The Monday Memo from John Stanko

Memo 968: A Word from the Lord

Have you ever wished that God would speak to you face-to-face so you could know what to do? Have you ever said, "I need a word from the Lord!"? Doesn't that sound like it would make serving and obeying God much easier? A direct encounter with God during which He spells out His will for your life didn't work for Gideon, however, and it may not work for you either—especially if your mind is focused on your less-than-ideal circumstances. Before you can hear from Him, or comprehend the full impact of what He is saying, you may need to unlock the power of your thinking—the theme of this current series. To prove my point, let's return to look at the life of Gideon in this week's Memo.

CAN WE TALK?

One day Gideon was busy trying to eke out a living when the Lord appeared and spoke to him:

The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior." “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”(Judges 6:11-13).

What was Gideon's response? Was he in awe and didn't know what to say? Did he worship? Did he ask the Lord for more specifics around what He wanted him to do? No, he did none of those things. Instead he basically said, "Can we talk?" Gideon took the opportunity to complain and tell the Lord how bad things were in his life. Gideon had a direct word and appearance from the Lord, but he was so preoccupied with his situation that he didn't treat it like the special event it was. What's more, he told the Lord how wrong He was to choose him. Fortunately, that did not deter the Lord, who went on to reveal why He had come and what He wanted Gideon to do:

The Lord turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?" "But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family" (Judges 6:14-15).  

Once again, Gideon turned God's directive into a time to complain, telling the Lord why he could not be the one to do what the Lord was saying. This is a good example of how your thinking can work against hearing and doing God's will, which is why Paul pointed out that doing God's will and personal transformation are both hinged to changing the way you think: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:2). The business of your mind is to think, so if you are going to renew your mind, new thoughts or ways of thinking must be involved.

IT DIDN'T MATTER

It didn't matter to Gideon that he received a direct word from the Lord. He was so hung up on his circumstances and limitations that he could not see how God could use him. In reality, a visit from God almost turned into a bad experience for Gideon. I am sure you have never done what Gideon did in this instance. If you have, then you know firsthand that even a visitation from God isn't always the answer to your spiritual inactivity on uncertainty. Once you have a negative attitude, you can't hear or receive the word from the Lord you have been wanting and seeking.

This week, ask the Lord if you are acting like Gideon in any area of your life. If you are, then find out what God has been saying that you can't hear or receive because of your heart attitude or mindset. The good news is that Gideon went on from this encounter with the Lord to do great things and you will, too—but only if you change your thinking so you do not fight against but instead receive the word of the Lord for your life. Have a great week!

Memo 967: Mind Your Mind

In case you are just joining me, I have embarked on a new series titled Unlocking the Power of Your Thinking, which will eventually become book number five in my Unlocking Series. You can catch up on the past entries here before you jump into this week's topic which includes a look at a few verses in Paul's letter to the Philippians that relate to our topic of your mind and thoughts.

THINK ABOUT YOUR THOUGHTS

Paul instructed us concerning our thinking throughout the letter to his favorite church. He uses the word mind five times:

• . . . then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind (2:2).
• In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus (2:5).
• Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things (3:19).
• I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord (4:2).
• And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (4:7).

The last verse is part of a passage that will now be my focus:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 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. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:4-9).

In essence, Paul was instructing us to mind our mind or think about our thoughts throughout his letter. In Philippians 4, he was addressing a squabble between two women and fellow gospel workers, Euodia and Syntyche. It is of note that he did not spell out the problem and try to adjudicate it. Instead, Paul urged then all to get their minds focused on the right things and off the source of their contention. If they wanted peace, then Paul showed them they must keep their minds thinking thoughts that were lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy, and pure. Paul wasn't simply urging them not to think about their differences. He was teaching for them to "make those things the subject of your thoughtful consideration, carefully reflecting on them (Vine's Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words).

THE MIND OF CHRIST

In Philippians 2:5, Paul told his readers to "have the same mindset as Christ." Is that even possible? We have often been taught that our minds and hearts are cesspools, prone to wander into enemy territory and thus lead us astray. Paul wasn't buying into that thinking and ordered his disciples to have the mind and attitude of Christ. He was not telling his readers to empty their minds so God could fill them. He was advising them to "reckon, calculate, and reason out those things to serve God and men" (Vine's). In other words, Paul told us to find a godly thought and chew, dwell, focus, develop, and turn it over again and again. We will hear from God when we stop waiting for Him to "drop" thoughts into our minds and thinking about whatever comes to mind until that happens. No, we are to play an active role in what occupies our mind and we are to fill it with good things—otherwise we are prone to the problem our two sisters had in the Philippian church. We will each decide what is right and insist others comply and agree and if they don't, then we will consider them "wrong" and argue to make them "right."

