Sound Mind Set

Luke 18:15-17 NLTOne day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering him. Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”Jesus made His message clear: He wants parents to bring their children to Him to touch and bless. He wants no one to stop His interaction with His kids for any reason. There is no such thing as “bothering” Jesus for you or your kids. In fact, He said His kingdom belongs to children. No matter how old someone is, the way to enter His presence is to have the heart and faith of a child.Is it time for you to take your kids to Jesus and, all of you, even you as their parent, become like little children before Him?How would it look different in your life to approach your Father as a little child? Maybe there would be less pressure on trying to be perfect to approach Him? Picture yourself coming to His open arms as the little girl or boy that you were.Read just verses 15 and 16 again with the emphasis only on the parents, the children, and Jesus:One day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. … Jesus called for the children and said …, “Let the children come to me. … For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.”Today, for our closing prayer, in this quiet moment, envision bringing each of your children before Jesus.Ask Him to hold them, love them, and bless them.And while you’re there, as His child, allow Him to do the same for you.“As above, so below, Amen.”

Today, we will focus on three verses on parenting from The Message Bible.A refusal to correct is a refusal to love; love your children by disciplining them. (Proverbs 13:24 MSG) God-loyal people, living honest lives, make it much easier for their children. (Proverbs 20:7 MSG) Discipline your children; you’ll be glad you did—they’ll turn out delightful to live with. (Proverbs 29:17 MSG) Because God was the first Parent, the Bible is clear that discipline is a natural and necessary part of the process. It is important to remember that discipline is not punishment. It is guiding, building into and yes, sometimes correcting them. God says He disciplines us because He loves us. If He did not care, He would not care if we changed either.Regardless of how you were raised, you can look to God to teach you how correct and balanced discipline can benefit both you and your children in a spirit of love and grace.God disciplines us because He loves us. You are His delight and He desires your relationship with Him to become more loyal and more honest each day. You can reflect that same deliberate guiding love to your children as You receive from God.Pray: “Thank You, Father, for discipline and correction. Help me when I get it wrong and help me to see when I get it right. Guide me, balance me, in Your love and grace. As above, so below, Amen.”

Psalm 145:3-7 NLTGreat is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness. Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power. I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles. Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness. Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy about your righteousness.Every belief system is always just one generation from extinction. That is exactly why over and over we see in God’s Word, how He wants us, first, to be a witness to our children. He wants us to show our kids through our words and actions that He is real and wants a relationship with us.Right now, in your life, what is God doing that your kids need to hear about from your heart?Let’s take the psalmist’s prayer and personalize the words to God from you:Great are You, Lord! You are most worthy of praise! No one can measure Your greatness. I will tell my children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power. I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles. Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on my tongue; I will proclaim your greatness. I will share the story of your wonderful goodness; I will sing with joy about your righteousness.Declaring these words is humbling. Telling our children what God is doing in us is powerful. Making Him real to them is a privilege. Allowing them to see Him through your life is exactly what God wants to do in your parenting. Be obedient to Him and He will be faithful to you and the generation you are raising now.Pray: “Heavenly Father, prompt me by Your Spirit to share with my kids the blessings You give and the burdens You take bear for us. Lead me to share Your story, in my story, as together we write their story. As above, so below, Amen.”

“He will bless those who fear the Lord, both great and lowly. May the Lord richly bless both you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth.“ (Psalm 115:13-15, NLT)In today’s passage the word fear is best thought of as great respect and awe. No matter how great or lowly we might be, or we might feel in the moment, God is worthy of our praise and admiration. We look to him for blessing us and our children. In seasons of good times, we can find it easy to feel blessed.But in the tough seasons of life or in a crisis, when blessings seem far away, that is exactly the best time for us to look towards and ask for God’s blessing. All he asks is to acknowledge him for who he is. Creator, Father, God. Today, in this moment can you…will you…receive the rich blessing the Lord has for you and your children? Take in these words that are meant for you, no matter how you might feel today, and let God bless all who fear God. “Bless the small, bless the great. Oh, let God enlarge your families - giving growth to you, growth to your children. May you be blessed by God, by God who made heaven and earth. The heaven of heavens is for God, but he puts us in charge of the earth.” (Psalm 115:13-15, The Message Bible)I want you to believe with all your heart, soul and mind that those words were written for you and for your children. If you have committed the lives of you and your children into His hands, with God as our perfect Father, he desires to bless you all today. And in all the seasons to come. “Father God, I receive and accept your blessing for me, for my children, and our home. I believe you desire to bless me, and right now I ask you to bless (take a moment to name each of your children and ask him to bless each one). Father, please help me to have your heart for my children and to bless them as their parent as you bless us. As above, so below. Amen.”

Today, we close out Psalm 139 and our focus of how we were each created and designed to be a part of God’s creation and community:(Psalm 139:17-18, 23-24 NLT)How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me! … Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (Psalm 139:17-18, 23-24 NLT) As good parents, we think of our kids when they are not with us. We wonder what they’re doing, if they are okay, and hope they know we love them. God as the perfect Father is always with us, but even still He keeps us on His mind. His love, grace, and care keep us on His path to a full life today and eternal life to come.Invite God into your thoughts, your heart. Give Him room to show You His love and keep You close to Him today.Take in these words once again, this time from the Message bible:Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!God, I’ll never comprehend them!I couldn’t even begin to count them—any more than I could count the sand of the sea.Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!And please, God, do away with wickedness for good! … Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong— then guide me on the road to eternal life..How does it feel to know the God of the universe thought are about you right now? You are on His mind, right now.Let’s make the psalmist’s words our prayer: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. As above, so below.”

