Mean What You Say and Say What You Mean

To see clearly and understand what’s been communicated builds a bridge to sound decisions and possibilities. The phrase, “I see what you mean,” indicates both comprehension and understanding. To see ourselves as we want others to see us should motivate us consistently to mean what we say and say what we mean.

God commissions us to be messengers of encouragement and information to others so they clearly understand how to be the people he expects them to be. Realistic expectations that are achievable challenge us to press onward and upward so as not to disappoint ourselves and others. God enables us to achieve what he calls us to do.

As we accept that God knows us completely, including our future, he gives us strength and courage to fulfill his continuous purpose for us. This should be encouragement to press on and face any obstacle. Let your expectations be commensurate with your love and trust for God, who will never fail to fulfill his purpose for you.   

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Our purpose is to do what is right, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of others.

~2 Corinthians 8:21 Good News Bible

 

The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure and full of quiet  gentleness. Then it is peace-loving and courteous. It allows discussion and is willing to yield to others. It is wholehearted and straightforward and sincere.

~James 3:17 The Living Bible

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God Recognizes Your Voice

 We’ve all been accused of seeing what we want to see and hearing what we want to hear. There are valid reasons for these accusations. When an issue is potentially conflictual, our seeing and hearing tend to be imperfect. Being preoccupied with distractions also affects how well we see and hear.

On one occasion Jesus told his disciples, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you have seen and hear what you have heard." When Jesus healed a man who had been blind since birth, the religious leaders were upset and demanded to know how he received his sight. The man could only reply, "I was blind but now I see."

God assured Moses at the burning bush, "I have seen the suffering of my people and I have heard their cries for help."  You can be assured God sees and hears everything you need, for his vision is not restricted nor is his hearing impaired. He knows your voice, so when your call out to him, praise him and thank him for his faithfulness and constancy.  

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God’s there, listening for all who pray, for all who pray and mean it. He does what’s best for those who fear him – hears them call out, and saves them. My mouth is filled with God’s praise. Let everything living bless him, bless his holy name from now to eternity! 

~Psalm 145:18-19,21 The Message

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Seeing and Knowing

No one appreciates being spied on. The need for privacy begins early in childhood, intensifies during adolescence, and will continue for all of life. There are circumstances and conditions that limit privacy as well as trust. However, some people are given to being intrusive, which can create conflict and alienation.

When someone tries to explain themselves in ways that are unclear, it’s not uncommon to want more information to confirm they’re trustworthy. Reading and listening to supplementary information can clarify a situation and make it more acceptable. That's why certain boundaries may be side-stepped to settle an issue.

There will be strong impulses to hide your thoughts and behaviors from others, including God. Being deceptive makes it difficult to accept that God sees and knows your secrets. Proverbs 5:21 confirms, “Mark well that God doesn’t miss a move you make” because he loves you, wants to help you, even rescue you. Now that is good news!  

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So do not be afraid of people. Whatever is now covered up will be uncovered, and every secret will be made known.  

~Matthew 10:26 Good News Bible

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Who Is Number One?

What do you rank as most important in your life?  For some, security fits the number one slot. Family and marriage may come next. Giving God top billing may happen when facing a crisis. David in Psalm 57 pleads with God to keep him in the shadow of his wings for only there could he be safe.

David perceived God as Most High God and addressed him by that name. “I cried out to God Most High who fulfills his purpose for me. He sends help from heaven to save me because of his love and faithfulness." The name Most High defined for David God’s tremendous power and provision.

Recounting what God provides prompts you to love him with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. Listen to David’s gratitude: “Oh God, I offer my thanks and praise to you for delivering me from death and preventing my feet from stumbling so that I always walk in the light of life.” Could this be your testimony?                             

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I will praise you, Lord! You always do right. I will sing about you, the Lord Most High.

~Psalm 7:17 Contemporary English Version

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Blessed by God Most High

It's impossible to escape challenges that test your faith. Listen to David’s prayer for his people in Psalm 20: “May the Lord answer you when you’re in distress; may the Lord protect you by sending help. May he be pleased with your offerings and sacrifices and give you the desire of your heart so your plans will succeed.”

