Princes also sit and speak against me, but your servant meditates on your statutes.

Psalm 119:23

 My mind used to be a battlefield, a theater of war used expertly by the enemy to oppress, control and render me useless for the cause of Christ. Darts of the enemy used to fly unchecked, inflicting damage on my heart and soul. Jagged wounds hemorrhaged confidence and peace as I struggled to stop the flow. I was a victim of my thoughts — at the mercy of whatever drifted into my mind. One nasty comment from  a coworker or supervisor and I would embark on a three-day pity-party, complete with sleepless nights and a churning stomach.

I didn’t want to think about the harsh words echoing around the corners of my mind — I seemed to have no choice. They’d flash in HD, vivid and brutal, as I relived the hurt with each replay.  I needed to learn to control my thoughts and take them captive for Christ and shut off the broken record. I needed to learn Christ had set me free.

I needed to listen to what He says.

As Christians, we decide what to meditate upon.

We have several choices. We can think about:

1. What we say about ourselves
2. What others say about us
3. What the world says about us
4. What Satan says about us (LIES, LIES, LIES) or
5. What God says about us (TRUTH, TRUTH, TRUTH)

Satan will always lie and friends will usually only tell us what we want to hear. We can’t trust what the world says or our own words either. Our only trustworthy source is God. If we listen to any other source we’ll miss God’s will and disobey Him in order to “eliminate” fallout from critics. Peace no longer depends on Christ, but on the absence of conflict.

So how do we silence the broken record?

Focus on God and what He says.

Simple — yet, oh so challenging.

Turn off the lies.

Stop cooperating with the enemy.

Start agreeing with God.

Listen to what He says.

The Battle Plan:

1. Shut down the lies. The second a thought slithers into your mind that does not agree with what God says about you, shut it down. (For example: Say the enemy wants you to believe you are not smart enough to complete a task God has given you. Literally say out loud, “That is not truth. I am not stupid, God has given me the mind of Christ.”)
2. Praise God. Finish off your verbal power session with a round of praise for our mighty God. “God, I thank You that You are stronger than anything that comes against me. Thank You that You have called me and chosen me for this task.” The enemy will flee at the sound of His great Name.
3. Re-purpose your thoughts. Remember all the hours you spent replaying some awful scene in your head in slo-mo? A fight with your husband, an attack from coworker, a mistake you made in a very public setting? The next time you are tempted to dwell on the hurt, re-purpose that time for thinking on what God says in His Word.
4. Repeat the steps above as often as needed.

It works. I know.

Today, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to make you aware of your self talk. The moment a negative thought pops into your head, replace it. 

Be a doer of the Word. Listen to what He says.

copyright 2016

all rights reserved

 

 

 

Christmas To Do-ers List

Day 1: Believe Him

“Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” Luke 1:45

Blessed is she who believes.

It was an ordinary day for Mary, one like any other. Chores to accomplish, tasks to finish, water to fetch, meals to cook and a wedding to plan. But, God interrupted the ordinary and asked Mary to do something extraordinary … believe Him. We might scoff and think how hard is that? Anyone can believe God.

But do we?

Do we believe God for anything beyond salvation?

Believe Him.

When Mary chose to believe God, it changed everything, her past, her present and certainly her future. Mary’s choice to believe God was a true test of faith. In order to accept God’s plan for her life, Mary needed two miracles. One miracle to start a life (she knew not a man), and another miracle to save a life — hers. Despite the seemingly impossible circumstances, Mary believed Him.

To believe or not to believe.

God, in His infinite wisdom, does not force us to act. The choice is ours—we can believe or not. But for some reason, God will not implement certain actions unless we choose to believe Him.

Believe like Mary.

Live Mary, believing God changes everything about our past, present and future.  What do you need to believe God for today?  Your marriage … your health …  a job … a child … forgiveness? Because of the cradle and the cross, you can believe.

What if you live today as is if you believe what God says? What if you live today as one truly forgiven? What if you dare to live as a person who is called by God?  What would it look like to believe Him today? What actions would you take? What words would you say? What decisions would you make?

