NowTHINK!AboutIt

Avoiding Hackneyed...Making Sense

Religion Breeds Good And Bad Spirits In Adherents

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Both your mind and your attitude must be shaped by the teachings of Jesus.

Repentance Reflects Your Mindset
Not Your Knowledge

Before we begin, a clarification.

When I mention the word spirit, I’m not talking about a personal being, like the Holy Spirit or a demonic spirit or even the human spirit. I’m talking about attitude, perspective or outlook.

In a word, mindset.

Your personal spirit is the core of your being. Your attitude reveals which way your spirit is leaning. Attitude is the barometer of how well you’re doing spiritually.

Attitude and spirit are, of course, inalterably connected but they aren’t the same. When people cheer loudly and excitedly at sporting events, they are said to have lots of spirit but that expression of spirit is different to the personal spirit from which it derives in the same way thoughts are different to the brain.

I’m focused on your attitude, not your personal spirit. [Read more…] about Religion Breeds Good And Bad Spirits In Adherents

25 Observations From Moses’ Last Forty Years

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Which is inspired, Moses or the Bible?

What You Learn From Moses
Is Not What You Expect

Anyone who reads the Bible recognizes the extraordinary accomplishments of Moses. He was the first of his kind and no one since comes close.

You might argue that what he accomplished could never have been done without God’s help, and I would agree, but it is also true that very few could have done these things even with God’s help.

Moses couldn’t succeed without God and because God chose to use human instrumentality, He needed someone like Moses to accomplish the job.

Moses gets credit primarily because he qualified. He did something to prepare himself and develop his skills. Learning and growing before you serve God is something very few people talk about. We would do well to learn as much as we can from his example.

Moses teaches us that if you don’t become something before you give yourself to God, you may be giving Him nothing or very little at the most.

Moses is also referred to as a “type of Christ” and much is made about the similarities between the two. Moses even compared himself to Jesus (Deut. 18:15) but you can only take that so far. Over-emphasizing their likenesses sends the wrong message.

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Moses may have foreshadowed Christ and he was super qualified but he wasn’t the pre-coming before the first coming. Simply put, Moses was a paradox. On his best day, he was no closer to Jesus than the east is to the west. He was still just a man and had all the faults and failures associated with human hood. He wasn’t Jesus. He wasn’t perfect and his list of missteps could be a separate category on Wikipedia.

It’s important to understand that Moses, though one of the most accomplished humans ever was still nothing compared to Jesus. We can learn from Moses but we shouldn’t try to be him. [Read more…] about 25 Observations From Moses’ Last Forty Years

6 Truths About Thinking, 3 Ways To Think

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A brain should never be used as a sponge.

Auto-Think Will Never Keep You Safe

Everyone thinks.

I do. You do. Bright people do and even the less bright do.

No groups or individuals hold exclusive rights to thinking.

We all entertain ideas, consider possibilities, and we do this constantly.

The only people who don’t process thoughts are either comatose or dead.

But those observations raise many questions. If we’re all thinking, why don’t we all come to the same conclusion? Why don’t we all arrive at the correct answer? Why do we readily, with eyes wide open make bad decisions?

The Brain Is A Tool

Simply put, the brain is a tool. A very important tool. We couldn’t live without it and it does many things automatically. The brain controls breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, and more without our involvement even when we sleep.

The brain also has a manual setting. We can engage it deliberately to make it work for us. Like items in a toolbox, we can pick the brain up and apply it to specific problems as they arise.

When we do that it’s called thinking.

The problem is, though universal and necessary, thinking doesn’t always lead to solutions.

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We employ the brain to help us solve problems but nothing’s guaranteed. Use your brain the wrong way or incorrectly or haphazardly and you’re likely to get into trouble.

Can you imagine using a drill as a hammer or a shovel as a screwdriver? We don’t typically use rakes to paint walls?

