Think On These Things

We are moving in 5 weeks. Likely, from our current location on the East coast of the mainland US to an island in the middle of the Pacific. But of course, we won't know that for sure until it actually happens {thank you for always keeping things exciting Navy submarine community...}. As you can imagine, my mind has been busy going over move details; when to request movers for our household goods, when and from where to ship our car, whether to sell or ship our second car, hotel and rental car reservations, dog flights, dog pre-flight appointments, Hawaii animal quarantine paperwork, updating Power of Attorney, real estate paperwork regarding buying a house in our new location {which we can't actually do till we arrive thanks to the uncertainty of our orders}, etc, etc.

Additionally, one of our dogs GI track's completely shut down recently resulting in him not eating for days and throwing up. This led us and his veterinarian to believe he had some sort of blockage for which he underwent multiple exploratory stomach surgeries costing a fortune, but turning up nothing. We still don't know what is wrong with him, but are "waiting and seeing" at this point. Our current hypothesis is that he got stressed out because my husband and I were gone for a weekend while he stayed home with our kids and their grandparents {whom he loves}. He always stops eating for a few days after any change, but doesn't usually throw up and completely stop digesting. And if he thinks being comfy in his own home while we are gone for a weekend is stressful... he's got another thing coming with this move we have coming up! 

In light of all that is going on in our family, I am so grateful for Good Morning Girl's recent Bible study, Intentionally Focused, that has helped me to fix my eyes on Jesus throughout all of this. Scripture has reminded me of what is truly important in light of eternity, and made all the things going on in my life seem not so monumental. Furthermore, the study reminded me of the power of our minds over our actions. An intentionally focused mind leads to an intentional focused life. 

Some days it really is a battle to control my mind. It can be exhausting to capture every thought and submit it to Christ. Some days I get so focused on me; my needs, my desires, my problems. Which is why I have this verse written on my wall this week. 

This verse is Paul's final point before a closing "thank you" in his letter to the Philippians. As such, it sums up all of his exhortations regarding our behavior and relationships. Paul's major point in writing to the Philippians appears to be concerning that which fills their minds. His opening prayer in this letter even alludes to this cause, "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God" {Philippians 1:9-11}.

The key actually thinking on these things in Philippians 4:8 is found in the verses preceding it which say, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." According to John Darby's Synopsis of the New Testament, "though we walk in the midst of evil and trial, we are able to occupy ourselves with all that is good when we are at peace." The peace of God, which we enjoy when we lay our burdens on Him, guards our minds, making it possible for us to dwell on truth, honesty, justice and purity, rather than on ourselves and our selfish motives and desires.

As I walk through this transitional time in our family life, I have been pleasantly surprised by the peace surpassing all comprehension God has blessed me with as I daily, moment by moment, practice thanksgiving, and lay my anxiety on God. That doesn't mean there aren't times when I struggle with this, but I am able to look back and see the marked difference in my personal level of peace at times when I have been faithful to let go of my concerns and trust God for their outcome, versus when I have continued worrying and striving to deal with my concerns on my own. The former frees me to think on more important heavenly things, like those described in Philippians 4:8, while the later keeps me in bondage to the world.

Philippians 4:8 deals with what we are supposed to be dwelling on once our hearts and minds are at peace regarding our own lives and issues. Since this verse serves as a summary of Paul's exhortations regarding our behavior and relationships, the things that we are to dwell on affect our relationships. Matthew Henry's Commentary says, "we are ordered to get and to keep a good name" Not that we are to hold our reputation among humans as higher than our relationship with God, but we certainly do not want to be the kind of Christians that give Christianity a bad name!

Wesley's Explanatory Notes point out an interesting detail about our verse. "To sum up all (exhortations), there are eight particulars in four-fold rows, the former containing their (the Christian's) duty, the latter, the commendation of it." When we look at the verse in this way;

Truth (in speech) is lovely.
Honesty (in action) is of good report.
Justice (in regards to others) makes one virtuous.
Purity (in regards to self) makes one praise-worthy.