God will extend these blessings to you because of his unfailing love. In Genesis 14:18-20 Melchizedek, priest of the Most High God, pronounced blessings on Abraham: “Blessed be Abraham by God Most High, creator of heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most High who delivered you from your enemies."

You may not have enemies, but when you see God as Most High and love him with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, he will be your strength and shield as you face uncertainties and challenges that test your faith. So turn back to God, whatever your circumstances, and trust him completely.   

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Live under the protection of God Most High and stay in the shadow of God All-Powerful. Then you will say to the Lord, “You are my fortress, my place of safety; you are my God, and I trust you.”

~Psalm 91:1-2 Contemporary English Version

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Our Approachable Most High God

Everything has a name and purpose. Names distinguish people and things. The name Jesus envisions excellence and power. Listen to his words: “I tell you the truth; anyone who has faith in me will do greater things than I do for I’m going to the Father, and whatever you ask in my name, I will do."

Character is indicative of a person’s integrity, honesty, and behavior. God's character is reflected in the name El Elyon, which translates as God Most High. We often fail to remember that God is high and lifted up above every name and object that we value and prize. Yet God Most High is approachable to us.

David reminds us to trust in the unfailing love of the Most High God to prevent being shaken by life’s trials and problems. The Most High God  provides hope as well as security and safety. Trusting in what God will do helps you love him with all of your heart, soul, strength, and mind.  

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This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

~1 John 5:14 New International Version

I call to God, the Most High, to God, who supplies my every need. He will answer from heaven and save me; he will defeat my oppressors. God will show me his constant love and faithfulness.

~Psalm 57:2-3 Good News Bible

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In God Alone

In ancient Egypt, if a new Pharaoh felt threatened by his predecessor, he had his name and image removed from monuments in an attempt to erase him from history. When Adam first saw Eve, he was so awestruck he instantly gave her a name and proclaimed, "This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.”

To God’s name we attribute order and beauty. He created this for our benefit, pleasure, and joy. It’s little wonder that Isaiah 45:23 quotes God as saying, "Before me every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that in God alone is righteousness and strength."

Scientists sorted out the human genome, revealing our complicated, ingenious, and wonderful story, so how can we help but praise God as Creator? A word that identifies God as creator of everything is Elohim, so consider for a moment that you are created in his image. Does that thought make you want to love him with all you are?              

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All nations you have made will come and bow down before you, Lord, and will honor your name. For you are great and perform wonders. You alone are God.

~Psalm 86:9-10 Holman Christian Standard Bible

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Claim the Name

 When I was growing up in North Texas, I was surprised by the number of people who knew my father. When he passed away at 82, the church was filled with family, friends, and acquaintances. William Robert was his name, but everyone called him Bill. His children called him Pap, and to his grandchildren he was Pap Paw.

Speaking the name of God can create an array of emotions, from fear and guilt to love and adoration. Loving God with all of your heart, soul, strength, and mind builds a bridge to everlasting reconciliation and friendship with him. When you call upon God, what name do you prefer?

The church I attended as a youth loved to sing this recognizable hymn: “There is a name I love to hear; I love to sing its worth. It sounds like music to my ear, the sweetest name on earth. O, how I love Jesus because he first loved me.”  As we claim that name, it has the power to change our character and our destiny.                         

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…God raised [Christ] up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name which is above every other name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

~Philippians 3:9-11 The Living Bible

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What's in a Name?

How important is a name? Names identify everything that exists, including you as a person. One of Adam’s first jobs was to name each animal, which was an impressive undertaking. Today each part and function of the human anatomy has a name. Names contribute to our security and well-being by providing identity and purpose.

When Moses encountered God at the burning bush in the desert of Median, God identified himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Still Moses wanted to know his name. God replied, "I am who I am." God’s name, I AM, gave Moses confidence, purpose, and direction for his life.

Most Christians know God as their Heavenly Father, and we are commanded to love the Lord God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. By what name do you identify God and his character? What helps you love him more completely? As you love him with your whole being, you will have a more fulfilling life.           