I have discovered after 47 years of ministry that most people have trouble hearing from the Lord to determine God's will for them. The reason isn't because they are unspiritual or don't want to know. It's because they have not minded their mind. They waste their mind energy on anxiety, worry, fantasies, hurts, and daydreams, which are all junk food for the brain. That junk works against the mind of the Spirit and crowds out the thoughts of God. If you want to unlock the power of your thinking, then you must take an active role and replace the negative with the spiritual. You must also heed Paul's words and teaching in Philippians. If you do that and mind your mind and think about your thoughts, Paul promised you will have peace. If you choose, like Adam and Eve, to decide for yourself what thoughts you will keep and develop, you will fall short of God's best for your life.

Paul would not have commanded us to have the mindset of Christ if it wasn't possible to have in the power of the Spirit. I encourage you to meditate on this subject this week and determine once and for all to have the mind of Christ. You do your part, which is honestly assessing your state of mind, and then enlist the Spirit's help as you clean house. Don't just tear down old thoughts, but be sure to replace them with thoughts that meet the criteria spelled out in Philippians 4:8-9. When you do, you will unlock much of the spiritual power you have desired but lacked up to this point in time. Have a blessed week.

Memo 966: Figure It Out

I missed a week last week (the first one this year) since I was on vacation playing with my grandchildren. Now I am home refreshed and renewed. I went to bed last night and asked the Lord to speak to me and I had three dreams in which He clearly answered my prayer. I may write about those soon, but for now, I want to get back to our series on Unlocking the Power of Your Thinking by continuing to look at the story of Peter and his visit to Cornelius in Acts 10. Let's go there now.

TWO VISIONS

The story of how Cornelius and his household came to know the Lord and receive the Holy Spirit focuses on two visions.

One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea" (Acts 10:3-6).

Notice how straightforward this vision was. Cornelius was told exactly what to do, where to go, and who to summon. There was no room for misinterpretation unless Cornelius wasn't paying attention or didn't want to follow through, neither of which were true. Then we learn of Peter's vision:

About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds.  Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven (Acts 10:9-16).

Notice that Peter's vision was not so straightforward. It was full of symbols and did not directly portray the issue God was addressing in his life. In one case, there were clear directions; in the other, there was ambiguity that left room for interpretation. Why was that?

FIGURE IT OUT

The reason is that Peter had more of a spiritual history with Jesus than Cornelius did. Therefore, Jesus expected Peter to consider what he saw in his vision and the chain of events that followed to come to the conclusion he ultimately did: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right" (Acts 10:34). Peter had to observe, process, and allow the Holy Spirit to persuade and convince him of the truth (which Jesus had said was one of the Spirit's roles). Peter did and unlocked the power of his thinking to come to a knowledge of the truth.

I have often heard people say "If God would only speak to me" and I certainly believe He does speak to people. I have also come to realize, however, that when He speaks, we may still have a role in figuring out what He said. When He speaks literally, it is not necessarily a sign of our spirituality, but more so of our immaturity as was the case with Cornelius. Later in Acts, when Paul and his company were trying to move on in their missionary work, the Spirit was blocking their path. Then one night Paul had a dream:

During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them (Acts 16:9-10).

What did Paul and his team do? They figured out what God was saying and "concluded" they were to go to Macedonia, which was in the opposite direction of where they had been trying to go. Please don't misunderstand, I am not suggesting we walk in our own understanding but I am saying that the Spirit's presence in our lives is there to help us have the mind of Christ, and that means we must learn not only to think God's thoughts, but also to cooperate with God's thought process. The older we are in the Lord, the more we are expected to interpret and think through the plans or words God has for us.

The whole objective of this series is to get you past the fear and doubt that causes you to think God is trying to trick you or that your mind and heart continue to be in the same state they were in before you came to the Lord. God is now at work within you and your thinking plays an important role in being transformed into His image as well as becoming an obedient, fruitful, and creative servant. I hope this week you will spend some time trying to "figure out" what the Lord is saying with confidence that the Spirit is there to help and not hinder you from achieving the right path. Have a blessed week!