Surely, if Christians acted this way due to their minds being consumed by these thoughts, the surrounding world would have nothing to complain about them and God would certainly be glorified!  Recall Paul's opening prayer for the Philippians. The whole point of us thinking on these excellent things is that we may become sincere and blameless for the purpose of glorifying God. I like how the NLT says it, "For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation- the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ- for this will bring much glory and praise to God" (Phil. 1:10-11).

This reminds me that we are not supposed to just read and understand this verse. Titus 1:1 says, "I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives." The point of reading the word of God, which provides us with knowledge of the truth, is to allow it to change us so that we will live godly lives for His glory. We need to prove ourselves doers of the word and not merely hearers (James 1:22). "But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does" (James 1:25).

So lets seek out that blessing that is promised when we do what the Bible demands and spend some time thinking about how we can go about dwelling on truth, honesty, justice, and purity.

Dwell on truth. Get it into your head and your heart. Because "the good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart" (Luke 6:45). Fill your heart with capital "T" Truth from the word of God and expect that treasure to spill out in your words and actions. How do we do that? We study the Bible and we go beyond studying and we memorize life-giving words that become mantras. We play these truths on repeat in our minds and they will surface in times of need; when we need encouragement, when we need direction, when we need correcting, when temptation needs resisting, when the devil needs refuting. Our words and actions in our time of need will reflect what our minds dwell on the rest of the time. So dwell on truth.

Dwell on honesty. This is probably the biggest issue the world has with believers. We preach it, but we don't always live it, and the world calls us hypocrites, and they are right. To some degree, there is no way around this. The standard to which we aspire is impossible to achieve. But we have been made new! "If indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth" (Ephesians 4:21-24). If we belong to Him, sin does not own us anymore. Galatians 5:13 says "For you were called to freedom brethren, only do not let your freedom become and opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." We are free! We are forgiven and our sins are covered by grace. Let us not use that as a free pass to keep on living "in accordance with the lusts of deceit" but let's "put on the new self" that looks like God. God, who is righteous, and holy, and who is above all, love. Living honestly while proclaiming Jesus just got real simple... love. like. Jesus. "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35).

Dwell on justice. "We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:16-18). Don't turn a blind eye to those suffering in the world. Everything we have is a gift of God's grace, it is our responsibility to steward that grace well. Sometimes it is hard to know what we can really do to make a difference, but if nothing else, dwell on justice by praying. We can all ask God to soften our hearts in love to fellow man. We can all appeal to His justice and pray for those in need and pray for how we can be a part of His solution.

Dwell on purity. "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure" (1 John 3:2-3). He has made us holy and yet, it is still our responsibility to purify ourselves. With respect to our minds there is a common saying, "garbage in, garbage out" that really rings true. What are we feeding our minds on? What are we reading, watching, listening to, and otherwise exposing ourselves to? It's not unreasonable to imagine that those influences might seep into our thoughts, and eventually actions, if we aren't careful. Furthermore, we may not be able to help what thoughts pop into our head in a given moment, but we better be "taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor 10:5) and not giving the devil a foothold in the battleground of our minds.

Our minds truly are a battlefield, and if we aren't intentional about what we fill our thoughts with, we can be sure that our enemy, the devil, is taking advantage of our neglect in this area. Let's not allow that to happen, but instead make our minds a stronghold for God in our lives by dwelling on truth, honesty, justice, and purity.

An Invitation to My Quiet Time

The most transformative spiritual discipline I have ever practiced is that of a daily quiet time with God including prayer and the study of Scripture. And like any woman, or at least like any extroverted woman... I am passionate about sharing those things which are most effective in my life.  And studying the Bible is life changing. More so than any other product or practice in any facet of my life. Furthermore, there is no church service, no devotional book, no podcast, no blog, no anything that can replace digging into Scripture for yourself. If you are serious about growing your faith, you better be serious about reading the Word!

I was blessed to have mentors in high school and college who taught me how to study the Bible. I was also a Bible major at a Christian college which included college level classes on dissecting Scripture. What I sometimes forget as a facilitator of an online Bible study is that not everyone has had those same opportunities. Sometimes friends ask me to share my methods and resources so it is my goal in this post to allow you a sneak peak into my quiet time as I pause to share the basic "steps" I generally follow when studying Scripture.

