New Mind

So I have been talking to God over the last few days about the concept of small talk, kind of an interesting thing to talk to God about I thought but I couldn’t shake it. What He was telling me was to avoid small talk with Him, not that talking to God is bad by any means. Matthew 6:7 warns to avoid, “the same words again and again, as the Gentiles do: for they have the idea that God will give attention to them because of the number of their words.” All that to say that I started spending time with God and talking to Him just to hear Him, and attempt to get something from the conversation other than saying that I had done it. When I did that I came across Psalms 100:4, “Come into his doors with joy, and into his house with praise; give him honour, blessing his name.” I started doing that in an attempt to really get close to Him and hear what He had to say to me. It was really cool, I spent the time with Father to…spend time with Father and He planted the thought of my mind. Matthew 22:37 says, “And he said to him, Have love for the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” As I started to follow that and ask Papa about it, I was reminded of the song “We Prepare the Way.” The version I heard starts with “Oh Lord, give us new hearts and new minds for Your glory.” I started thinking about having a “new mind.” Romans 8:6 says, “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” On that same note Romans 12:2 says, ” And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, in order to prove by you what is that good and pleasing and perfect will of God.” I think that to be knowledgable about what God has for me and what His will for my life is I have to constantly renew my mind, Ephesians 4:22-23 says, “For you ought to put off the old man (according to your way of living before) who is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” If I’m reading that right, Galatians 2:20 isn’t talking about only killing your flesh, but also, if not primarily, the killing of your old mind in order to think in the way of Father which can only be done through a new mind, one that is spiritually minded like Romans 8:6 says. Ephesians 4:24 goes on to say, “And you should put on the new man, who according to God was created in righteousness and true holiness.” That means that when I walk out Galatians 2:20, I’m not an improved version of myself but I am a new man! A man created in righteousness and true holiness! I’m no longer a man of the world; as Romans 12:2 says, a man not conformed, but transformed. I no longer live in the flesh. It’s crazy to me to think that I have known this for years without actually knowing it, or I’ve known this to a lesser degree. I’m amazed at what God shows me when I just want to spend time with Him. I hope this hasn’t been confusing, I sometimes jump around in a way that only makes sense to me but I hope that you guys can see how hard this hit me tonight.

Shiny

Matthew 5:16- In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

So here’s my question about this verse: How do I let my light shine before men without offending and distancing myself from unbelievers? How do I let men see my good deeds so that they can praise Father without getting full of myself or acting like a super Christian. I’m really curious, other than you guys I don’t really hang out with many other believers, so how do I behave in a way will make them curious about my Father and want to praise Him, without offending them? Do I even need to worry about this? Is my job only to behave the way I’m called to by Father and let Him worry about the rest? Any thoughts?

Praise and the Focus It Brings

Psalms 150:6  “Let everything that breathes praise Jehovah. Praise Jehovah!”

Psalms 71:15-16  “My mouth shall show forth Your righteousness and Your salvation all the day; for I do not know how many they are. I will go in the strength of the Lord Jehovah; I will speak of Your righteousness, of Yours alone.”

1Thessalonians 5:16-18  “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Jeremiah 9:23  “This is the word of the Lord: Let not the wise man take pride in his wisdom, or the strong man in his strength, or the man of wealth in his wealth: But if any man has pride, let it be in this, that he has the wisdom to have knowledge of me, that I am the Lord, working mercy, giving true decisions, and doing righteousness in the earth: for in these things I have delight, says the Lord.”

Gen 29:35  “And she was with child again, and gave birth to a son: and she said, This time I will give praise to the Lord: so he was named Judah; after this she had no more children for a time.”

As I spent time with Father tonight and was asking Him what He had for me, He put the word praise very heavily on my heart. I felt convicted about the amount of praise I give Him, and what I praise Him for. Psalms 71 says, “I will speak of Your righteousness, and Yours alone.” There have been times where I may not have thought or said, “Man I did awesome.” or “I’m glad I did or accomplished that,” but I also didn’t say “Praise God.” I’m not trying to be legalistic, but I think you can see what I mean. Look at 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. I looked up the word evermore, it means “always; continually; forever.” “Rejoice always, continually; forever.” I’m pretty sure the amount of rejoicing I’m doing pales in comparison. The last reference really hit me, Genesis 29:35. See, in the verses leading up to this, she has already given birth to three sons. After the first child, Reuben whose name means “behold a son”  Leah says in verse 32 “The Lord has seen my sorrow; now my husband will have love for me.” Verse 33, “Because it has come to the Lord’s ears that I am not loved, he has given me this son in addition: and she gave him the name Simeon.” Simeon means “listening.” Next verse, “Now at last my husband will be united to me, because I have given him three sons: so he was named Levi.” Levi means “combined.” Stick with me, this is the good part. Verse 35, “And she was with child again, and gave birth to a son: and she said, This time I will give praise to the Lord: so he was named Judah; after this she had no more children for a time.” Judah means “praise, thanks.” As soon as she took the focus off of her and her problems and simply praised the Lord, she could take a break from popping out kids. It’s like the Lord was testing her all along and when she named the last boy Judah, Father said, “Finally, she gets it.” That made me think, what areas of my life are tests that keep coming around because I’m still focusing on me. What are the areas where Father is waiting for me to “get it” and simply praise Him? I don’t know yet, but I’m sure as heck going to start praising Him right now.

Time In His Courts

Psalms 100:4- “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

I’m in kind of a weird mood today guys, I’m feeling tired and run down and just easily frustrated. This was the verse that Father gave me as encouragement. “His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” So my time tonight has been and will continue to be praising Papa and talking with Him. If you have any questions, let me know, but I would really appreciate any prayer.

Do I Praise God Or Just Sing Words?

I stayed in Psalms tonight, I was once again inspired by the duo Shane and Shane.  So I read Psalms 145. Holy crap, have you ever read…I mean really read a Psalm. Look at the words involved, the imagery. They knew how to really praise God.  These are verses 4-7: “One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts. (5) I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works. (6) Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, and I will declare Your greatness. (7) They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, and shall sing of Your righteousness.” Whoa, I don’t know how you worship, except you Shoe because you’re on stage, but clearly I am not putting the effort into that is necessary. After reading this I just don’t think me singing some words counts. I think that in order to give Him the kind of worship He deserves it requires my whole lifestyle. Each day my actions need to show Him how awesome He is to me. This may seem basic and it is but like I said at the beginning, I think Father is taking me back to the basics.

Papa forgive me for not giving credit where it is due. I am incredible awe of You, your greatness and powerful acts make the words I know to say seem weak. I wish I was able to better tell you O Father how much you mean to me. Let my life be worship to You.

All that I am…

Psalm 103:1-5 (NLT) – you should really read this.  It’s good.

I am renewed thinking and meditating on all the Lord has done for me.  “Let all that I am praise the Lord…” is a repeated phrase all throughout the 103rd Psalm.  I’ve been thinking of this passage since I read it this morning.  It’s been gnawing at me… penetrating beneath the exterior and seeping into the depths of my heart.

v2 “… may I never forget the good things he does for me.”  I am a very forgetful person.  How difficult it is to remember all that He has done.  Why does it seem so easy to remember the bad stuff or the stuff He doesn’t do?  He has been good to me… very good.  Why he has, I’ll never fully understand.

What does it mean to praise him with “all that I am”?  I fear if I try to answer this now, it will only be a surface, “Christian” answer.  There is so much more meat on this bone.  This is going to take some time to digest….