Action Points:

1. What has God said that you need to believe? Choose something from the list below.
   
   1. You are beautiful.
   2. You are chosen.
   3. You are gifted.
   4. You are loved.
   5. You are forgiven.
   6. You have purpose.
   7.  ____________ (other).

Today, choose to believe God over the wisdom of the world,  the advice of friends, the counsel of your own heart and the lies of the enemy.

What are you believing God for today? Please record your goal in the Comment section below.

Believe Him.

All rights reserved. Copyright 2015

For your listening enjoyment this Advent season, please click on the link below.

Bonus Day

To Do-ers List: Without Complaining

14 “Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. 16 Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.”

Philippians 2:14-16

It has taken me a while to figure out complaining is not a spiritual gift.

In Christian circles complaining is an acceptable sin. It is not as messy as other more shocking sins. Why is it so acceptable? Because everyone does it.  Not everyone has a debt problem. Not everyone has an issue with addictive behaviors. Most of us don’t have an armed robbery conviction (all of which are forgiven and covered by Jesus), but EVERYONE complains.

On a daily basis.

Well, hourly.

Ok, it’s a way of life.

We rationalize: Complaining isn’t really that bad. Everyone does it. Millions of people can’t be wrong.  Note: Complaining is not without consequence. It will produce a harvest, not of nutritious fruit, but of weeds and tares. Complaining is sin because it casts doubt on the goodness, wisdom, and sovereignty of God. We complain because in our pride we think we know more than God.

Complaining needs an audience.

The Greek word for complaining is goggysmos.

Goggysmos?

The word just looks like trouble, doesn’t it? I can imagine the following conversation:

How is your husband today?

Oh, he’s been very goggymos, I had to get out of the house!

Goggysmos means, murmuring, muttering, a secret debate, of the cooing of doves, of those who confer secretly together, of those who discontentedly complain. Study the definitions of goggysmos. Do you notice anything interesting? Complaining is a team sport.

One little complaint  has the potential to loose an avalanche of grievances. To be completely honest … I must confess … sometimes I enjoy complaining. I like having a good grumbly story to tell my friends and then wallowing in the sympathy that is sure to follow.

Complaining affects our destiny.

Read Psalm 106 again. What did the Israelites do instead of entering the land God prepared for them? They complained.

They missed the Promised Land.

Instead of living the abundant life in God’s presence, they had to wander the desert. (Our God inhabits praise, not complaints Psalm 22:3). Complaining will keep us out of our Promised Land and hinder our walk with God. We will wander through life and miss God. We can believe or complain, but we can’t do both.

Once we decide to quit complaining and trust God, what do we do instead?

Instead of complaining, praise and pray.

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Praise Him for how He is going to work your tough situation for His will. Thank Him for how He is using this present pain and suffering to shape you into the image of Christ. Pray for Him to change to the one thing you can control in this trial, your attitude. God’s Word says to give thanks in everything, not because everything is good, but because God will use everything for good.

Hard things.

Ugly things.

Hideous things.

God will give beauty for ashes.

You may have reason to complain, but you do not have the right.

For Today:

Ok. This one is going to be hard. We can do this. No complaints. Not one. No bad words about anything or anybody-including ourselves! We have a choice: We can speak words of life or words of death into our situations. What will we choose? Thank God out loud for what He will do and how He is using annoying things to shape our character, thus our destiny. Remember, the book of James states our words act like the rudder on a ship, steering us to good lands or stormy seas.

Study Guides:

To help you organize your daily study and record your experiences, please download and print the following PDF, or download the journal app to your favorite Apple device. I’ve added a new graphic organizer today, Journal 101 (This one is my favorite. I use it often for Bible study and I LOVE it.)

• Journal 101: Bible Journalgraphics
• To Do-ers List Study Guide PDF
• Days Lite: My Wonderful Life App free app from App Store.

Resources:

• The Secret to Avoid Complaining

Don’t forget to comment on your experience in the comment section below!

**If you are starting late, please access the first seven days of the study on the links below!**

To Do-ers List Day 1: Love God

To Do-ers List, Day 2: Love Others

To Do-ers List, Day 3: Pray ’bout Everything

To Do-ers List, Day 4: Walk by Faith

To Do-ers List, Day 5: Word in Me

To Do-ers List: Day 6: Always Do Good

To Do-ers List: Day 7: Trust God

Be a doer of the word.