Now, there is no magic formula or one correct way to study Scripture. The habits I have developed over time for digging into the Word and trying to understand and apply it may look different from someone else who is similarly committed to personal Bible study, and that is okay. So I am not offering a formula for life-changing quiet times. As with any intimate relationship, there is no formula. What I am sharing are the methods and resources that I use to dig into Scripture which have helped me to better understand the Bible and therefore to better understand God and my role in His kingdom.

In general, I use a Bible study method referred to as SOAP.

• S- Scripture
• O- Observations
• A- Applications
• P- Prayer

Good Morning Girls has an excellent post on "How to SOAP Your Quiet Time" found here.

For the purpose of inviting you into my quiet time I am going to SOAP my theme verse for 2014, Hebrews 12:1-3, with a focus on the O portion in which we really dig into the biblical text.

S- Scripture

Read the verses in a couple of different translations.
Include at least one "more literal" translation such as NASB or KJV which are translated more closely to the original language text. I generally also read a more "readable" version like the NLT. By reading multiple versions you get a better feel for what the passage means. Different translations can help shed light on one another, particularly when the more literal translations have awkward wording. There are a variety of different websites you can use to compare translations if you don't have multiple Bibles, like biblestudytools.com.

Write out the verses.
I would suggest writing out one of the more literal translations because it will help later in the Bible study process when we go to look up specific words in the original language.

Hebrews 12:1-3 (NASB)
"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

O- Observations

List initial observations and questions.
{You can come back and add to this list or answer questions on this list at any time throughout the study.}

• What does the text clearly say?
• What immediate questions jump out?

• lay aside encumbrances (distractions?) and sin
• some things aren't sin but still don't help us reach our goal
• the race requires endurance> must be long and hard
• race is "set before us" presumably by God, as opposed to chosen by us
• fix eyes on Jesus> what does that mean???
• Jesus is author and perfecter of faith (initiates and brings about faith?)
• Jesus is the ultimate example of endurance produced by keeping eyes on the goal
• If our race is anything like Jesus's, it will not be easy (pain & shame are included)
• Jesus endured for the joy set before him> what is that joy??? 
• Jesus endured for a greater goal> reminds me of John 12:27-28
• endurance/endure is repeated 3 times- must be important> reminds me of James 1:2-4
• the race will end eventually (Jesus is now sitting at the right hand of God)
• Jesus's endurance is an encouragement to believers having an exhausting race
• who are these witnesses? >Hebrews 11?
• what hostility by sinners did Jesus endure?> see Gospel accounts

Those aren't very formal observations (I hope Hutch, my college Bible professor, isn't reading this...), but they are the things that jumped out to me which I wrote down in my journal to help process what is being said in this passage. 

Consider the Context

{first 3 questions are generally answered at the beginning of the book in your Bible}

• Who is the author? unknown
• Who is the audience? "Hebrews," Jewish Christians considering abandoning their faith and lapsing back into Judaism due to intense persecution at this time in church history
• What are the major themes of the book? Christ's supremacy and superiority "as revealer and mediator of God's grace"
• How does author/audience/theme shed light on the passage's meaning? The audience was undergoing persecution for their faith and could certainly relate with what Jesus endured. The author points to Jesus as an encouragement for them to stick with their faith for the joy set before them and not to give up because Jesus didn't give up. 
• Read the entire section containing the verses for contextual clues.
• Read the sections that precede and follow to better understand how the verses fit within the message the author is trying to convey.
• Hebrews 11 describes heros of faith in the Old Testament, people who gained God's approval through their faith but did not (yet) receive the promises of their faith (Heb 11:13, 11:39). 
• The Jewish audience would have been familiar with and inspired by these examples. 
• This (Heb 11) is the "cloud of witnesses" that encourage us by their examples to run with endurance.  
• See the example they set in Heb 11:13-16: people of faith are strangers and exiles on earth because they desire a heavenly home rather than an earthly one. Motivation to run with endurance = heavenly home with God! The audience would know what it is like to feel like an exile since they left the religion so closely related to their culture to follow Jesus.
• Hebrews 12:4-17 discusses a father's discipline that is unpleasant but yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Continues the theme that a life of faith isn't going to be easy, but it is worth it. 

