Sound Mind Set

There is a passage in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church where he talks about what he called his “thorn in the flesh.” There’s a powerful lesson for us about grace in what he shared.Listen to 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 …… to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (NLT) We are never told what Paul’s thorn is. Probably so we can easily apply this truth to whatever issue plagues our own lives.Paul said that he asked God three times to take it away and God repeated the same phrase each time. And what did God tell Paul he needed? Grace. Why? So God’s strong power could be shown in Paul’s weakness. And there is no denying that happened as we read his letters to the churches.Listen once again to part of today’s passage in The Message Bible … I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need.My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness.What is your thorn? What creates limitations in you? What have you begged God to get rid of?How can you apply God’s answer to your life: “My grace is enough. It’s all you need.”?How can you take your attention off the problem and put it on Christ?Let’s pray together: “Father, this is a tough one. I need Your help to accept those things in my life that You choose for me to surrender to You and trust in Your grace to carry me. As above, so below.”

Romans 5:18-21 …Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (NLT) Depending on how we were brought up and what we have been taught about God, we must all come to the place of understanding that Scripture is the bottom line of what we should believe and the foundation of what we should build our lives upon. We have to become responsible for what we believe and what we will teach our children—based on our own beliefs, not anyone else’s. The concept of grace is such an important pillar of that personal faith.Here’s a tough question for you … do you think your own life is ruled more by law or by grace?Is your faith based on what you do for Jesus or what Jesus has done for you?Remember—any questions we ask here are only to help you honestly evaluate where you are, and by comparing to Scripture, ask if is there is any part of your belief that You need to hand over to God?Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, if there is anything I believe about You that is not right and not fair to You, I invite You to teach me Your ways through Your Word. As above, so below.”

Focusing on God’s grace, listen to Romans 3:23-28 … For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. … God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law. (NLT) Can you hear the connection between today’s passage and yesterday’s? The only way we are made right with God is through a relationship with Jesus. Once again, we believe that what God says He has done for us is true. Jesus paid the penalty for sin that we could never pay.Listen to verses 22 thru 24 in The Message Bible … The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.Is there anything you could possibly do today to quote-unquote deserve your salvation?Do you view what God has done for you as His gift to you?We are free to become what God designed us to be because of Jesus. We pray you really allow that truth to sink in and take it as your own this week.Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, forgive me when I don’t believe what You can do in me because of things I have done. Help me to trust You, to believe You, and to live out what You have planned for me. As above, so below.”

God’s grace … the apostle Paul had much to say on this topic because it is so crucial for us all to understand as Christ-followers.Listen to Ephesians 2:4-9 …But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (NLT) How did Paul say we are saved? By working hard to do good? By trying hard to not do anything wrong? No, “only by God’s grace.”Do you tend to mix your own behavior into your salvation? So many people do.But what did Paul say was the only action we need to take? “God saved you by His grace … when you believed.”Listen to verses 7 thru 9 in The Message Bible … Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving.Do you have any past religious beliefs or baggage that taught you somehow you can go in and out of God’s salvation by your behavior on any given day? If that were true, then our salvation would be somewhat up to us, right? Paul is clear it is only up to God … after we believe. Trust.Here’s a question for your heart … do you think there is anything you can do to make God love you any more? Or any less? This week on grace is all about understanding the amazing truth that He cannot possibly love you more than He does right now.Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, thank You that all You want is for me to believe and trust You. I am grateful my salvation is not dependent on my behavior and that You will never love me any more or any less than You do right now. As above, so below.”

Today, our Scripture is taken from Romans 15:1-13 … We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive …. We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. … May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. … I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. (NLT) Isn’t it interesting that no matter how much we have been hurt, how much we distrust, how guarded we may try to be, when we take our eyes off ourselves and fully focus on meeting someone else’s needs, somehow the world seems right for a few minutes?That’s because we weren’t designed to be hurt or to hurt, but to help, to serve. We weren’t designed to distrust, but to trust. We weren’t designed to focus on our own needs, but to help others.When we choose to live in community the way this week’s Scripture passages have encouraged us to do, we line up with our original design because Christ offers that opportunity.Listen to this passage in The Message Bible … Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?” That’s exactly what Jesus did. He didn’t make it easy for himself by avoiding people’s troubles, but waded right in and helped out. … God wants the combination of his steady, constant calling and warm, personal counsel in Scripture to come to characterize us, keeping us alert for whatever he will do next. May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Then we’ll be a choir—not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus! So reach out and welcome one another to God’s glory. Jesus did it; now you do it! … May the God of hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!In your community, where do you need to step in and lend a hand?Who do you need to ask, “How can I help?”Where does your life need to sing in harmony with others in an anthem for God’s glory?Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, help me to expand my community to who I need and who needs me. Help me to receive the help I need while giving my help to whom it’s needed. Help me to find harmony with those You want me to worship with. As above, so below.”

