The Power of Thinking
Your thoughts are some of the most powerful things about you. Thoughts can actually make you more anxious, happy, fearful, or content. And what you spend time thinking about has the power to affect your emotions, your actions, and ultimately—your character.
Scripture has a lot to say about our thoughts because God knows the power of our minds. Isaiah 26:3 says that God will keep our hearts in perfect peace if we keep our minds fixed on Him. Can you imagine that? Perfect peace.
The more time we spend focusing our thoughts on God and His Word, the more our hearts will be kept in peace. That is a powerful thought, especially in a world that is constantly looking for peace and unity.
The starting point for this peace is trusting God. We must come to Him trusting in who He is, and having faith in what He has done for us. We know that God is good and just. So if we have faith in Him, we know that we are accepted and loved by Him. And those who trust in God are given access to Him and His presence.
Perfect peace is available to those who consistently trust in God, and fix their thoughts on Him.
What does it mean to keep your mind steadfast on God? In Philippians 4:8-9, Scripture says to think about things that are pure, lovely, right, and true, so that God’s peace can be with us.
How many of your thoughts are spent on things relating to God? Do you keep your mind focused on Him when you’re feeling anxious or stressed? What are some simple ways you can continue to remind yourself to think about God throughout your day?
Spend some time thinking about the power of your own thoughts and the access you’ve been given to God through Scripture. Commit to building the habit of centering your thoughts on God so that you can experience His perfect peace.
A Unifying Mission
Almost every successful company or group in history has shared something in common: they all had a unifying mission.
Missions are critical in not only aligning objectives, but also unifying a large group of people toward one purpose.
As Christians, we all share the same mission. We are unified in following Christ. We're saved by His blood (Romans 5:9) and we're all called to make disciples in His name (Matthew 28:19).
And yet, even among Christians, there is so much division and disunity.
Part of the division comes from our lack of clarity and commitment to the mission that is defined in Scripture. And to make it worse, we are sinful people, and sin naturally causes division in our lives and relationships.
But, the Psalmist in Psalm 133:1 reflects on how good it is when the people of God live together in unity. There is something powerful that happens among Christians when we are unified.
Unity is not putting away our differences, because there would be no need to be ...