Christians are living out their faith, really don’t matter in the larger scheme of how the Kingdom of God is fleshed out. It just doesn’t matter if some believers drink wine, but you don’t; or play cards or put a dollar down on the lottery, or go to movies or dance socially, or you name it (and believe me, those things and more than I have time to name—they will upset some Christians). It doesn’t matter if some Christians wave flags when they worship or go to church on Friday night or give their offerings online rather than in the plate or serve white grape juice for communion or whatever, whatever…

That’s what Paul is really teaching in this 14th chapter of Romans, which by the way, is a great chapter, so I hope you will sit down and read all 23 of its verses a couple of times through.

Certain of the Roman Christians in Paul’s day were getting uptight with other believers, because they weren’t living out their faith the way these Roman church members were. In that day, the issue had to do with certain foods that the church felt was inappropriate to eat—meat versus a vegetarian diet. The big deal about the meat was that before it had been purchased, it had likely been sacrificed to an idol before it got to market, and that was a concern to the non-meat eating believers. Another issue had to do with what day they believed was the correct day to gather for worship. Most likely, some thought that Saturday, the Sabbath, was the correct day, while some preferred Sunday worship service. And these issues were a big deal for some in the church, and it was causing some hard feelings if not outright disharmony.

So Paul says, “look gang, what foods you eat or don’t eat and what day your worship on just doesn’t matter in the bigger picture. You are free to do what you want so long as your bottom line motivation in life is to bring honor to the Lord.” Notice these words,

“For we don’t live for ourselves of die for ourselves. If we live, it is to honor the Lord. And if we die, it is to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. (Romans 14:7-8)

I hope you’ll think about that and adopt that as your rule of life. If your bottom line is to bring honor to the Lord, then nothing else really matters. Do what you want…eat what you want…drink what you want…worship when you want and in the way you want—as long as your motive is to glorify the Lord. That’s why Paul went on to remind these believers that “the Kingdom of God is not a matter of meat or drink, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Now Paul gives a couple of caveats to this principle. One, if you cause a weaker brother or sister to stumble by deliberately doing certain things that offend their conscience, then you’ve missed the point. You are not glorifying God. You are unnecessarily creating disharmony…and harmony in the family of God is a big deal, a very big deal, to the Lord. And two, if you take advantage of this liberty in Christ to do something that your own conscience tells you not to do, then you have crossed over into sin. So don’t go hog-wild with this “it just doesn’t’ matter” principle.

Bottom line, most of the stuff that we struggle with in the Christian life just doesn’t matter. Just do everything to honor God, and you will be okay. As St. Augustine said, “Just love God, and do what you want.”

So having said all that, go enjoy yourself!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the amazing freedom you have given me to enjoy life. Since you have blessed me with such a gift—the gift of Christian liberty—I want to dedicate it back to you in the form of a life lived to glorify you, even in the minute details. I want that to be the rule of my life—to glorify you in all things. May that be the one and only thing that matters.

One more thing… “To many, total abstinence is easier than perfect moderation.” —St. Augustine

“These—and other such commands—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.” (Romans 13”9-10)

Food For Thought: The most powerful, provocative four letter word in the universe is love. Love says it all. Love sums it up. Love is the key. Love is the answer. Love is the thing.

L-O-V-E

God’s requirements for us are pretty simple really—just love everybody like we’d want to be loved. That means we’d love them when they deserved it, and even when they didn’t. We’d love them when we felt like it, and even when we didn’t. We’d love them not just in word, we’d love them in action. Our love for them would be a verb, not just a noun. We’d love them like they needed to be loved, like God loves them, like the creatures of a Creator who has created them inherently worthy of love.

If we would just do what God created us to do—love—I have a feeling that 99% of the issues we wrestle with, the relationships we struggle over, and the trouble we find ourselves in would be taken care of. Love—that’s the cure for what ails you and me!

So where and how are we supposed to live out this life of love? Paul gives us three relational arenas in Romans 13. The first area has to do with our relationship to the government—what you might call the civil arena (verses 1-7). That may sound surprising to you, but we’re to even demonstrate love where we don’t often connect thoughts of love-in the halls of government.