Look up original language definitions for key words. 

A great free resource for doing this is biblestudytools.com.

• Look up your passage 
• Choose either NASB or KJV
• Check the box "Strong's numbers" and words will turn blue
• Click on any blue word to see the word in the original language and it's possible meanings
• Write down portions of the possible meaning that shed light on your passage

• encumbrance = whatever is prominent, hence a burden
• sin = to err, to miss or wander from the path of uprightness & honor, to violate God's law
• run = to spend one's strength performing or attaining something, word occurs in Greek writings denoting to incur extreme peril, which it requires the exertion of all ones effort to overcome
• endurance = steadfastness, a patient enduring, sustaining, perseverance
• fixing our eyes = to turn eyes away from other things and toward something (singular focus!)
• author = one that takes the lead in any thing and thus affords an example, a predecessor, a pioneer
• perfecter = one who has in his own person raised faith to its perfection and so set before us the highest example of faith
• faith = conviction of the truth of anything, belief with the predominate idea of trust
• endured = to remain (abide, not flee), to preserve
• despising = to disdain, think little/nothing of
• shame = disgrace, dishonor
• lose heart = exhaust the breath of life, enfeebled through exhaustion, to despond

Consult Commentaries

Again, biblestudytools.com offers access to several free public-domain commentaries. After you have entered your passage, scroll down below it and click "study tools" and there is a list of resources you can click on for further study. 

• John Gill's Exposition of the Bible: Hinderances include worldly cares, riches & honors when immoderately pursued. The heart should not be set upon them or overly anxious about them.
• John Gill's Exposition of the Bible: "This race is 'set before' the saints, that is, by God; the way in which they are to run is marked out by Him in His Word, the troubles they shall meet within it are appointed for them by Him..."
• John Gill's Exposition of the Bible regarding "author and perfecter": all men by nature are without faith and it is not in their power to believe, it is a work of omnipotence and it is an operation of Christ by His Spirit, and the increase is from Him, He gives Himself and the blessings of His grace, to His people, to maintain and strengthen, He prays for it, and brings it to it's end in eternal life.

Answer the following questions:

{I stole these questions from Jennie Allen's project IF:Equip because I think answering them really captures the essence of why we study the Bible in the first place}

IF this is true...

THEN...

• What does it mean about God? He understands our struggle because He has endured much more than we ever will in the running of His race. He considers a relationship with us worth enduring the struggle. He wants us to desire a relationship with Him. He has set a course for us and given us an example to follow and motivate us. He initiates, supports, and brings our faith to it's proper end in salvation.
• What does it mean about me? I can be easily distracted and therefore I must be very intentional in running my race. There will be times I become exhausted and want to give up. A singular focus on my heavenly goal is the only thing that can produce in me the kind of endurance required to run the race set before me well. 
• What does it mean about the world? The world is full of distractions to tempt us off course. The world is also full of other runners in need of encouragement and motivation. The world is our race course and we must have an important purpose here or God would not have us go through this exhausting experience.

The answers to those questions help me flow right into the next phase of SOAP.

A- Applications

• What are the timeless concepts?
• How should this affect my life?
• What questions do I need to honestly ask myself?

• Be encouraged by great examples of faith and endurance!
• What aspect/aspects of Jesus's ultimate example are most encouraging to you? Why?
• What biblical examples (see Heb 11) are most encouraging to you? Why?
• Who are some modern examples of faith? And how are they encouraging to you?
• Who are some personal examples of faith? And how are they encouraging to you?
• Seriously evaluate the encumbrances and sins that entangle you.
• What encumbrances/sins are the Spirit revealing to you and convicting you to work on?
• What practical ways can you train yourself to lay aside these things?
• Remember not only what Jesus did for you, but why He did it. The joy set before Him was eternal communion with us! Being with us is that important to Him, and is also what we fix our eyes on- the hope of life with God, both here and in eternity.
• Fix your eyes on Jesus!
• Honestly, what do I spend my days pursuing? The world or God?
• Endurance in this race requires a singular focus> turning away from everything else to focus solely on Him.

