Sound Mind Set

To get serious about wholeness and total health, we have to take a hard look at ourselves. Today is a tough Scripture passage from Jesus, but also a reminder that there is freedom on the other side of our battles. Listen closely … Jesus is not angry here, just being honest … “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others.  The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. (Matthew 7:1-5 NLT) As humans, a fact we have to deal with throughout life is the less whole we are in any given season, the more we tend to find fault in others. Whether wanting to justify our own behavior or just being negative about people, we can look around and see the “speck in other’s eyes,” to use Jesus’ words. But notice the important counsel here: “First, get rid of the log in your own eye …”Listen once again to this passage in The Message Bible … Buckle up, this version hits even more closer to home ….“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.The goal of Jesus’ teaching here is not to produce guilt, shame, or self-hatred, but rather getting honest about personal evaluation. Facing our own stuff.Is there an area of your life that is a ‘speck or log in my own eye’? Can you think of one area to surrender and repent of right now?Getting real about what we need to surrender to God before we can truly begin the journey toward wholeness.Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, I always love the mercy and grace verses in Your Word, but I know I have to embrace ones like this too. Today, I need to hand over the logs and the specks to You. I want to be whole, so I know some surgery on my heart and work on my attitude are what I need to allow You to do right now. As above, so below.”

On our final day of focusing on stability in a season of instability, we will once again take a look at our available place within a solid and supportive community.The original Body of Christ should always be our model for our current Body of Christ. God always has one way and what we find in Acts 2 is His way for and to community.All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity — all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. (v. 42-47) What do we see and hear the Body of Christ was all about?They met together devoted to worship, teaching, fellowship, eating together, and praying. Just brothers and sisters gathering with the common bond of growing in Christ and encouraging one another. Sounds really simple, doesn’t it? Sounds pretty cool too, right?If you desire to get rid of as much instability in your life as possible and secure yourself more and more in your relationship with Christ, the template in today’s passage is the key to true community. Merging your life with other believers who have your same heart, mind, and goals is crucial to finding health and maturity in every way, but most especially spiritually.Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, life among the believers in the early church was pretty straightforward. Not much frills. Help me to find that. Help me to find my place in Your Body. I know my security and my kids’ security can be found in You and those who love You. As above, so below.”

This week in our look at finding stability in a season of instability, today and tomorrow, we will focus on the support we all need within a solid and supportive community.When we come to Christ, we are grafted into His family tree. We become a part of His body. That’s what the Bible teaches. We enter into an eternal community where we have a definite and intentional place in which we fit right now.Listen to Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 … The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. … But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? … But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. … The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.If you have a relationship with Jesus Christ, you are included in that passage. You belong to this body that Paul is talking about. You count. You fit. You are in that community with a unique place.Is there a community you need to separate yourself from?Are there some toxic relationships you keep allowing to hurt you?Are you needing a place to fit and do life to secure you inside a healthy community?You are in the Body of Christ, but are you in a physical community of believers?If not, what steps do you need to take today to find your place and your space?But always remember—God has not only prepared a place for you in Heaven, but a place here in His Body, His community, until You join Him. He’s made all the arrangements for eternity but we have a responsibility for what we do while we are here.Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, thank You for the Body of Christ. Thank You for Your community and Your kingdom here. Help me to always take my place in You and with those I need to be connected to. As above, so below.”

This week as we look at finding stability in a season of instability, this is never going to truly come when we keep trying to avoid loneliness by just filling the void with a person. Jumping into relationships when God is not involved or we are not ready just become major distractions that keep us from growing deep roots and getting our lives built on what we talked about yesterday, the Rock that survives the storms.So often we have to work on creating a good defense before we can have a solid offense. Or here’s another metaphor—we have to pull some weeds before we can plant some flowers.Today, I’m going to read a longer passage. I want you to listen to the spirit of what Paul is teaching as much as the actual words he says.But God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and “All who belong to the Lord must turn away from evil.” In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work. Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts. Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights.  A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants. (NLT) As I have asked you before here, as I read, did any phrase or sentence jump out at you? Did God run his highlighter over any of this?Listen to part of today’s passage once again … But God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and “All who belong to the Lord must turn away from evil.” If you keep yourself pure, … Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work. Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts. Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights.  A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone… (NLT) Is there anything in your life today that is creating instability and you know it’s time to pull it out by the roots? Maybe you need some help? Maybe you need some professional help? If today God showed you something, don’t wait, don’t put it off, do what He told you. Reach up, reach out, reach in, whatever you need to do to make things right for your life.Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, I give You what You placed on my heart right now. I need Your help. Help me to also get the help I need from others to steady my life. Show me what to do. I need Your answers. As above, so below.”

This week our focus is finding stability in a season of instability. Yesterday, we went outside ourselves to God. Today, let’s look into our own hearts.In Matthew 7, Jesus’ teaching covers quite a few topics, but He offers us a clear metaphor of stability vs. instability and the action we can take to enact His help. Listen to verses 24-27 … “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” (NLT) In life, the storms are going to come and keep coming. The rain will fall, the waters will rise, and the winds will beat against our house. Everything that comes at us makes us feel so unsteady and unstable. Jesus said the difference in the house that stands vs. the ones that crash is those who listen to His teaching and follow what He says. The question is not will He save, but will we allow His salvation?Listen to these verses in The Message Bible. This time I’m going to leave out what happens to the house that doesn’t listen, only the one that does. That should be our focus: what we can do to help ourselves in unstable times.For a moment, take your mind off of anything that is shaking your world right now. Focus on Jesus. How can you listen to His words and do what He is asking you?How can you work Christ’s words into your life today?Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, I certainly know what the rains, the floodwaters, and the wind feels like. Help me to work Your words into my life to build my house on You, the Rock. As above, so below.”