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God said, “I  am who I am. You must tell them: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

~Exodus 3:14 Good News Bible

 

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

~Psalm 46:1 New International Version 

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What Persistently Occupies Your Mind?

Our behavior mirrors what we allow ourselves to dwell on. Grumpy thoughts produce grumpy people, just as an angry person reflects an angry disposition. When loving, helpful thoughts occupy the mind, we act toward others with love, joy, peace, and patience. Obsessive, negative thinking can take a person prisoner and harm relationships.

A key question to ask yourself is, what do my thoughts provide for helping me love God with all my mind? It takes discipline to train your mind to think only in positive, wholesome thought patterns. If this is hard to believe, try stopping unhealthy thoughts from occupying your mind.

Thank God, it’s possible to change what you dwell on by permitting the mind of Christ Jesus to take up residence in your mind. While it's impossible to prevent unwanted thoughts from surfacing, these thoughts can be rejected by refusing to nurture them. Keep reminding yourself of your commitment to love God with your entire mind.    

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If our minds are ruled by our desires, we will die. But if our minds are ruled by the Spirit, we will have life and peace.

~Romans 8:6 Contemporary English Version

 

Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.

~Philippians 2:5 American Standard Version

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Define Yourself from God's Perspective

 My psychology professor assigned a paper consisting of three questions, “Who am I?” “Where am I going?” and “Why?”  Defining myself proved to be a formidable task. Ben Franklin gave this challenge: "Think of three things: where did you come from, what path are you on, and to whom will you give an account."

Ralph Waldo Emerson believed thinking deeply is life’s most demanding task. Mohandas Gandhi declared, “What occupies your mind defines your character. A man is but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks he becomes." Rene Descartes agreed: "I think, therefore I am.”

God's word commands us to love him with our entire mind. The Apostle Paul proposes this test: "Whatever is true and noble, right and pure, whatever is lovely and admirable, if anything is excellent and praiseworthy, think on these things.” This is how you train yourself to love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind.   

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Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored. But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him.

~Romans 8:8-9 The Message 

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Commit to Productive Thinking

I’m sure you've heard the expression, "Whatever your mind can conceive, you're potentially capable of achieving." The Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans proved this by building complicated structures with minimum engineering tools. Think of how far Western civilization has evolved over the past 300 years to the high-tech culture of today.

This is hard to imagine, but for researchers, first there is a thought, then a challenge, which evolves into manifestations of creativity. The end result of ideas will lie dormant if time and experiment are not given to discover their potentiality.

God is not restricted to whom or where he gives insight and wisdom. Listen carefully to God’s word from Psalm 19:7: "The laws of the Lord are trustworthy and perfect, giving strength, wisdom and understanding to the mind of those who obey them." By loving God with your entire mind, who knows what you could accomplish for him that would last for all eternity? Why not commit to that today?  

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Since before time began no one has ever imagined, no ear heard, no eye seen, a God like you who works for those who wait for him.

~Isaiah 64:4 The Message

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What Does the Mirror of Your Mind Reflect?

A few years ago young people began wearing a bracelet engraved with the letters WWJD, meaning “What Would Jesus Do?" The bracelet reminded them to seek an alternative to temptation or to know what to do in difficult situations. Temptation can have a destructive impact on our lives when disguised as a playground for fun, pleasure or our perceived needs. 

 

The imagination plays a critical role in each person's mind and is indicative of what the future may hold. So the mind is the forerunner for either godly endeavors or self-centered behaviors focused only on personal need satisfaction. Therefore the mind reflects and exposes motives for a person’s choices, beliefs, and attitudes.

 

The mind is capable of being wounded but can be healed with God’s love and the care of professionals and loved ones. St. Paul noted that "the mind has not conceived, the eye has not seen, nor has the ear heard what God has prepared for those who love him." So let your mind be fixed on these promises from God.

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If you hear [God’s] message and don’t obey it, you are like people who stare at themselves in a mirror and forget what they look like as soon as they leave. But you must never stop looking at the perfect law that sets you free. God will bless you in everything you do, if you listen and obey, and don’t just hear and forget.

~James 1:23-25 Contemporary English Version

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