In my own journal I wrote my personal answers to these questions but I will spare you those details :)

P- Prayer

Prayer should be involved throughout the process of studying the Bible if our aim is not just to academically understand the Bible but to have it actually transform us. It is my habit to focus my heart towards God in prayer before even opening my Bible. I lay all my concerns on Him so I am free to focus on His Word, I commit myself to obedience in whatever way He reveals His will to me, and I ask Him to reveal Himself to me. Throughout my study I frequently pause to turn my heart towards God and ask, "what are you saying to me in this?" or "please reveal to me the proper understanding of this." Finally, after all reading, observation, and applications have been made, I finish my quiet time by praying specifically for what I have learned and how I hope to apply my understanding. This is a reminder that studying the Bible is more than an academic pursuit, but it is communication with God. As someone who has spent years academically studying and applying the Bible, often without the communication portion, the aspect of prayer as a part of Bible study is so precious and important to me now. 

Father, You are the almighty God of the universe and yet you desire a relationship with me! How merciful, and kind, and good You are. It blows my mind that You consider me worth enduring the pain and the shame and the suffering. Your grace overwhelms me and yet I am still so easily distracted and so easily tripped up by sin. Thank you for bringing an awareness to me regarding areas of my life that have become distractions and strongholds of sin. I give those up to You and ask You for the strength to turn my eyes and my heart away from those things and toward Jesus, toward the hope of heaven and eternal communion with You. Thank You for Your Word and for inspiring me with the many examples of lives of faith, including Your Son. Thank You for the mentors and friends you have put in my life as examples of lives of faith, and as encouragers, and as fellow runners in this race You have set before us. As I run towards You Lord, may I be an encourager to other runners, may my life become an example for my children and others. Thank You for allowing me the joy of being a part of your plan in bringing your kingdom to earth! 

Intentionally Focused Reflection

Good Morning Girls recently wrapped up an 8 week study titled "Intentionally Focused" in which we examined significant pieces of our lives and attempted to intentionally focus each area for the glory of God.  Those of us who have been following along have put in a lot of hard work applying scripture to our lives and I am happy to report that I am not the same person I was 8 weeks ago. I imagine it will always be a battle to choose every day to do the work of intentionally focusing my life for the glory of God because my sinful nature so easily reverts to seeking my own comfort, pleasure and glory. But it is a battle worth fighting.

Why?

• Because I am a citizen of heaven. 
• Because I have been bought with a price. 
• Because God offers me a deep satisfaction that cannot be found anywhere else. 
• Because I have been charged as a steward of God's grace. 
• Because this life is fleeting, it is but a vapor, so I ought to use what little time I have focusing on that which is really, truly important in light of eternity.
• Because it is my highest calling to know God and bring Him glory.

Such a massive objective as intentionally focusing my entire life seems overwhelming and it is hard to even know where to begin. It turns out that intentional focus is actually quite simple, though not always easy. All I really have to do to intentionally focus my entire life is fix my eyes on Jesus! This requires a singular focus and forgetting what lies behind and pressing on toward my goal. I recognize Jesus as the bread (my sustenance), the light (illuminating my way), the good shepherd (sacrificially leading and protecting me), and the way to find life in God.  Jesus equips me with His Spirit and is living and active in me as I seek to follow Him. My role is to seek His will and imitate Him by following His example.

Intentional focus begins in my mind. I will act on what I allow myself to believe. My behavior reflects what I allow myself to dwell on and therefore I must seek to dwell on those things which honor God. Easier said than done, which is why I must invite the Spirit to renew my mind by continually giving thanks to God. Furthermore, I must recognize the spiritual battle going on for my mind and I must chose to take every thought captive to Christ. As a benefit, my renewed mind will be able to determine the will of God which will certainly guide me as I bring intentional focus to other areas of my life. 

For me, my marriage is a significant area of my life and certainly an important area in which I ought to intentionally strive for God's glory. Glorifying God in my marriage involves understanding the unique purpose for which God created women and the unique role that He calls women to as imitators of Christ in their marriages. The Bible tells me that I was created as a companion-helper for my husband and also indicates that women have great influence in their relationships which can be used for good or evil. The Bible also makes clear women's unique call to imitate Christ in humble submission within their marriages. Not because their husbands do or don't deserve it, but because this is how they glorify God. 

