Stay Your Mind

Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)
You will keep him in perfect peace, 
      
Whose mind is stayed on You,
      
Because he trusts in You.

I watched a great skit once by two talented comics titled, “Distract and Confuse”.  The story line was that these men were presenting a new product for capturing souls to a convention of devils.  Their new product was touted as a sure-fire method.  They taught that all one needs to do is to simply distract their intended victims attention away from God and then confuse them while they are distracted.  The salesmen promoted this procedure as the best thing to hit their business since the “Apple Incident” back in the Garden of Eden.

Setting the humor aside, there is a scary and powerful point to this skit.  The devil is out to get us and we are prone to distraction and confusion.

1Peter 5:6-11 (NIV)
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

The way to defend against the attacks of the devil is to focus our attention on God constantly.  When we focus on God there is no distraction.  And, when we concentrate on God we are far less susceptible to confusion.

2Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

The result of our constant concentration on God is, in a word, peace.

Isaiah 26:3 (Amplified)
You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.

God has designed us with an early warning system regarding our distractions.  We can quickly gage our attention on God by the state of our emotions.  When confusion, anger, frustration, sadness, etc. present themselves we know that we have allowed ourselves to be distracted.  These non-peaceful emotions serve to guide us back to God (the only real source of peace in this world).

Bottom line is this; if you want peace in your life, then turn your full attention on God.

Stay your mind!
Lon Alderman
@leaderlifter

Why We Must Study

Imagine a child that quits school after completing eighth grade. Wouldn't we feel sorry for the kid? Wouldn't we be deeply concerned about how he will make it in this world with such a limited education.

Funny isn't it? Funny - in the sad ironic use of the word - that we don't think much at all about a child that stops learning about our faith at about that age. We do little beyond wringing our hands about the fact that most kids stop attending Bible study of any kind around eighth grade.

This past weekend I had, yet another, paradigm shift in my theology. I had previously held an understanding related to my faith as sacrosanct. That all changed when I participated in a relatively short and simple Bible study on the subject.

Now my understanding of God is expanded! Now my faith is deeper! Now my life is healthier! Now my walk as a man of Jesus is stronger!

There is so much to learn! How can we quit our faith education at such a tender young age? How can we stop studying?

2Timothy 3:16-17
Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.

Please pick up your Bible and start reading it today! Then join a small group or a Bible study!

We must study so we can be trained for our work in God's kingdom.
Lon

Acorn Build Up: Acceptable

Acceptable

Psalm 19:14 ESV
Let the words of my mouth and meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

This past weekend I attended a worship service led by a local singing group called Acceptable. One of the singers explained that the name for their group came from his mother's use of Psalms 19:14 as her theme verse for life.

Isn't that what we most deeply desire, to please God? We want God to find pleasure in every aspect of, and moment in, our life. This goes way beyond our intentionally spiritual moments, like worship services, Bible study, and prayer time. This includes the times when we're over-tired, under-fed, and all around worn thin.

This even extends to the words we choose and the thoughts we entertain. To please God with our words and thoughts requires us to become increasingly aware of God's presence in our lives. Just because we don't think about Him, doesn't mean God stepped out for a smoke. No, God is always with us. It's our attentiveness to Him that has taken a powder.

Be acceptable.
Lon