Paul says God expects us to respect our government and its leaders—something that we often find hard to do. We are to observe the laws they establish; view them as God-ordained instruments for order; submit to them not only as an act of civic duty, but as that which is necessary for a clear conscience; pay our taxes; and give them honor and respect. In fact, over in II Timothy 2:2-3, Paul takes it a step further and says that we’re even pray for our governmental leaders,

“Pray for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our savior…”

When I think of some of the government administrations and leaders that I’ve endured during my lifetime, what Paul is asking seems like a tall order. But keep in mind that Paul wrote to the Roman believers about respecting and obeying government under some pretty awful leaders like Emperor Nero and his evil, profane, murderous ilk. If Paul could see these Roman Emperors as God’s instruments in his life, then I’ll have no excuse when I stand before God some day for my attitude toward my leaders.

The second area has to do with our relationship with our neighbors—what you might call the social arena (verses 8-10). Here Paul simply calls for loving actions toward those who we are in some kind of daily interaction with—the people we live by, work with and sit next to in the pews. We should do nothing that would provoke anything other than a loving response from them back toward us.

The third has to do with our relationship to God—what you might call the salvation arena (verses 11-14). Here Paul reminds us that one of the leading motives, if not the only motive, for living a life of love in all the arenas of our life is for the simple reason that Jesus is coming back soon, and we will then have to give an account for how we’ve behaved in relation to our government and its leaders, our neighbors and our God. Because of the soon return of Jesus and the revealing of our full and final salvation, we must be continually alert to living in purity and holiness. In short, we are to “clothe ourselves with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ (verse 14), which is Paul’s way of saying that we ought to live each moment as if it might be the last one before we find ourselves standing before Christ. Love would demand no less in light of what he did to secure our salvation!

Love! Do that and you’ll be just fine—in this life and in the one to come. Just love God with all your heart, and when you do, you cannot help but love everybody else. Do that and you’ll fulfill all God’s requirements.

One month before his death at age 65, C.S. Lewis wrote in a letter addressed to a child, “If you continue to love Jesus, nothing much can go wrong with you, and I hope you may always do so.”

That’s great advice!

So here’s a thought for you: If you knew Jesus would come back 24 hours from now, and knowing that love is the ultimate requirement of God’s law, who and how would you love?

Why not love like that anyway? You never know, this might be you last opportunity!

Prayer: Father, thank you for loving me, even when I didn’t deserve it and in spite of the fact that I didn’t love you. But your love won me over! Now I ask that you would help me to love everybody else like you loved me. Make me aware of attitudes that do not reflect your love, and alert to opportunities to express your love in tangible ways to people that cross my path. Help me today to fulfill your requirements to love!

One more thing… English apologist C.S. Lewis wrote in a letter, “When I have learnt to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now…. When first things are put first, second things are not suppressed but increased.”

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God change you into a new person by changing the way you think.” (Romans 12:2)

Food For Thought: I love the story about a quick-thinking supermarket clerk on his first day a work. A lady walked up and asked him if she could buy half a grapefruit. Not knowing what to do, he excused himself and found the manager. He said, “Some idiot wants to buy half a grapefruit…” Suddenly, by the wide-eyed look of the manager, he realized the customer was right behind him, so he turned and said, “… and this lovely lady would like to buy the other half.”

The manager was quite impressed with the quick-thinking way the clerk resolved this potential crisis. As they chatted later, the manager asked, “Say, where ya’ from?” The clerk said, “Lancaster, PA, sir—home of ugly women and great hockey teams.” The manager’s face grew instantly red, “My WIFE is from Lancaster!”

Without skipping a beat, the clerk asked, “Oh really…so what team was she on?”

That’s called quick-thinking. Now as Christians, we’ve been called, not to quick-thinking, but right-thinking, because right-thinking is the key to everything—to godly living, to significance and satisfaction, to relational wholeness, to the abundant life, to spiritual growth, to joy—everything!

