Tag: existence

It’s That Simple

December 10, 2022

The world is a complicated mess. That’s not going to change for the better. As a matter of fact, “All the stars in the sky will be dissolved and the heavens rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree.” That’s in Isaiah. In the Bible. Telling of what will come some day…soon. (Chapter 34 if you want to read it.)

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It’s a little hard to imagine. But maybe that’s because we as humans are pretty full of ourselves. We believe we’ve discovered, created, and figured it all out. How much we think we know, but how limited our knowledge is.

We complicate things with our discoveries, philosophies, and our opinions of them. If we just think this way or say that thing, we can make it so. It’s that master of my own universe thing.

But what if we’re wrong?

What if we were are simply created by a Being that gave us characteristics like himself, little replicas of his Divine existence?

If there is a God who existed before time as we humans know it, and he decided to created a universe in which planet Earth is circled by a source of power he made to sustain it, and then he chose to share that incredible, beauty with beings he formed to be like him, with the desire that they would care about him the way he loves them, how would that change the way we think?

The way we act? The way we live and treat others?

What if the Bible was God’s letters to us that explains it all with deep, hidden mysteries easily found by those who are willing to think outside our human box of understanding?

What if “I AM” is actually before the beginning and after the end?

Could it be that simple?

Where Is Your Thinking Taking You?

October 7, 2019

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“If you change your thoughts, you will change your existence.”

I’m not sure who said this, but I saw this quote recently and it made me think.

The Bible says that “as a man thinketh, so is he.” I’ve never fully embraced that idea. I guess I didn’t really understand the meaning behind it. Or maybe I grasped the concept with a “Yeah, I get that” but didn’t actually internalize it. Then. But now?

What I think is what I become.

So what am I becoming? Where are my thoughts taking me?

When it’s been a season of great challenge in mental toughness, how do we handle life? I understand this from the viewpoint of an athlete. I was one once. But how do we apply this to everyday life? When bills pile up, the car breaks down, illness sets in and our relationship seems stuck or the business or job isn’t panning out the way we expected?

And then we get that call…you know the one that sucks the air out of you with it’s unexpected, tragic message.

How do I think about all that? Where do my thoughts take me?

Down a path of fear, regret, doubt or anger? Do I allow self-pity, bitterness or resentment to set in? Are conversations or situations replaying in my mind in the middle of the night keeping me awake in anxiety?

What are my thoughts doing to my existence?

There’s a reason God says we need to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. God knows how easily our thoughts can lead us astray into an existence of hopelessness, despair, depression or even destruction.

But how do we take a thought captive?

  1. Recognize that we have a choice about what to think. Often, we feel as if our thoughts happen to us, when the truth is that we can choose them.
  2. Feelings – our emotions are God given, but we don’t have to let them control our thoughts. How I feel in a given moment, may not accurately reflect the truth of a situation. I may experience anger, but I can choose how to think and act about it.
  3. When I have a thought, ask if it is bringing me into a positive, life-giving place or leading me into a small, negative space. There is always another perspective.
  4. What does God say in his word about me, my life, his plans for me? Are my thoughts lining up with that?
  5. Speak the truth instead of the doubts.
  6. Remember that God loves me and wants good for me. He says I lack nothing because he’s my shepherd. If my life shows a lack, but God says I lack nothing, what is another way I can think about my situation according to God’s truth?

It isn’t easy, but with practice, I’m learning to change my thinking. God says that he transforms us by the renewing of our minds. Changing our thoughts, changes our existence.

I believe this is only truly possible with allowing Jesus to take our thoughts captive and making them line up with his thinking. Maybe our very first step would be choosing a relationship with him. He’s always waiting for us with open arms to come to him and receive what he did for us on the cross.

Do you like the existence you currently have? Where are your thoughts taking you?