This week is a huge topic for anyone these days—finding stability in a time of instability. For Solo parents, there are several factors in play … the first is working on surrender to God to allow His stability to enter our hearts and minds. The second is working on ourselves to be stable in our own feelings and emotions. The third is finding stability, not in trying to fill the void with another relationship, but rather to find support within a solid and supportive community.The shepherd turned king David certainly understood chaos in life—from his enemies, those around him, and even by his own hand. Let’s begin our look at stability by going to our Source. Listen to David’s words:Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.  O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge. (Psalm 62:5-8 NLT) As believers in and followers of Christ, just because the world around us shakes does not mean we have to. If we are in Him, then He holds us in His hands. He is our Hope. Our Rock. Our Fortress. Our Refuge.Listen once again to this passage in The Message Bible … What is making you feel unstable right now? Can you pinpoint the source of your instability?Whether your answer is one thing or everything, whether your feelings or your thoughts or your actions feel completely shaky, take the focus off the unstable things in and around you and focus on the One who is always stable. Imagine Him holding you now, like a Dad with a child in a storm. Just for this moment, take your eyes off what is shaking and place them on what is solid … Your Hope. Your Rock. Your Fortress. Your Refuge.Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, I receive Your hope, I want to live with You as my Rock, My Fortress, my Refuge. My anxious thoughts, feelings, and emotions I give to You now. As above, so below.”

On our final day we will focus on a very well-known but always powerful chapter in Scripture - this is from Psalm 139. Listen carefully to the words of verses 1 thru 6 … O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!If God really does examine your heart and knows everything about you, then don’t you think it’s okay for you to get real with Him about how you feel and what you are feeling about your life and anyone in it? Isn’t it safe to say He can handle whatever you need to get honest about? Have you ever considered venting your emotions with God? I think the Psalms shows us that’s exactly what we are supposed to do.Here’s the next six verses of Psalm 139 … I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.So, once again, if you can’t go anywhere to get away from God, even in the dark, and He promises to guide and support you, then let this week be a game changer in your relationship with Him. Talk to Him like a best friend. Need to vent? Get loud? Let out some anger and some steam? Go for it. Tell Him what you think and how you feel. Take care of yourself, your hurts and your healing by opening up completely before God. That really is what prayer is about.Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, it’s time I got honest with You, like really honest. Actually, it’s kind of funny for us to think You can’t handle how I feel or what I might say. Like verse 4 said, You know what I’m going to say before I say it, so just help me to get honest and tell You my heart. As above, so below.”

When the Pharisees asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment, He basically answered by boiling them all down to what appears to be two, but is actually three.Listen to Matthew 22:37-39 …Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’So who are we to love? God. Yes. Then our neighbor, which actually just means our fellow human beings. But we so often miss the last part He said. You have to love people “as yourself.”Sometimes we tend to love ourselves as in we will fight to get what we want or practice self-preservation at all costs. Jesus said if that’s how you love yourself, love others just like that, with that same fervor. But here’s another side to that coin … Another way we can interpret this statement is “You cannot love others any more than you are able to love yourself.” Are you really bad at loving yourself? Guess what? That’s going to be your level of loving others too.Do you see it? I hope so, because this is a game changer.Now that you’ve heard these new thoughts, listen once again … Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’Have you been hurt so much that you are focused on taking care of you over anyone else? Well, what if you were to love people like that? Then you’d be super-loyal, giving, and protective of everyone.Or do you struggle to love yourself and you know that makes your level of loving others really low, so it’s time for something to give?The great news is the key to change for either side of this issue is found in the first part of the verse: ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, Teach me to love You, then teach me how to love me, then let all that start to create love for everyone around me. As above, so below.”

One of the most powerful chapters in the New Testament is Colossians 3. Paul reminded us to try and remember Heaven when all Hell is breaking loose in our lives and to not allow the stuff of earth to rule our emotions, thoughts, and actions. We have to have a ground zero for our own hearts and minds, to take care of what we need to do and not do in our own lives.Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.What phrase or words stood out to you?In which of these areas can you say you’re doing really well right now?What did you hear that you know you’re struggling in that area?Now listen again to select parts of this passage … Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, … not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. … So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. … You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. … for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.Are there any “old nature things” that you know it’s time to let go of?I want to encourage you again with Paul’s words … put on your new nature, be renewed, and become like Jesus.Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, help me to live out the values of Heaven here on earth as You keep renewing and revealing Your nature in me. As above, so below.”

One of the greatest disruptors in this day in which we live in our relational stability and our personal peace is anger. Especially on-going and unresolved anger.Listen to Ephesians 4:26-27 …And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil. (NLT) 99% of anger in our lives is at a person that we are in a relationship with. Yes, we get angry at strangers and even ourselves but mostly at people we know well. Yet anger is a valid emotion. There are plenty of places in Scripture where God got angry. Jesus got angry. But the motive for anger is crucial as well as what we do with our anger. That makes the difference. Paul offered great advice by saying that holding onto anger can poison us. To not take anger into a second day or the devil can use it against us.Listen to these verses in The Message Bible … Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.Is anger robbing your relational stability in any way these days?Is it actually harming you more than the person or people you are upset with?Consider how you can get rid of your anger by the end of each day.Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, I hand my anger over to You. I don’t want it to rob me, or hurt me, or become bitterness in my life. Remind me when it comes back up that You know what to do with it as I give it to You. As above, so below.”