Memo 965: How to Build a Better Stronghold

Have you ever said, "If God would only speak to me or show me a sign, then I would know and do His will"? There is nothing wrong with that, except that if you have a thought that conflicts with what God is trying to say, then you may not be able to hear it as you thought. Let's take a look this week at how a stronghold gains such a strong hold on your life and how you can replace it with another better and stronger stronghold.

KILL AND EAT

You cannot just stop thinking about something that has a grip on your mind, that has also become part of your worldview and life philosophy. You established that thought or network of thoughts over time with concerted effort, so it will take some time and effort to pull it down and replace it. Let's look at how Peter replaced a stronghold in his mind as an example from which we can learn. We read,

About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds.Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven (Acts 10:9-16).

Peter was raised as a kosher Jew, only eating food declared clean by God's word. That thought had become a way of life and a stronghold in his mind. Then he had a vision telling him to eat unclean things and he naturally resisted, telling the Lord he would never do that—because Peter did not believe the Lord would require him to do that.

Right after the vision, some men appeared where Peter was staying and invited him to come to Cornelius' home. Peter went, saw the Holy Spirit fall on the Gentiles, and only then realized God was speaking to him, and the result was to be a new way of thinking or a new stronghold: 

“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?” (Acts 11:15-17, emphasis added).

TRANSFORMED BY A MIND RENEWAL

Peter asked those who challenged what he did, "who was I to think I could stand in God's way?" That certainly hadn't stopped the Jewish leaders, for they thought they could stand in God's way, which is why they tried to eliminate Jesus. Peter decided to change his thinking and was transformed into a man who did not resist Samaritans or Gentiles, but welcome them into the Kingdom because he allowed God to give him a new stronghold: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:2).

How did this happen to Peter? It happened with the Spirit's help:

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ (Romans 8:5-9).

But be careful not to over-spiritualize this process. While the Spirit was involved, Peter had to cooperate. He had to be open to the fact that his old stronghold was wrong or at least incomplete or inadequate. He had to have the courage to face the new thought by examining the vision, the visitors, and his encounter with Cornelius and then come to and announce a new conclusion—then allowing that conclusion to build a network of supporting thoughts in his mind.

What steps can you take to build a new stronghold? It's quite simple:

1. accept the fact that you cannot see or know it all and that you may be wrong or only partially correct;
2. listen to others, even with those who hold a different view, without obligation to agree or prejudice to refute;
3. search the Scriptures.

If you do your part, I promise God will do His and the Spirit, whose job it is to lead and guide you into all the truth, will empower you to be transformed not by some supernatural encounter but through the power of new thoughts. Then you will have the courage to discover, confront, and replace the other strongholds in your mind so you can be constantly transformed into a vessel for God's purposes. Have a blessed week!

Memo 964: How to Build a Strong Stronghold

A few weeks ago, I began a new series titled 'Unlocking the Power of Your Thinking." I acknowledged that the path to this topic is littered with debris from teachings labeled 'name it and claim it,' 'positive thinking,' and 'mind over matter.' It would make sense, however, that a topic of this importance would have opposition and a variety of counterfeits, for no one ever makes phony $4 bills because there are no real $4 bills. There is only value in producing a fake that has some basis in truth and reality, and that is why I have chosen to write about how God made your brain to function and how we can use it to work with Him and not against Him. 

Last week, we looked at a stronghold and I promised this week, we would look at how to pull down a stronghold. Rather than study how to deal with a counterfeit stronghold, I thought I would share how to build a proper one. Let's get started.

HOW TO BUILD ONE

Last week, I defined a stronghold as "an accumulation of thoughts and beliefs over time that become a rigid way of doing things or seeing the world." I thought I would describe how I built what I consider a positive stronghold to help you build the same. Then next week, we will look at how to demolish a negative one.

About 40 years ago, I was diagnosed with a bad back. My mother had suffered with back problems, so it made sense to me that I could have inherited this condition from her. I was told by a doctor that it was just a matter of time before I would need surgery to correct a structural problem. I was presented with a thought and had a choice to either build a supportive cast of thoughts that would reinforce that diagnosis or build an alternative collection that would focus on healing. I figured I had nothing to lose by choosing to build a positive stronghold around healing. If I was wrong, I would just have surgery and would have gone off chasing an idle pursuit. If I was right, there were obvious benefits.