Copyright 2015

All rights reserved

Day 3

To Do-ers List: Pray ’bout Everything

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Philippians 4:6-8

Be anxious for nothing.

In today’s verse, God tells us to be anxious about NOTHING. Speeding tickets … tests … denting the car (I did that this week, ugh!) …  broken relationships … money … college …  kids … etc.

NOTHING.

How are we to be anxious about nothing? Instead of worrying, God gives us something else to do. Pray. Pray ’bout everything. Big things, little things, hurtful things, fun things, special things, ordinary things … everything. The Greek word for everything used in today’s verse is the little tiny word pas, which simply means every thing. As my favorite Bible teacher says, If God tells us to pray ’bout everything, it’s because everything can be affected by prayer.

When you pray, tell God everything on your heart. Pour out your feelings. Finally, (gulp, big leap of faith) ask Him to answer your prayer according to His will.

What happens after we pray?

And the peace of Christ will guard your hearts and minds …

I have dealt with stress in my life; I know this one. Anxiety has left its mark upon my soul. But, God promises to guard our hearts and minds if we offer Him our prayers and supplications (confiding in God about personal needs) with thanksgiving. In general, when do we offer thanks for something? When someone has completed a service for us. God knows our prayers before we offer them. He is already acting before we say Amen. That is why we can thank Him.

When I have finished praying, I can’t say I have always felt peaceful. But, this is where faith comes in. Remember,

If something is true, it is true regardless of how we feel. Truth is not based on feelings. If God says He is guarding our hearts and minds, we can believe it, despite our feelings.

After we pray ’bout everything and thank God for acting according to His will, we have one more job to do: we meditate. Meditate on what?

Good things.

True things.

Lovely things.

Beautiful things.

Praiseworthy things.

Why?

Because prayer is a battle of the mind.

Satan will try to knock us off track. The world will entice us to worry. Our mind will try to lead us back to our familiar comfortable habit of worry. We must control our thoughts and focus our mind. What we think about is our choice. Stop the worry cycle. Turn your worries into prayers.

Worry-prayer-thanksgiving-true thoughts.

Worry-prayer-thanksgiving-true thoughts.

Prayer-thanksgiving-true thoughts. Leave the worry out.

Pray ’bout everything.

For Today:

As you go about your day, pray ’bout everything. Laundry, dishes, driving, washing your hair, mowing the lawn, exercising, texts, phone calls, chores, friends, enemies. Cover it all in prayer. Pray ’bout everything.

Use the To-Doers List Study Guide or a journaling app to plan and journal your day.

• To Do-ers List Study Guide PDF
• Days Lite: My Wonderful Life App free app from App Store.

Prayer Resources:

• The Prayer Notebook App  I love using this app! You’ll never forget a prayer request again. The Prayer Notebook even comes with an alarm for specific requests.
• How To Pray Read this post for suggestions on how to enhance your prayer life.
• Prayer Strategy:  When You Don’t Know What To Pray This post outlines a strategy for praying through life’s difficult and tragic situations.

 

Start the day off on the right foot. Pray now for God to show you things to pray for and to remind you to pray throughout the day (or set the timer on your prayer app). Don’t forget to leave your comments below. I can’t wait to hear from you!

Have a prayerful day.

In case you missed the first two days, click on the links below.

To Do-ers List, Day 1: Love God

To Do-ers List, Day 2: Love Others

Mary Kane

copyright 2015

all rights reserved

Day 2

Since we started our series with God’s Greatest Commandment: Love God, it is fitting that we move on to His second greatest commandment: to love others as we love ourselves. Ouch! That is a tall order. In my opinion, it is easier to love God than to love other people. Other people can be annoying. They can let us down. And quite often they don’t love us back. How can we love somebody who does not love us? How can we love others?

Fortunately, loving others is a choice we make, which does not depend on their attitude towards us.

Identifying others.