God made me for relationship with Him, but also for relationship with others. He goes so far as to intertwine Himself as the "third cord" in my friendships (Ecc. 4:12). Friendship is intended, not only to bring me comfort and joy, but also to sharpen me and make me a better person. In bringing intentional focus to this are of my life I ought to seek to cultivate relationship-building qualities in my character through the Spirit like compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and graceful speech. These characteristics displayed by believers will serve to unite believers together in one body working together for the purpose of glorifying God just as He intended. Ultimately, it should be brotherly love, like Jesus displays toward me, that binds me together with my friends. 

As a parent I have a truly awesome responsibility for passing on my faith heritage to the next generation. Only God Himself can capture my children's hearts for the kingdom, but God Himself is also very clear in His commands to parents regarding setting their children on the right path. It is my responsibility to teach my children Scripture to guide and equip them for a life of faith. It is my responsibility to create a home environment where my children are surrounded by and frequently reminded of God's commands. It is my responsibility to share both Bible stories witnessing to God's greatness and also my personal faith stories witnessing to God's work in my own life. My children should see in me the difference a life of faith makes. "Like arrows in the hand of a warrior" (Ps 127), parents have the opportunity to direct children down a path to become world changers. What a gift it is that I get to participate in bringing glory to God and impacting His kingdom for generations to come in this way! Children truly are a gift from the Lord. A gift which I have the awesome privilege and great responsibility of stewarding well for His glory.

The concept of stewarding the gifts God has given me extends into my ministry. By His grace, I was born with God-given talents and by His grace, He continues to bestow spiritual gifts of special abilities when I receive the Spirit. These grace-gifts are not for me but for the glory of God and I must take care to steward them well! Considering that as a believer, I belong to all other believers as a part of the same body, I ought to devote myself, and my gifts, to brotherly love, following the ultimate example of Jesus who laid down His life for me in brotherly love. The ministries I am to pour my gifts into will be as unique as God created and gifted me, but the Bible does describes a worthy woman as one who devotes herself to good works in her marriage, motherhood, hospitality, service to the church, and assistance to those in need. This description paints broad strokes for what my ministries might include and demands that I look at the roles I already posses as wife and mother as ministries as well.

God is interested in my whole being, not only spiritual, but physical as well. In regards to my health I must begin with the belief that I am fearfully and wonderfully made in order to be a temple of the Holy Spirit. This perspective brings significance to how I take care of my physical body. The body is also a gift from God to be used for His glory. Not everything that seems desirable to me is actually good for me and I must continue to seek God's will regarding how I treat my body; what I put in it, what I do to it, and what I put on it. I take comfort and joy in knowing that there will come a day when God will take my corrupt, mortal, weak, dishonorable body wracked with the consequences of sin, and glorify it for the rest of eternity! Focusing on this and God's other promises motivates me to cleanse myself from defilement both physically and spiritually. 

The overwhelming themes I have noticed as I have studied these areas of my life over the past 8 weeks are capturing my thoughts to Christ and taking seriously my role as a steward. It seems that the key to fixing my eyes on Jesus is to invite the Spirit to renew my mind and take every thought captive to Christ by choosing to believe God's truth revealed in His word. One thought in particular that has been transformative to my thought processes and behaviors is that everything is a gift of God's grace and ultimately belongs to Him. Therefore, I am only a steward of God's grace in my life. What a simultaneous gift and responsibility! My marriage, my children, my friendships, my gifts and abilities, and even my physical body belong to God and are a gift of grace to me. How thrilling that He allows me to be an active participant in bringing Him glory through these things! 

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

~Hebrews 12:1-3

If you are interested in Intentionally Focusing your life for the glory of God, check out the 8 week Intentionally Focused scripture reading guide at Good Morning Girls (goodmorninggirls.org). Or join us for our next  4 week study beginning a week from tomorrow on the Importance of Easter. Let me know if you need help or encouragement getting started!