From that day forward, I decided to trust God for my healing, even though I was in pain. I read and meditated on Exodus 15:26: "“If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you” (emphasis added). It was not debilitating pain and I continued with my life, assured by my doctor that playing softball, working in my garden, or other normal activities would not cause further damage. Every summer I would play softball, go to the chiropractor the next day, and thank God for my healing. This went on for years. I would be in the shower or in the car and when I would feel the pain, I would thank God for my healing.

I SLIPPED UP

After many years, my wife and I were on a cruise with the ministry I was working for at the time. We were walking down the corridor to a meeting when I stepped on a piece of celery from a reception that had just been held in that area. My one leg went flying into the air and i fell hard on my back, at which point I began to shout, "Thank You, Lord! Thank You, Lord!" People thought I was injured but the opposite was true. For the first time, I realized my back did not hurt. I could not say when the pain left, but the pain that should have resulted from that fall was absent. That fall took place in 1994 and I have had no problems since.

I did not allow the thought of surgery to get a strong hold in my mind. Instead, I built a stronghold that God is my healer, reinforcing and surrounding that thought with other thoughts that were in line with my starting point. I have used that model to build other strongholds to guide my thinking and behavior, such as "I can write more than one book a year." "God doesn't need a company to pay me. He can do that Himself." "I can have energy and be productive until I die at a ripe old age." As with my healing mindset, if I am wrong, what have I really lost? If I am on the right path, however, I have much to gain.

Next week, I promise we will examine how to tear down and replace a negative stronghold, but the process involves what I described this week. You must find a new thought that will become the foundation or pillar and build a supportive mental structure around it. For this week, you can start to build a positive, godly stronghold by accepting a simple truth and choosing to believe that, no matter how much opposition it receives from conflicting thoughts that assail your mind. your job will be to find thoughts and Bible verses that can partner with your new thought. While you do that, I am going to once again bend over and thank God for His healing power that proved stronger and mightier than a doctor's prognosis. Have a blessed week.

Memo 963: A Stronghold Has a Strong Hold

Let's continue with our new series titled Unlocking there Power of Your Thinking and look at what exactly is a stronghold, since we often refer to it often as something we must pull down. We often think
of it as something that is "out there," but this week, let's look at the possibility that it can be something "in here"—something in your mind that may be hindering your spiritual growth and progress.

RENEWING THE MIND

In a preached message I once delivered in my home church, we looked at two passages:

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:1-2).

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 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" (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

Can there be a stronghold that has a strong hold on our minds? The answer is yes. A stronghold is an accumulation of thoughts and beliefs over time that become a rigid way of doing things or seeing the world. For example, if you as a child did not do well in math, you began to think, "I am just not good in math." That thought is reinforced by poor performance, which just "proves" you are not smart. Perhaps comments from others reinforced the thought even further, so therefore you began to avoid math classes. When you got to university and were confronted with having to take a math class, panic set in because you knew how you are: the thought had become a stronghold in your mind telling you that you are not good in math. Even though your parents worked with you and encouraged you, even prayed for you, the stronghold remained and it affected your performance.

Another stronghold would be your ability or need to use social media: "Oh, I'm no good at that. I don't have time anyway." As the world continues to go digital and connects through many media, you resist the trend because you have a stronghold that actually causes you to fear social media. Oh, you may not act like you are afraid, maintaining that it is your choice not to participate. You may even reinforce your position with biblical truths, but in most cases, you have built up a thought that now has a strong hold on your mind. Once you put a stronghold behind a biblical or religious fortress, it becomes even more difficult to change, which is what we are really trying to do when we "tear it down."

STRONGHOLDS AND FEAR

The thing I saw for the first time when I preached from the two passages mentioned at the beginning is that a stronghold in your mind always results in panic and fear when that stronghold is challenged or confronted, just like the life examples I provided earlier. An example of this truth about fear can be seen l in the story of David and Goliath. The army had a collective stronghold in their mind, which was that Goliath was too big for anyone to fight. When Goliath's presence confronted their stronghold , they were terrified: "On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified" (1 Samuel 17:11) and "whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear" (1 Samuel 17:24).

