Mind Your Mind….
Filled to the brim with excitement, Hubster and I were crossing the pond for our first-ever trip to France. Flying thru’ the night from Detroit to Amsterdam, most everyone but me slept.
Watching a little virtual map of our plane flying over different countries, logging hundreds of miles in minutes, kept me wide-eyed. Just as we touched down in Amsterdam, a big, beautiful orange sun was rising over the airport! While it was midnight back in the States, it was six o’clock in the morning in Amsterdam. Wow.
Clueless as to how to find our next gate, some sweet soul showed us how to enter different checkpoints en route to our plane to Marseilles. Suddenly, we came upon a very familiar landmark: Starbucks! And what before my wondering eyes did appear, directly across from Starbucks, a very large chocolatier!!! What a welcoming sight!
We had plenty of time before our next flight departed, so we plunked ourselves and our carry-ons down for a big ole’ comforting cup of coffee. Like little children on Christmas morning, our adventure was already unfolding.
Amsterdam’s airport is a melting pot of passengers from all over the world. John and I sat back and took it all in. The clothes, the accents, everything was fascinating.
Even the moving sidewalk…this lovely female voice, in a sing-song manner, repeated over and over, “Mind your step…..Mind your step…..Mind your step.” We Americans would’ve just hollered, “Watch where you’re goin’, already!!!”
The newest book by Max Lucado, Glory Days: Living Your Promised Land Life Now brings up another way of thinking from “Mind Your Step”, to “Mind Your Mind”….
One of many favorite chapters is Chapter Fourteen, The God-Drenched Mind. Don’t you want your mind to be God-drenched??? This chapter centers around Joshua 14:6-15.
The good news? Max helps us readers with ways to equip our faith and our minds.
The bad news? He opens with, “You’ll never have a problem-free life.” That’s okay, tho’, because surely by now every single one of us knows this!
Max points out that “The Lord” is referenced nine times in this passage alone. We know that any time anything is repeated in the Bible, it’s significant.
Max asks, “Who was on Caleb’s mind? Who was in Caleb’s heart? What caused him to have a different spirit? He centered his mind on the Lord.”
Watch this…Max gets personal: “What about you? What emphasis would a transcript of your thoughts reveal? The Lord? Or the problem? The economy? The jerk?”
Last week we talked about the importance of putting on the helmet of salvation. We addressed running everything thru’ the Philippians 4:8 filter:
Max offers a show-stopping visual:
“Imagine two cooking bowls. One contains fresh, clean water. The second contains battery acid. Take an apple and cut it in half.
Place one half of the apple in the bowl of clean water. Place the other half in the bowl of battery acid. Leave each in its respective bowl for five minutes, and then pull out the two halves.
Which one will you want to eat?”
“Your mind is the apple.
God is good water.
Problems are battery acid.
If you marinate your mind in your problems, they will eventually corrode and corrupt your thoughts.
But thoughts of God will preserve and refresh your attitudes.
Caleb was different because he SOAKED HIS MIND IN GOD.”
As God would orchestrate, this very week, our Tuesday Bible study group studied two passages of Scripture which bring this thought home as well. Thanks to our “Visiting Queen” of the week, Lynn Reese, she walked us thru’ these, word by word. (We are on Chapter Four in It’s Good to Be Queen: Becoming as Bold, Gracious, and Wise as the Queen of Sheba.)
Philippians 2:1-8 talks about imitating Christ’s humility, being like-minded with Him, being one in spirit and of one mind…having the same mindset as Christ Jesus. Therefore, having the mind of Christ.
Philippians 4:6-7 is one we all need every single day:
“Do not be anxious about ANYTHING,
but in EVERY situation,
by prayer and petition,
WITH THANKSGIVING,
Present your requests to God.
And the PEACE OF GOD,
Which transcends ALL understanding,
WILL GUARD YOUR HEARTS
And YOUR MINDS in Christ Jesus.”
Max says, “We must be deliberate about remembering God, immersing our minds in God thoughts.”
This sentence stopped me in my tracks, “Stare at the mountain less and at the Mountain Mover more.”
Recently, Max Lucado preached at Southeast, sharing more pearls from Glory Days. You can watch his wonderful sermon from 9/13/15 by clicking on this website: www.southeastchristian.org You’ll find him in the “sermons” section.
MIND YOUR MIND!
‘Til next time!