Today’s verse uses the word neighbors. Love my neighbors … I don’t even know some of my neighbors. In the Greek, others/neighbors transliterates as plesion, which means “neighbor, friend, any member of the Hebrew nation and commonwealth; according to Christ, any other man irrespective of nation or religion with whom we live or whom we chance to meet.” Did you notice the spatial/geographical progression of the definition? Neighbor … friends … Americans … any person in the world. So others refers to everybody in the whole world. Wow! While it is impossible for me to tangibly love everyone, I can love others whom I chance to meet.

Loving others as you love yourself.

How do I love me, let me count the ways. Start by thinking about how you treat yourself. You take the best piece of cake for yourself (the one with the frosting flower). You sit in the chair, which affords the best view of the TV screen. You order first (always) at Panera. You ride in the front seat of the car. When with your friends, everyone eats at your favorite restaurant and shops at your preferred stores. Loving others calls for a 180 attitude adjustment.

Do you want others to pray for you? Pray for them. Do you desire mercy? Show mercy. Do you like encouragement? Encourage others. Do you want others to love you? Love others.

Love others as you love yourself.

For Today:

Before you start your planning for today, take a moment to pray for God’s guidance and power as you seek to love others. Today, as situations arise which involve others, think of how you’d wish to be treated and treat them accordingly. Be especially aware of people who:

• cut you off in traffic (you and I have NEVER done this).
• are slow in the checkout lane.
• bring you food you did not order (or forgot to leave off the onions-again).
• are late for an appointment, meeting, or dinner.

Use the To-Doers List Study Guide or a journaling app to plan and journal your day.

• To Do-ers List Study Guide PDF The study guide is very essential to your learning!
  
• Days Lite: My Wonderful Life App free app from App Store.

For ideas on how to love others, please check the resources below.

• Love Like Jesus
• Love By Faith

Don’t forget to leave a comment in the comment section below. Have a blessed day. Remember to love others!

In case you missed day 1, click on the link below:

To Do-ers List, Day 1: Love God

By Mary Kane

all rights reserved.

copyright 2015

To Do-ers List

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:22-25

Welcome to To Do-ers List Bible study series. I pray you find this short series beneficial and life changing.

I am a list maker. Most days I start my morning by making my to-do list. My to-do list keeps me focused and helps me make valuable use of my time. God is a doer as well; creating is one of His specialties. We can be listeners, hearers, watchers, thinkers, and gatherers of His word, but there must be a point in time when we become doers.

It is important to note while other Greek words for hearing translate as  “understanding, perceiving, and obeying,” the word used for hearer in the verse above means simply one who passively hears. No action. No engagement. Classic in one ear and out the other. But, God calls us to be doers of His word.

The Bible lists many benefits of being do-ers of the Word.

1. Correction, instruction, and training (2 Timothy 3:16)
2. Wisdom (Psalm 19:7)
3. Freedom (John 8:32)
4. Life (John 6:68)
5. Strength (Joel 2:11)
6. Greater faith (Romans 10:17)
7. Comfort, revival, and peace (Psalm 119:7-16)
8. Plus many, many other benefits.

God has not given us His Word for information, but for transformation. Therefore, the mission of this Bible study series is to change hearers into doers. Each day we will focus on one command from Scripture and apply it to our lives. Every nook and cranny, every chore, errand, and encounter of our lives will be covered in the Word of God.

Starting July 27^th, check our website every morning at 5:00 a.m. to get your To Do-ers List for the day.

From hearers to doers. Are you up for the challenge?

Study Guides:

To help you organize your daily study and record your experiences, please download and print the following PDF, or download the journal app to your favorite Apple device.

• To Do-ers List Study Guide PDF
• Days Lite: My Wonderful Life App free app from App Store.

Please add your name to the comment section below if you are up for the challenge. Don’t forget to comment on your experience in the comment section below!

**If you are starting late, please access the first six days of the study on the links below!**

To Do-ers List Day 1: Love God

To Do-ers List, Day 2: Love Others

To Do-ers List, Day 3: Pray ’bout Everything

To Do-ers List, Day 4: Walk by Faith

To Do-ers List, Day 5: Word in Me

To Do-ers List: Day 6: Always Do Good

Be a doer of the word.

by Mary Kane

All rights reserved. Copyright 2015.