You can memorize all the Scripture verses you want, but if, for instance, there is cancer in your family and the thought you will get cancer has a strong hold on your mind, you will live in fear. Studies also show that the stronghold can actually lead to the thing you fear becoming a reality! That is why it is important to identify your strongholds. I have determined that I am to be on a search-and destroy mission for my remaining days to identify my fear strongholds and bring them down.

How can you tear down your strongholds? You can do so first by honestly assessing where your greatest fears are. Where do you have a rock solid fear that seems rational but it limits your faith and then your walk. The opposite of fear is not unbelief; it is fear, so a strong hold keeps you from acting in faith, and if faith is how you please God and your fear won't allow you to function in faith, well Houston, we have a problem.

Once you acknowledge a stronghold has a strong hold on your life, then you can begin the process of dismantling and disarming it. The Spirit will help you do this, but there are no shortcuts. You must work to undo what it has taken you years to build. Next week, we will look further into how you can pull down a stronghold, but your assignment this week is to get comfortable with the fact that you have them, and analyze the effects they produce in your life. Have a blessed week!

962: Taking Thoughts Captive

I have known for some time that I have a mental health challenge, and I am learning to confront it on a daily basis. That's the good news. The bad news is you have the same mental health condition, but the good news is that you can deal with it just like I am. Let's examine this "problem" together as we begin our series Unlocking the Power of Your Thinking.

THE PROBLEM

Here is a definition of mental illness I retrieved from the National Alliance on Mental Illness:

A mental illness is a condition that affects a person's thinking, feeling or mood. Such conditions may affect someone's ability to relate to others and function every day. Each person will have different experiences, even people with the same diagnosis. Recovery, including meaningful roles in social life, school and work, is possible, especially when you start treatment early and play a strong role in your own recovery process. A mental health condition isn't the result of one event. Research suggests multiple, linking causes. Genetics, environment and lifestyle influence whether someone develops a mental health condition. A stressful job or home life makes some people more susceptible, as do traumatic life events like being the victim of a crime. Biochemical processes and and circuits and basic brain structure may play a role, too.

Notice the first line: "A mental illness is a condition that affects a person's thinking, feeling or mood." I agree with most of what the rest of the paragraph says is true, but I would disagree with one point. The experts say that "a mental health condition isn't the result of one event." I would argue that it is and that one event is known as the Fall of man. When Adam and Eve decided to eat from the tree of the knowledge of God and evil, they unleashed the cause of my mental condition (and yours).

Even when my mental condition may be caused by genetics or faulty brain function, I can trace that problem back to the Fall, for God did not create man with any defect (remember, He kept declaring that what He made was "good"?). Sinful thinking was my problem, is my problem, and will continue to be my problem, and I dare say the same is true for you. My thinking has been so wrong for so long that when I confront it, I am often facing a lifetime of accumulated wrong thoughts. The good news is that the Spirit is with me when I start to rebuild my thought inventory:

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ (Romans 8:5-9)

(I realize there are some genetic defects that hinder or prevent normal brain functioning, and I am not addressing those. My point is that the main function of our mental capacity is to think and that function has been deeply impaired and the problem reinforced by wrong thinking, which has impacted my moods and behavior.)

MY THINKING, YOUR THINKING

Isn't your thinking the source of your feelings and moods? Isn't your thinking the source of yours (and my) addictions to shopping, anger, fear, and/or anti-social behavior? Paul wrote an interesting passage in regards to our thinking in 2 Corinthians 10:4-6: "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 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. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete."

In those verses, Paul introduced another possible cause for my mental condition and that is demonic activity! My thoughts that lead to my moods and behaviors can have their origins in supernatural powers that want to keep me enslaved and prevent me from obeying God. All this wrong thinking requires some measure of resistance on my part, as our definition above stated as well: We must play a "strong role" in our own recovery process. Paul would agree and say we must take every one of our thoughts captive to the obedience of God's word in Christ.

For me to play a role in my recovery, I must be aware of my thoughts—I must think about what I am thinking about. I must put my thoughts under the microscope, send it off for lab results, or put it through a series of x-rays to determine if they are the source of my mental condition that is hindering my effectiveness and relationships with others. When I find they are, then I must wrestle and fight to change those thoughts. If I take a "strong role" in the power of the Spirit, I can reverse this mental condition, which seems to be a lifetime process as I walk out my faith in Christ.