By the same token, a brain should never be left on autopilot and should never be used as a sponge. [Read more…] about 6 Truths About Thinking, 3 Ways To Think

4 Lessons From Moses’ First Forty Years

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The beginning or bottom is life's only starting point which is no where yet.

The First Forty: Development

The pertinent details of Moses’ life are well documented in the Bible. Thankfully, it doesn’t include his entire bio. Just the important details.

Moses lived long enough (120 years) that a full-length bio would arguably be longer than the Bible and that length would make it difficult to isolate important lessons.

Instead, his life is divided neatly into three separate stages of 40 years each and only the most important details from each stage are included. The first two stages provide very little detail but it’s enough to gain important insights.

The Broad Strokes

Before we get into the lessons, let’s look at the details of the first stage in broad strokes.

STAGE ONE: THE DEVELOPMENT STAGE
(Infancy to adulthood in Pharaoh’s house, Exodus 2:1-10).

Here’s what happened:

  • Israel was enslaved.
  • Death was decreed for all male born Israelites.
  • Moses was miraculously saved from destruction.
  • And was adopted into Pharoah’s house, enjoying the privileges of a family member.
  • Tradition (Josephus) says he successfully led military campaigns.

The Book of Exodus only provides ten verses on this stage but several lessons emerge.

Growth Is The Only Option

The first stage of life for everyone is the growing stage or to put it differently, the stage at which people tend to balk. Growth starts on day one. It’s the only option but we generally find it uncomfortable.

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People want to be grown but they don’t enjoy the process of growing.

They want to be well informed but that achievement requires hard work, the kind we tend to avoid.

No one starts at the end.

The beginning, or the bottom, is the only starting point, which in real terms is nowhere yet. [Read more…] about 4 Lessons From Moses’ First Forty Years

12 Proofs Your Sin Nature Won’t Be Eradicated

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Acting like you're better than is proof you're really not.

Christians May Not Always Agree
But Scripture Doesn’t Contradict Scripture

In my last post, I stressed the fact that we are all sinners and sinners sin. It’s what we do.

I’m not saying it’s beneficial to sin or suggesting we should enjoy it. I’m not saying you should want to sin or prefer to sin.

I’m saying we all have a sinful nature and that makes us sinners. Even before you commit your first act of sin you are a sinner.

According to James, who made the point rather bluntly, even temptation is an indication we are sinners.

Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire. (James 1:14)

And I can hear you asking “What about Eve?” She was tempted. Was she also a sinner before she ate the forbidden fruit?

It’s a good question. Eve didn’t start with a sinful nature. She was innocent, untainted but she was still tempted. Why is temptation proof we have a sinful nature but not for her? Another good question.

Don’t get too confuzzled by that. Jesus was also tempted but He didn’t have a sinful nature. There’s a way to understand the difference.

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Her temptation came from outside influence. The same is true for Jesus. Fortunately, Jesus not only didn’t give in, He couldn’t. He’s eternally perfect.

Sin Can Be Formative

Eve wasn’t perfect. Her character, like all humans, was in the developing process. We all start at zero character – neither good nor bad.

It’s a fact, though, that mistakes and sin are a part of the shaping process. Aside from the fact that Eve was corrupted the moment she caved, and we’ve all inherited the corruption, a more important reality is she gained a great deal of wisdom and insight from the experience.

Once bitten, twice shy. Sins don’t define you. Failure and mistakes don’t define you. How you respond to these things does.

Honesty about your sin nature is also important. Now, temptation starts on the inside and works its way out. We are therefore tainted before we commit the first sinful deed which is kind of what James was saying.

Jesus made the same point: the mouth speaks what the heart is full of (Luke 6:45).

What that means is there will never be a time this side of heaven when Christians, though saved from the penalty of sin, will be entirely free of sin. Your sin nature will dog you all your days.

We shouldn’t take delight in that but we shouldn’t hide from it either. [Read more…] about 12 Proofs Your Sin Nature Won’t Be Eradicated