Intentionally Focused {week 3 reflection}

This past week Good Morning Girls focused on the role of our minds in living intentionally focused lives. What we found is that God wants us to turn our thoughts and our minds to the eternal. He wants us to focus on what is truly important; those things which will last forever, like Him, His word, and human souls. We are only truly able to do this by submitting ourselves to the power of Holy Spirit for renewal. This turns out to be difficult at times because it requires dying to ourselves; letting go of pride, ceasing to chase comfort and temporary satisfaction, and learning to live for God's glory, rather than our own.

The things which have stuck out to me during my study this week are:

The power of our minds over the rest of our lives and behaviors. Scripture's commands to set our minds on the eternal is often the first command preceding a long list of behaviors we are to "lay aside" and some we are to "put on," indicating that the first step of focusing our minds is crucial to achieving the God-honoring behaviors Scripture demands of Christ-followers.

The spiritual battle, unseen to us, over control of our minds. God is not the only one who recognizes the power of a mind focused on eternity. Satan would love nothing more than to distract us from focusing on that which truly matters. He would love to keep us in believing lies and focused on ourselves and has devised many crafty ways to do so. And thus, it is important to recognize and defend ourselves against the evil one's attacks.

Renewal of the mind is the work of the Spirit but requires submission. What a relief that God accomplishes this work in us by His power! But He will not force it on us. We have to desire His renewal and be willing to give up our selfish desires and the pursuit of our own glory. Romans 12 refers to this act of submission as "a living sacrifice."

A renewed mind focuses on heaven's priorities. Heaven's priority is people! Philippians 4 commands us to focus on truth, honesty, justice, and purity; things that will get and keep a good reputation for believers through our interactions with others, making Christianity attractive and well-respected. And Colossians shows how an eternal perspective is the first step in laying aside of relationship-killing qualities and putting on of relationship building qualities. God cares about people. If we care about what God cares about, we will care about people and how our relationships can be used by God to impact eternity.

3 practical ways to focus our minds:
1) Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart (Colossians 3:15) by casting all anxiety on Him in prayer (Philippians 4:6-7)
2) Let the word of Christ richly dwell in you (Colossians 3:16)
3) Practice thanksgiving (Philippians 4:5, Colossians 3:17)

God has really used the this week's study in me- praise Him! Here are a couple of ways the application of this new understanding has affected me:

I have a heightened awareness of spiritual warfare going on in my life. I have been praying for conviction to come quickly when I start getting distracted by worldly concerns or when my thoughts reflect any falsehood that I have allowed myself to believe. God has been faithfully answering those prayers. In response, I have been laying the anxieties and cares of this world on Christ and claiming the peace that He offers, peace that frees me to dwell on eternal matters. I have also been intentionally practicing gratitude when I start feeling defeated, which has had a huge effect on the state of my mind.

As the Spirit has been renewing my mind and I am learning all over again that it is not about me and if I want to fulfill my God-given purpose on this planet, in this brief life, I must die to myself, my pride, my comfort, my glory, and continually submit myself, beginning with my mind, to Christ. As I walk down that path, dying to myself, and seeking the eternal, it has changed how I see people. When I look at my children, I see their eternal souls instead of all the things that exhaust me about them. When I look at my husband, I see someone for whom God has a unique purpose for God's glory rather than someone whose main purpose is making me happy. When I look at my friends, I see vessels for God's glory rather than competitors. When I see people closer to how God sees them, I am able to treat them more like God would treat them.

If you want to learn more, look up the following references and see for yourself:
Romans 8:1-8, Ephesians 4:22-24, Romans 12:1-2, Philippians 4:5-8, Philippians 1:9-11, 2 Corinthians 10:1-5, Ephesians 6:10-18, Colossians 3:1-17

Intentionally Focused {week 2 reflection}

This week I was reminded that I am laid bare before God who judges even my thoughts and the intentions of my heart. "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joint and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do" (Hebrews 4:12-13). I am accountable to God and it is only by His grace and the work of Jesus Christ that I can stand before Him as a child of the Most High God.

I have come to learn over many years how precious my position as a child of God is and how my true identity and fulfillment can only be found in bringing glory to the One who made me and owns my heart. I have been reminded again this week that grace is found in living in the Spirit (John 4:13-14) and joy is found in living a fruitful life for God's glory (John 15:11).