I am not fighting the diagnosis of my problem, and I urge you not to resist yours as well. I am the source of my own problems, but I can hasten my healing by not fighting the diagnosis or the cure, and that cure is aligning my thoughts with God's thoughts, thus unlocking the power of my thinking as God intended. The Spirit came to give me the mind of Christ, and I must be aware that this does not come naturally or easily, but only through spiritual effort free from my tendency to control the process. I must stop eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and feast on the fruit from the tree of life. When that happens, my diet of right thinking will deliver me from my condition, and it will do the same for you. Have a blessed week!

961: Another Unlocking

Last week, I finished up the series on Proverbs 31 men. In the early days of the Monday Memo, I would write about a different subject every week but the last few years, I have been writing Memos that are part of an ongoing theme so I can turn them into a book when I am finished. That's how I wrote most of my four books in the Unlocking series, along with Go and Obey; Put Me In, Coach; Success in Babylon; and The Power of Purple. Soon The Proverbs 31 Man will be added to that list.

Speaking of the Unlocking series, I have decided on a new theme for the coming months and it will add one more Unlocking theme to the four that already exist, this one titled Unlocking the Power of Your Thinking. It will fit in nicely with Unlocking the Power of Purpose, Creativity, Productivity, and You.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT

All my Unlocking books have 52 short chapters so readers can study one every week for a year or read through the book at their own pace. What's more, none of the Unlocking books are written in a linear fashion. In other words, I jump from subject to subject so readers can feel free to do the same, reading chapter 14 today and 39 tomorrow. 

I have begun to go through past Memos and identified about 25 that fit into the theme of the new book. That means I will have to write about 25 more, which will take me six or seven months from now, since the holidays will interpret my flow. I have identified the following themes and topics that you will see show up in a Memo over this period:

• Five loaves and two fish
• Does a Stronghold Have a Strong Hold on You?
• What Moses' parents saw in Hebrews 11
• Framing
• Don't Lose Your Mind
• What to Do with a Big Head
• The Emmaus Road
• Anger, worry, fear and bad doctrine
• The Gideon Mindset
• Worldviews
• Starting Points

I could go on but you get the idea. My list of titles or topics saves me the trouble of figuring out every week what I will write. That is predetermined so I just need to decide what my topic will be for each week, do the research and prayer throughout the week, and write it on Sunday. Then some time next year, the series will be available in print—Lord willing.

DANGER AHEAD

Of course, the topic of thoughts and thinking are fraught with danger. Some believe we are only receivers of ideas from another source, like the Spirit or the devil. Others subscribe to the name-it-and-claim-it philosophy, which says if you think it and proclaim it long enough, you will receive it. Then there is the closely related positive thinking camp where you think happy thoughts if you want to be happy (I know that is an over generalization of those categories). And some are simply nervous that any discussion of cognitive matters is dangerously close to New Age thinking.

Even though there is danger as we think about our thinking, I can think of no greater breakthroughs in my life over the last 15 years than in the area of my thinking. I have learned how to remove the limitations I imposed on myself and God by confronting and changing my thoughts to align with God's will for me. I want to share what I have learned and realize that if the other Unlockings are to take place (purpose, creativity, productivity, and personality), then you will need to learn or perhaps re-learn how to think.

Let me give you a clue as we close: memorizing Scripture is not the way to renew or unlock your thinking. I know many people who have memorized "God has not given us a spirit of fear" but then live in terror. Therefore, we must learn how to allow Scripture to actually change our thoughts and not just add a verse in our memory banks to go alongside our thoughts of fear or anger. 

There you have what I will be producing here for the next six months. I commit these Memos to the Lord before they are written and I pray God will use them to bless and equip you to the point where unlocking your potential is a natural way of life. Have a blessed week!

813: I Have a Mental Health Condition

You have read the headline and perhaps are thinking, "I have known this for some time. I am glad he finally realized it." I have known this truth about myself for some time too, and I am learning to confront it on a daily basis. That is the good news. The bad news is that you have a mental health condition too, but the good news is that you can deal with it too, just like I am.