Paul writes that we are to let God change us by changing the way we think. In Philippians 4:8, he describes the kind of thinking that will lead to the changed life:

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

How you think is the key to everything. When Paul says to “think about such things”, he deliberately chose the Greek term “logizomai”, which means to compute, to calculate—to think deliberately, proactively and strategically. It speaks of an exercise in mental reflection that affects one’s conduct.

Now herein lies an important truth about the human mind: What we do—our behavior—and what is done to us—our circumstances—do not produce what we think. Rather, what we think produces our behavior in any given set of circumstances.

Psychiatrist William Glasser, the father of reality therapy, discovered in his study of how the brain works that man isn’t controlled by external factors, but by internal desires. Furthermore, our desires are predetermined by our thinking. So he concluded that the mind is the command center determining conduct. Therefore the critical issue for man is how he thinks.

Glasser had only discovered what the Bible had already said long ago—that we are the product of our thinking. Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinks within himself, so he is.”

That’s why Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart [the heart In Hebrew thought was the center of thinking] for it is the wellspring of life.”

If you want to improve your experience of life, deliberately and strategically change your thinking. So when Paul says, “think about,” he doesn’t mean to leave it up to whatever pops into your brain. He’s saying to intentionally and rigidly allow only certain things into your mind. He is referring to the practice or spiritual discipline of setting godly virtues and Biblical values as the gate-keeper of your mind.

He’s not suggesting silly mind-games, positive thinking, mere optimism, or some type of self-hypnosis, he’s calling us to think deeply, rationally and habitually about the things of God.

Now that’s so contrary to the philosophy of our age! Strategic and critical thinking is a lost art form in our culture. Rather, thinking is rooted in emotion and pragmatism. Emotion says, “how will this make me feel?” That’s why entertainment is now our highest pursuit, self-gratification is our defining characteristic and sacrifice for the common good is a lost virtue. Pragmatism says, “How will this make me successful?” That’s why situation ethics, moral relativism and power-grabing are the philosophies that drive us.

We no longer ask is this right, but will it work and will it make me feel good? And this cultural shift from right-thinking to pragmatic and emotion-based thinking has affected how we do family, how we do government, how we do education and even how we do church.

Christian author Bill Hull talks about how church has become an experience center full of spiritual consumers getting their felt needs met. He writes, “Many people are going to church not to think or reason about the truth, but to get a certain feeling. It’s frightening to realize our culture has more interest in emotion and pragmatism than in thinking. That’s evident when people more often ask, “How will it make me feel?” instead of “Is it true?” That wrong focus is also evident in today’s theology, where the predominant questions are ‘Will it divide?’ and ‘Will it offend?’ rather than ‘Is it right?’ The [Berean believers in Acts 17:11] were ‘noble-minded’ because ‘they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily.’ They were interested in finding truth, not good feelings or pleasant circumstances.”

The biggest purveyor of this philosophical shift has been TV! It’s not the only source—but it is the most constant and pervasive. The advent of TV was the harbinger of intellectual passivity. TV not only taught us not to think, it became the plug-in-drug, sating all of our senses voyeuristically, reducing our defenses against moral repugnancy and spoon-feeding us what we should be thinking.

Professor Paul Robinson of Stanford University said, “TV can’t educate…the only way to learn is by reading…you’d [even] be better off never to have educational TV because at least in your mind there would be a vacuum that some day might be filled with a real thought.”

The truth is, God created us to be more than stimulus response beings. That’s what distinguishes you from your pet pooch. Your mind is the command-center that governs your conduct, guides your emotions, and determines your experience of life. The thinking brain is the most powerful element of human life. How you think is critical to how you live.

So don’t allow someone or something else to do your thinking for you. Think first, think early, think often, think deeply, think always. Think first, act second, feel third! Then your feelings will be managed by your thinking and your actions will be sound.

God created us with a mind, and he commands us to think. Isaiah 1:18 says, “Come now, let us reason together.” And the primary path for our reasoning is God’s Word. When God gave us his revelation, he didn’t give us a movie…or a series of music videos…not even a book on tape with background organ music. He gave us the written Word … which by nature calls us and causes us to think.