I desire more than anything to live a fruitful life for the glory of God. And I have feared more than anything that God would choose not to use me. Praise Him for vanquishing that fear this week when I was reminded of God's promise to bear much fruit in me when I abide in Him. "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

For a long time now I have been partially abiding in Him and therefore only experiencing part of the satisfaction that God desires to fill me with (Psalm 63:5). I study His word, pray for the fruit of the Spirit in my life, and do my best to reflect Him to those around me. And those things are vitally important but they are not the full picture of obeying His commands and John 15:10 says "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love."

Over the past year or two God has been awakening me to causes and commands close to His heart, like fighting injustices such as modern-day slavery and poverty. I have been fumbling awkwardly trying to figure out what I can do about these things aside from just giving money, which is important, but is not everything. For the most part though, I have continued to ignore some of Jesus's direct commands to His people because I feel powerless and clueless regarding these matters. In Luke 12:32-34 Jesus commands his followers, "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kindgom. Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Furthermore, God has commanded ever since Old Testament law, what Jesus confirms as the greatest commandment in Luke 10:27, "And he answered, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all you heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.'" Love is the greatest commandment. How can we claim to love and still turn a blind eye to the injustices in the world?

The following verse has been sitting on my counter for a week now as part of The 2014 Jesus Project (Scripture memory project). "Do whatever He tells you"~John 2:5. This was said by Jesus's mother Mary at a wedding when they had run out of wine and she wanted Him to do something about it. This was before Jesus started His public ministry and performing public miracles. But Mary knew He could do something about this problem and told the servants to "do whatever He tells you." After looking at this verse for a week, it finally dawned on me that doing whatever He says, precedes the miracle. If I want to see His power and His glory in my life, "Do whatever He tells you." And He has clearly commanded me to love "the least of these," in His own words. Referring to judgement day, in Matthew 25, Jesus teaches that the King will separate those who truly belong to Him from those who only pretend and "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and your clothed Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'" And when the righteous question when they did these things, "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even to the least of them, you did it to Me.'"

I have spent much of my life justifying ignoring these commands by saying "Those aren't my gifts, I'll do something else." But unlike preaching, teaching, prophecy, and healing (1 Cor. 12), seeking to meet the needs of the poor, oppressed and abandoned in love is not a matter of special gifting. This kind of love is commanded of every believer in response to the grace and love we have been freely given. How we are called to fulfill that calling in our lives might look different for each one of us, but rest assured that if we are not doing it, we are not living within the will of God. If we do not obey in this area, we are not abiding in Jesus. If we do not care, our hearts are clearly far from God's.

Last week I also got a peek at Jesus's prayer life in Mark 1:35-38 and was reminded how vital and powerful prayer is for giving us missional direction and the strength and power to pursue our purposes. Since I know that God desires more from me in this area of loving the least of these, I have been praying for Him to soften my hardened heart in this regard.

Saturday night Sam and I went out to dinner to our favorite Cuban place in downtown New Haven, about and hour from where we live. We had a wonderful, much-needed date! After dinner, immediately upon leaving the restaurant an older man with the saddest eyes I have ever seen approached with his hand out. We avoided him and moved on towards our car. On a street corner another man came up while we were waiting to cross the street babbling jibberish with an outstretched hand. I recoiled, honestly unsure of what he was doing. As we walked away I heard him say defeated, "I'm hungry. And it's cold." My heart stopped, but I kept walking. I was quiet on the drive home, broken for these people and appalled at my ability to brush them off and keep on walking. "What should I have done, Lord? I have no way to relate to them. There must be a shelter where they can get some food and warmth if they just agree to stay sober." And God said, "Do not forget that I see the intentions of your heart. You are laid bare before me and it is only by my grace that you stand here now. It is only by my grace that you have the life you so often think you deserve." And there it was, the answer to my prayer. My heart was once again humbled by grace. Regardless of our situation in life, we all have something very important in common. Whether we know it or not, we are all utterly dependent on His grace. Thank You Jesus for that grace. Don't let me miss the next opportunity to show similar grace to someone who may not deserve it. Now I wish I could reach out and hold that man's hand. I wish I could at least offer him the leftovers I carried and the dignity of at least really seeing him. At least.

I have so much to learn, but God help me, I will abide in Jesus.