THE DEFINITION

Here is a definition I retrieved from the National Alliance on Mental Illness:

A mental illness is a condition that affects a person's thinking, feeling or mood. Such conditions may affect someone's ability to relate to others and function every day. Each person will have different experiences, even people with the same diagnosis. Recovery, including meaningful roles in social life, school and work, is possible, especially when you start treatment early and play a strong role in your own recovery process. A mental health condition isn't the result of one event. Research suggests multiple, linking causes. Genetics, environment and lifestyle influence whether someone develops a mental health condition. A stressful job or home life makes some people more susceptible, as do traumatic life events like being the victim of a crime. Biochemical processes and and circuits and basic brain structure may play a role, too.

Much of what that definition says is true, but I would disagree with one point. The experts say that "a mental health condition isn't the result of one event." I would argue that it is and that one event is known as the Fall of man. When Adam and Eve decided to eat from the tree of the knowledge of God and evil, they unleashed the cause of my mental condition (and yours). Even when my mental condition may be caused by genetics or faulty brain function, I can trace that problem back to the Fall, for God did not create man with any defect (remember, He kept declaring that what He made was "good"?). Sinful thinking was my problem, is my problem, and will continue to be my problem, and I dare say the same is true for you. The fact that my thinking has been so wrong for so long that when I confront it, I am facing a lifetime of accumulated wrong thoughts.

(I realize there are some genetic defects that hinder or prevent normal brain functioning, and I am not addressing those. My point is that the main function of our mental capacity is to think and that function has been deeply impaired and the problem reinforced by wrong thinking, which has impacted my moods and behavior.)

YOUR THINKING

Isn't your thinking the source of your feelings and moods? Isn't your thinking the source of yours (and my) addictions to shopping, anger, fear, and/or anti-social behavior? Paul wrote an interesting passage in regards to our thinking in 2 Corinthians 10:4-6: "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 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. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete."

In fact, Paul introduced another root cause for my mental condition and that is demonic activity! My thoughts that lead to my moods and behaviors can have their origins in divine powers that want to keep me enslaved and prevent me from obeying God. All this wrong thinking requires some measure of resistance on my part, as our definition above stated as well: We must play a "strong role" in our own recovery process. Paul would agree and say we must take every one of our thoughts captive to the obedience of God's word in Christ.

For me to play a role in my recovery, I must be aware of my thoughts - I must think about what I am thinking about. I must put it under the microscope, send it off for lab results, or put it through a series of x-rays to determine if my thoughts are the source of my mental condition that is hindering my effectiveness and my relationships with others. When I find that they are, then I must wrestle and fight to change those thoughts. If I take a "strong role" in the power of the Spirit, I can reverse this mental condition, which seems to be a lifetime process as I express my faith in Christ.

I am not fighting my diagnosis, and I urge you not to fight as well. I am the source of my own problems, and I can hasten my healing by not fighting the diagnosis or the cure, and that cure is aligning my thoughts with God's thoughts. The Spirit came to give me the mind of Christ, and I must be aware that this does not come naturally or easily, but only through spiritual effort free from my addiction to control the process. I must stop eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and feast on the fruit from the tree of life. When that happens, my diet of right thinking will deliver me from my condition, and it will do the same for you. Have a blessed week!

A mental illness is a condition that affects a person's thinking, feeling or mood. Such conditions may affect someone's ability to relate to others and function each day. Each person will have different experiences, even people with the same diagnosis.

Recovery, including meaningful roles in social life, school and work, is possible, especially when you start treatment early and play a strong role in your own recovery process.

A mental health condition isn’t the result of one event. Research suggests multiple, linking causes. Genetics, environment and lifestyle influence whether someone develops a mental health condition. A stressful job or home life makes some people more susceptible, as do traumatic life events like being the victim of a crime. Biochemical processes and circuits and basic brain structure may play a role, too.

- See more at: https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions#sthash.bvqXQ4KG.dpuf

A mental illness is a condition that affects a person's thinking, feeling or mood. Such conditions may affect someone's ability to relate to others and function each day. Each person will have different experiences, even people with the same diagnosis.

Recovery, including meaningful roles in social life, school and work, is possible, especially when you start treatment early and play a strong role in your own recovery process.

A mental health condition isn’t the result of one event. Research suggests multiple, linking causes. Genetics, environment and lifestyle influence whether someone develops a mental health condition. A stressful job or home life makes some people more susceptible, as do traumatic life events like being the victim of a crime. Biochemical processes and circuits and basic brain structure may play a role, too.

