It's a New Day! It's a New Year!

Wondering where 2013 went was where I began with my annual Christmas Poem. How is it that the 365 days we are given in one year fly by so fast? Wasn't it only yesterday that we were looking ahead to 2013 with high hopes and visions of what we could accomplish? Yet, we come to it's end and feel a let down because we realize we let many opportunities slip and as a result, have not yet seen those hopes and visions come to fruition. Perhaps all is not as it seems... perhaps some of our problem is our perception. We seem to have extremely narrow vision; mostly, it's an inward, "me" focus. As the old saying goes, "We can't see the forest for the trees."

Gaining a broader, wider view forces us to step back, to step up to a higher level. When all is said and done, the only perspective that truly matters is God's. We will be judged according to His set of books; not ours, and not anyone else's. At this transition between what's past and what's to come, I have tried to utilize my own "present" realities as a stepping stone; to stand on them and rethink them as manifestations of how God has brought me to this point in life.

I suppose age has something to do with it, because length of days reveals the aging process not only works on you, it's also working on your children and grandchildren. Both of my daughters are now in their forties. My oldest grandson has just graduated from Marine Basic Training. My youngest grandchild will soon be eight years old. I see signs of wear and tear in my own body as recently as yesterday, when an update of my medical records notified me that I have no less than eleven health issues, most of which are not serious, (thankfully,) but three of them bear close attention and affect multiple areas of my life, including my mobility.

From strong and able to do just about anything I set my mind to just a few years ago, to a cane, a walker, and a wheelchair betimes is a rude awakening to the unrelenting process of aging. Thankfully, the Lord has been right here throughout. He awakens me in the morning with songs and verses of Scripture that bring comfort and joy. He gives me thoughts that turn into letters and articles; words of encouragement for others. He gives me His grace and the strength to be faithful in my responsibilities. My children and grandchildren are learning and growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ - I see this and feel an overwhelming sense of peace and great joy, knowing He is able to complete the work He began - not only in me, but in them also. This realization has me looking forward with great hope to 2014.

Happy New Year!
Maranatha!

Discerning Thinking...

Text: Malachi 3:13-18 and Hebrews 4:12-13

Key Verses: "Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not." (Malachi 3:18) 
"For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 12:13)

Points to Ponder...

1. What "man" thinks
2. What God thinks
3. What God's children think
4. Discerning God's opinion on the matter
5. Making choices - good and/or evil
6. Discerning the Body of Christ
7. Discerning the will of God
8. Integrity - intent and motive
9. Recognizing error/s and sin
10. Overcoming and recovering from error/s

Gathering Our Thoughts

We live in a fractured world. Current happenings conspire on a daily basis, keeping our minds so occupied with the here and now that we have no time (or even the inclination,) to ponder much of anything past the present moment. Conider these...

• sound bytes, newsflashes, 15-second commercials, abrupt segues, streaming, tweets, the internet,
• multi-tasking, cellphones, call-waiting, crowded/conflicting schedules, the tyrany of the urgent,
• media blitzkrieg, assaults on the senses; eyes, ears, nose, tastes, touch, distracted thinking, 
• double-speak, hidden agendas, mind games, political correctness, 
• catastrophic events, disasters, and tragedies occuring simultaneously around the world,
• nature's rampages; earthquakes, hurricanes, pestilences, tornadoes, tsunamis, typhoons, volcanoes,
• man's rampages; crime, hatred, predators, revolts, riots, suicide-bombers/bombings, vengeance, violence, wars and rumors of wars...

What a list! Some days go by so quickly it seems we only just got up and here, it's way past time to go to bed again. Our days are crowded with appointments and deadlines, to-do lists and schedules - and woe be to the interruption or the interruptor. Long lines, traffic jams, road rage, reckless drivers, computer glitches, and the ever-present unexpected spoil the moment and, if allowed, can derail the whole day. We run ourselves ragged until we fall into bed exhausted and then sleep poorly because our mind is too busy with the day past and the day coming to get its needed rest. That's just in the physical - think about how all this busy-ness affects our spiritual man!

From the beginning, this rat-race mentality was never God's intent. And while He knows the circumstances of this present world, it is still not His intent for us. He told His disciples, "Come ye apart and rest a while." He spoke to us all when He said, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

Tom Fred Tenney said, "Keep the main thing the main thing." Therein lies the key! A magazine article entitled, "Must.Focus" listed five reasons for distracted thoughts; 1.) Stress, 2.) Multi-tasking, 3.) Life change, 4.) Getting older, and, 5.) Too much on my plate. [Source: Ladies Home Journal,"Must.Focus," December 2011/January 2012, pg. 54.]  The author said sensory overloads are common today. So much so that a national magazine considered it a worthwhile topic. We all get into trouble when our priorities schedule us. What we should be doing is scheduling our priorities. This is not just a semantic difference.

"The tyrany of the urgent" is mentioned in the bullet list following the first paragraph. Urgent, my friend, does not mean what we seem to think it means. Urgent is not an emergency! It may be important, but it's not life or death. Too many times we allow what is merely urgent to usurp the crucial. An old song says, "...for one-hundred years from now, it won't matter anyhow..." It's the truth! In the light of the eternal, Adam's walks and talks with God in the cool of the day were far more important than the momentary pleasure of forbidden fruit. That one choice changed everything; yet, nothing changed - for that same choice sits before us today.

Where are our priorities? Are they temporal? or eternal? after the flesh? or after the Spirit? When our priorities are set, our choices align themselves accordingly (and our "to do" list will follow suit). Daniel "purposed in his heart not to defile himself..." That purpose affected the rest of his life. Rehoboam was the last king of all Israel (the twelve tribes). Grandson of David, son of the wisest man who ever lived, yet he did not "prepare his heart to seek the LORD." That choice made all the difference - and as a result, Rehoboam lost it all! [See Daniel 1:8; & II Chronicles 12:13-14.]

Now more than ever, we need to gather our thoughts, prepare our mind, purpose in our heart, and focus our attention on what's truly important. Majoring in minors is a tool used by both the flesh and the enemy. Jesus said tithing of mint, anise, and cummin (seeds) wasn't wrong, but omitting the weightier matters, (justice, mercy, the love of God and your fellow-man,) was a critical error. When our mind is preoccupied with the mundane, it can't recognize the glimpses of glory God sends our way. Distracted thinking prevents us from gathering our thoughts and lofting them into eternity's flow.

Here's the remedy...

• "Let [allow/permit] this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus..." (Philippans 2:5)
• "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;" (I Peter 1:13, see also 14-16.)
• "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing [every misplaced priority] that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" (II Corinthians 10:5)
• "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee."   (Isaiah 26:3)
• "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." (Colossians 3:2)
• "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8)