Today, our Scripture is 1 Peter 4:8-13 … Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. (NLT) What gifts do you see in your life that you know God uses?What service do you do that you just feel the presence of God when You are involved in it? It just feels peaceful to you, almost as if you can sense God smiling?What do you do that you can tell impacts others even more than it affects you?Listen once again to today’s passage in The Message Bible … Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes! Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.Did you catch the phrase: “Love each other as if your life depended on it.”? Who do you love like that? Who needs you to love them like that?Who needs your words? Who needs your “hearty help”? Who needs some of God’s bright presence in their life with you being the one who delivers it?Our community will be made up of those who love us, but also those we need to love.Like the last verse said: This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.Let’s pray together: “Father, from the love I give to the trials I walk through, help me to reflect Your presence. Help me to love like my life depends on it—just like You do. As above, so below.”

Today, our passage is James 5:13 through 16, 19 and 20.Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. … My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins. (NLT) This entire passage from praying to confessing has to do with being involved in a community of believers who trust one another, desire to help one another, and will even go the extra mile to rescue others.Confessing our sins to God is a given. But having someone to get real with about the evils and struggles of our own hearts can accelerate our spiritual growth. Especially as we create accountability and pray for one another.Here’s The Message Bible’s take on this passage … Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you’ve sinned, you’ll be forgiven—healed inside and out. Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. … My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God.Where do you go when you’re hurting?Where do you go when something great happens?Where do you go when you just can’t seem to get rid of something that’s hurting you?Who would come after you if you wandered away from your faith?Who would you go after if you saw them wandering away?Whoever’s names you answered with … that, my friend, is your faith community.Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, thank You for those who would work to rescue me and those You have placed in my life that I would rescue. Help me to surrender more to You each day so I can gain everyone in my community that You desire to be in it. As above, so below.

Today, our Scripture is Romans 12:1-5 …And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. (NLT) We’re all grateful that God no longer requires any sort of physical sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin, right? But yet, sacrifice is still a crucial part of following Jesus. In fact, it’s an everyday event. From the desires of our bodies, minds, hearts, and attitudes, we have to give up what we want if we are going to honor God and others. Notice what this sacrifice gains us … we realize we are part of a greater Body of believers, a community of people who belong to and function together.Listen once again to this passage as I read excerpts from The Message Bible… So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. … we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. … So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.Today, what do you need to sacrifice?What do you need to embrace?What do you need to readily recognize that God is wanting to tell you about your life, your community, your role in His kingdom and Body?Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, take my everyday, ordinary life—my sleeping, eating, going to work, and walking around life. I give myself to You. I embrace all You have for me. I ask You to bring out the best in me, for You and for the sake of those You desire for me to reach. As above, so below.”

We’ll begin our week with Philippians 2:1-5 … Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. (NLT) Today’s passage starts and ends with Jesus. In the community united in Christ, we can receive encouragement, comfort, fellowship, tenderness, compassion, agreement, and humility as we work together in one mind and purpose … and here’s the real key—with the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.Listen now to this same passage in The Message Bible … If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.  Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself.As our culture becomes increasingly self-absorbed and self-focused, these Christlike qualities are going to become more and more attractive to our own hearts, to those in the faith, and those outside.What phrase jumped out at you today?I love the idea of “deep-spirited friends.” When we choose to put ourselves aside and help others get ahead, we can experience a community of deep-spirited friends. We will find those folks we can trust, lean on, count on, and do life with.Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, thank You for the kind of heavenly comfort, encouragement, and fellowship we can have in You. Help me to be the kind of friend in the faith that today’s passage talks about and be a part of Your community that can change the world. As above, so below.”

Today is our final day of a week spent challenging ourselves to place all our confidence not in ourselves or others but in God.Let’s go back to King David in the Psalms and look at a declaration He wrote for his life that we too need to choose to make:Listen to chapter 118, verses 5 thru 9 … In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me. I will look in triumph at those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people. It is better to take refuge in the Lord … (NLT) Think about the relationship that brings you the most stress right now, even someone that you fear or whose behavior invokes fear. A circumstance that brings you fear. How can this passage encourage you, bring you confidence, offer you safety, set you free?Listen to this passage in The Message Bible, but this time, I’m going to add down to verse 16.Pushed to the wall, I called to God; from the wide open spaces, he answered. God’s now at my side and I’m not afraid; who would dare lay a hand on me? God’s my strong champion; I flick off my enemies like flies. Far better to take refuge in God than trust in people; Far better to take refuge in God than trust in celebrities. … I was right on the cliff-edge, ready to fall, when God grabbed and held me. God’s my strength, he’s also my song, and now he’s my salvation. Hear the shouts, hear the triumph songs in the camp of the saved? “The hand of God has turned the tide! The hand of God is raised in victory! The hand of God has turned the tide!” (MSG) Say this declaration with me:The Lord is for me, …so I will have no fear. …What can mere people do to me? …Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me. … Can you hang onto that thought and place your faith in Him with that statement? “The Lord is for me so I will have no fear.” And to do that, your confidence will have to be in your Father, not in yourself. And as have hopefully seen this week, that’s a really good decision.Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, You are for me and I will have no fear. With You, what can anyone do to me? You are for me and I believe and have confidence that You will help me. As above, so below.”