- See more at: https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions#sthash.bnWdqv2u.dpuf

A mental illness is a condition that affects a person's thinking, feeling or mood. Such conditions may affect someone's ability to relate to others and function each day. Each person will have different experiences, even people with the same diagnosis.

Recovery, including meaningful roles in social life, school and work, is possible, especially when you start treatment early and play a strong role in your own recovery process.

A mental health condition isn’t the result of one event. Research suggests multiple, linking causes. Genetics, environment and lifestyle influence whether someone develops a mental health condition. A stressful job or home life makes some people more susceptible, as do traumatic life events like being the victim of a crime. Biochemical processes and circuits and basic brain structure may play a role, too.

- See more at: https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions#sthash.bnWdqv2u.dpuf

A mental illness is a condition that affects a person's thinking, feeling or mood. Such conditions may affect someone's ability to relate to others and function each day. Each person will have different experiences, even people with the same diagnosis.

Recovery, including meaningful roles in social life, school and work, is possible, especially when you start treatment early and play a strong role in your own recovery process.

A mental health condition isn’t the result of one event. Research suggests multiple, linking causes. Genetics, environment and lifestyle influence whether someone develops a mental health condition. A stressful job or home life makes some people more susceptible, as do traumatic life events like being the victim of a crime. Biochemical processes and circuits and basic brain structure may play a role, too.

- See more at: https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions#sthash.bnWdqv2u.dpuf

A mental illness is a condition that affects a person's thinking, feeling or mood. Such conditions may affect someone's ability to relate to others and function each day. Each person will have different experiences, even people with the same diagnosis.

Recovery, including meaningful roles in social life, school and work, is possible, especially when you start treatment early and play a strong role in your own recovery process.

A mental health condition isn’t the result of one event. Research suggests multiple, linking causes. Genetics, environment and lifestyle influence whether someone develops a mental health condition. A stressful job or home life makes some people more susceptible, as do traumatic life events like being the victim of a crime. Biochemical processes and circuits and basic brain structure may play a role, too.

- See more at: https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions#sthash.bnWdqv2u.dpuf

A mental illness is a condition that affects a person's thinking, feeling or mood. Such conditions may affect someone's ability to relate to others and function each day. Each person will have different experiences, even people with the same diagnosis.

Recovery, including meaningful roles in social life, school and work, is possible, especially when you start treatment early and play a strong role in your own recovery process.

A mental health condition isn’t the result of one event. Research suggests multiple, linking causes. Genetics, environment and lifestyle influence whether someone develops a mental health condition. A stressful job or home life makes some people more susceptible, as do traumatic life events like being the victim of a crime. Biochemical processes and circuits and basic brain structure may play a role, too.

- See more at: https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions#sthash.bnWdqv2u.dpuf

801: Strong Hold

Yesterday morning in church, I spoke on two passages:

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:1-2).

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 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" (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

Often we are chasing and coming against the strongholds that are "out there," and we ignore the strongholds that are in our own minds. Those are thoughts that accumulate over time, and become a rigid way of doing things or seeing the world. For example, if you as a child did not do well in math, you began to think, "I am just not good in math." That thought is reinforced by poor performance, which just "proves" you are not smart. Perhaps comments from others reinforced that thought, so that you began to avoid math classes. When you got to university and were confronted with having to take a math class, panic set in because you know how you are: the stronghold in your mind says you are no good at math.

You can have a stronghold that works against you using social media: "Oh, I'm no good at that. I don't have time anyway." So as the world continues to go digital and connects through many media, you resist the trend because you have a stronghold that actually causes you to fear the social media. Oh, you may not act like you are afraid, maintaining that it is your choice not to participate, but in most cases, you have built up a thought that now has a strong hold on your mind.

The thing that I saw yesterday that I had never seen before is that a stronghold in your mind always results in panic and fear when that stronghold is challenged or confronted, just like the example above. The army of Israel in the story of David had a stronghold in their mind, and it was that Goliath was too big for anyone to fight. When the stronghold confronted them, they were terrified: "On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified" (1 Samuel 17:11) and "Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear" (1 Samuel 17:24).

How can you identify your strongholds? You can do so by honestly assessing where your greatest fears are. Then you can pursue the root cause of that fear and as you do, your pursuit will lead you to the stronghold. Next week, we will look at how you can pull down the strongholds, but your assignment this week is to get comfortable with the fact that you have them, and begin to realize the effects produce in your life. Have a blessed week!