In a his book, “Your Mind Matters, John Stott wrote, “Sin has more dangerous effects on our feeling than our thinking, because our opinions are more easily checked and regulated by revealed truth than are experiences.”

That’s why Paul calls us in Philippians 4:8 to think deliberately, deeply, and critically about six things:

One, about truthful things—Jesus said, “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17). This calls for meditating on God’s Word.

Two, about noble things—the Greek term means “worthy of respect” and refers to what is noble, dignified, and reverent…As opposed to what is profane!

Three, on righteous things—what is in perfect harmony with the eternal truth of Scripture.

Four, about pure things—which refers to something morally clean and undefiled.

Five, about lovely things—this word appears only here in the New Testament, and it means whatever is gracious, uplifting and ennobling.

Six, about admirable things—which refers to worthy of veneration by believers and reputable to the world at large. In other words, things that are “excellent and praiseworthy.”

Now it really goes without saying, doesn’t it, that when we’re pursuing this kind of thinking, there’s really no room for a lot of the trash that comes right into our homes through the Internet, magazines, IPods, and through good ol’ day-time and prime-time TV? But when you get serious about the spiritual discipline of right thinking, it will change your outlook on life , and allow you to live in the joy of the Lord no matter what is going on all around you.

Right thinking will even reduce your worry and stress. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones pointed out that our worry and anxiety is “a failure to think” that God is close and in control, and that he cares about you. Most people assume worry comes from thinking too much. But in reality we get anxious for not thinking enough in the right direction. Right thinking is thinking rightly about God’s purposes, promises, and plans. Right thinking is thinking reasonably about God’s revealed truth.

And right thinking will not only change your outlook on life, it will also change your character. Right thinking that leads to right character means thinking rightly about God. A.W. Tozer wrote in his book, Knowledge of the Holy, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Why? Because thinking rightly about God determines what kind of person you are. Thinking rightly about God will lead to acting Christianly and feeling Christianly and being Christianly.

So here’s my advice: Watch your input; it becomes your thoughts. Watch your thoughts; they become attitudes. Watch your attitudes; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

So go think rightly. It’s the key to everything!

Prayer: Father, today I will choose to think about you. I will think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, excellent and praiseworthy. I will think rightly. I will let the mind of the Master be the master of my mind. Now I pray that you will transform my character by changing the way I think, and make me an offering that is holy, pleasing and acceptable to you.

One more thing… “Let the mind of the Master become the master of your mind.”

“Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God” (Romans 11:22)

Food For Thought: Most people in our culture aren’t too thrilled with that verse! They don’t want a God who is stern; they want a God who is only kind—all the time. They want a God who is more like an easygoing grandfather than a strong father. They want nurture, not discipline. They prefer love without truth if the truth is going to hurt. They want a God who makes them feel good and who will guarantee their comfort and success.

This kinder, gentler theology has even invaded the church. A lot of people now go to church not to be engage by truth, but to get a certain feeling—the warm fuzzies. That’s why a lot of people evaluate their church experience or even choose their church based on if it will make them feel good. The end result has been, both for our culture and to some degree, the church, that we have created God in our image.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to follow a God like that. I want a God who will give me a dose of tough love when I need it. I want a God who knows what is right for me, because I certainly don’t always know what is right for me. I want a God who is my loving Father, which means that he will sometimes discipline me out of love. I want a God who is more committed to my holiness than my happiness, because I will never truly be happy, not in this life or the life to come, until I get the holiness thing right.

The writer of Hebrews talked about this when he wrote,

“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:7-11)

That’s the God I want…I need. I want a God who is kind when I need kindness, and stern when I need sternness. A God who will give me both is a God who really loves me!

Prayer: Dear Lord, though it is not always pleasant, let your rod and your staff guide me. Do what you must to bring me back when I wander. Do whatever it takes to keep me from evil. Do whatever it takes to conform me to the image of your dear Son. Do what it takes to make me holy, even though my humanity cries out to be happy. Lord, do whatever you see fit to present me holy and without fault on that great day when I stand in your presence. And dear Father, thanks for loving me this way.

One more thing… “If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth…” —C.S. Lewis