Psalm 139:13-16You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.The psalmist David tells us how God planned each of us, mapped out our days, every moment with purpose. And then inside our mother’s womb, He formed exactly and accurately the person we would become who could accomplish His plan inside His community of creation.When you have those days where you think your life is random, or an accident, or you question your purpose, remember this truth about your life.Have you considered that no one else in history has ever had your fingerprints, as if God signed the masterpiece He created in you?Listen once again to key phrases this time from the Message Bible:You know me inside and out,you know every bone in my body;You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something.Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.God does indeed have a plan for your life. He made you to fit into His creation and community. No one else can ever be who you are or do what He intends for you alone to accomplish.PRAYER: “Thank You, Father, for my life. Thank You for forming me, as well as Your plan for my days. Help me to trust You and walk with You in each moment You have mapped out for me. As above, so below.”

Acts 4:32-35 NLTAll the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.All were united in heart and mind. Sharing what they had. No one needy among them.Only God can change the human soul to cooperate, unite, and love like that, selflessly, literally bringing Heaven to earth.Today, His life is available. His love is available. His Spirit can touch our lives to love, care, and share like those first disciples.This passage creates a longing to be united in heart and mind with other believers.Can you make yourself available to love selflessly today?Read once more this time from the Message Bible:The whole congregation of believers was united as one—one heart, one mind! They didn’t even claim ownership of their own possessions. No one said, “That’s mine; you can’t have it.” They shared everything. The apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Master Jesus, and grace was on all of them.And so it turned out that not a person among them was needy. Those who owned fields or houses sold them and brought the price of the sale to the apostles and made an offering of it. The apostles then distributed it according to each person’s need.No matter how independent we may think ourselves to be, we need care. We need help. We need others. True community is finding common ground coupled with unity. Focused on what draws us together, rather than divides. Peace over chaos. Responsibility over rights. Giving. Caring. Loving like Jesus.Let’s pray together: “Lord of all, thank You for Your Spirit that unites us in one heart and mind. Thank You that in You we can meet one another’s needs, share our blessings, and love with the kind of love that only Heaven can give. As above, so below.”

Psalm 139:1-5 NLTO 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.Living within the care and community of God means that He sees every aspect of who we are. What we do and what we don’t. What we say and what we won’t. From our hearts to our homes. From our ways to our work. No matter where we go, He is there. Aware. Available. Active.Can you sense God’s presence everywhere in your life?Listen to the shepherd, king, and psalmist David’s words again this time from the Message Bible:God, I’m an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking. You know when I leave and when I get back; I’m never out of your sight. You know everything I’m going to say before I start the first sentence.… I look behind me and you’re there, then up ahead and you’re there, too— your reassuring presence, coming and going.Take a moment to reflect on the last verse: “your reassuring presence, coming and going..” Invite … allow … accept … feel … the Lord’s presence on you right now—for no reason other than to bless you.Let’s pray together: “Thank You, Father, that You know me intimately. My heart. My words. My actions. Everything I do and everywhere I go, You watch over me. Thank You for your blessing today. May my life bless You. As above, so below.”

Genesis 1:26-27, 30-31 NLTThen God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. … And that is what happened. … Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!God said “let us”—us being the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—“in our image.” We were created by a Community, in community, for community.The Father made us, the Son saves us, the Spirit guides us. Right now, when God sees you, when He looks at who you are, He sees you as “very good.”Can you, will you accept today that God looks at you with eyes of love and goodness?Listen again to these key phrases, this time from the Message Bible:God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature. … God created human beings; he created them Reflecting God’s nature..… God looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good! (Genesis 1:26-27, 30-31 NLT) Right now, close your eyes and picture Your loving heavenly Father, Your Creator, looking at You, inviting You into His community, caring for You, and pleased with who He made you to be.Can you accept that He says this of you right now - God looked over everything he had made, He looks over you and says; it is so good, so very good!Pray with me: “Creator God, Father, thank You that you made me with purpose, for a purpose. You created me to live in community with You and for You. Help me to always remember that I am made in Your image. As above, so below.”

Today, we close out our week, focusing on hope.Romans15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.Hope is something that often eludes us. Day-to-day, we can get so lost in the stress and anxiety of our culture that our sense of hope feels diminished. That’s why this passage cuts through. It starts by saying that we are sons and daughters of the ‘God of hope’. What is an area in your life right now that feels hopeless?It says we will be filled with hope, joy and peace as we trust in Him. Right now, can you reaffirm your trust in our God of hope?It also says the power of the Holy Spirit will cause us to overflow with hope.Can you invite the Holy Spirit to release the power of Hope in your life so that it ‘overflows to those around us?Pray with me: “God of hope, please fill me with joy and peace, and help me trust you in all areas of my life. I ask that your Holy Spirit would fill me with the hope that overflows into those around me. As above, so below. ”