NowTHINK!AboutIt

Avoiding Hackneyed...Making Sense

7 Thoughts Explaining Repentance

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The first step of repentance leads to salvation. Every other step leads to right thinking.

If Your Mind Doesn’t Change
Your Life Never Will

At one point in the early stages of American history, repentance was a word often heard in sermons, usually accompanied with lengthy arguments but also offered threateningly or with a demanding tone.

The arguments were essential. If the arguments were sound, the threats weren’t always needed. But, as you can imagine, if you can’t make a sound argument and no one seems to listen, demands make it possible to get results anyway.

That isn’t a well respected approach but it is true, threats can be effective in a pinch.

Tent revivals of the past, also called brush arbor or camp meetings, were known for this. These revivals were p;\opular in the early stages of US history. George Whitefield and John Wesley were remarkable for their ability to preach in open air settings to thousands, and be heard clearly by all.

There was a great deal of emotion in Whitefield’s preaching but his sermons also included arguments woven together convincingly.

I’m not saying that you would agree with Whitefield on every point but his arguments, right or wrong, were clearly articulated and he did what Calvinists of his time were loathe to do; he ended his sermons with an invitation to get saved.

His inaccuracies can be forgiven. Only God is known to be without error (and Christians are known more for what they disagree on) but his ability to project and to make sensible arguments, if not always absolutely correct, were well known and respected by everyone during his time and ever since.

People were known to go far out of their way just to witness Whitefield’s speaking ability. There’s no surprise there. Whitefield studied and performed in theatre at a time in history when vocal projection was the most important skill in theatrics and no one was better than Whitefield. It was in itself an attraction.

Attending one of his services in the 1700’s was like going to the movies today. It just so happened that his extraordinary abilities, that drew people in, were also used to preach the Gospel and repentance featured dominantly.

Whitefield understood that repentance is essential to any person’s coming to faith.

What Is Repentance

But what is repentance. We speak about it a lot without defining what we mean.

Repentance is nothing more and nothing less than a change of mind. A real, life effecting, lasting change of mind. Once this change occurs, it can’t be undone. There may be doubts, fears, and questions but there’s no going back. [Read more…] about 7 Thoughts Explaining Repentance

Religion Breeds Good And Bad Spirits In Adherents

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Both your mind and your attitude must be shaped by the teachings of Jesus.

Repentance Reflects Your Mindset
Not Your Knowledge

Before we begin, a clarification.

When I mention the word spirit, I’m not talking about a personal being, like the Holy Spirit or a demonic spirit or even the human spirit. I’m talking about attitude, perspective or outlook.

In a word, mindset.

Your personal spirit is the core of your being. Your attitude reveals which way your spirit is leaning. Attitude is the barometer of how well you’re doing spiritually.

Attitude and spirit are, of course, inalterably connected but they aren’t the same. When people cheer loudly and excitedly at sporting events, they are said to have lots of spirit but that expression of spirit is different to the personal spirit from which it derives in the same way thoughts are different to the brain.

I’m focused on your attitude, not your personal spirit. [Read more…] about Religion Breeds Good And Bad Spirits In Adherents

25 Observations From Moses’ Last Forty Years

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Which is inspired, Moses or the Bible?

What You Learn From Moses
Is Not What You Expect

Anyone who reads the Bible recognizes the extraordinary accomplishments of Moses. He was the first of his kind and no one since comes close.

You might argue that what he accomplished could never have been done without God’s help, and I would agree, but it is also true that very few could have done these things even with God’s help.

Moses couldn’t succeed without God and because God chose to use human instrumentality, He needed someone like Moses to accomplish the job.

Moses gets credit primarily because he qualified. He did something to prepare himself and develop his skills. Learning and growing before you serve God is something very few people talk about. We would do well to learn as much as we can from his example.

Moses teaches us that if you don’t become something before you give yourself to God, you may be giving Him nothing or very little at the most.

Moses is also referred to as a “type of Christ” and much is made about the similarities between the two. Moses even compared himself to Jesus (Deut. 18:15) but you can only take that so far. Over-emphasizing their likenesses sends the wrong message.

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Moses may have foreshadowed Christ and he was super qualified but he wasn’t the pre-coming before the first coming. Simply put, Moses was a paradox. On his best day, he was no closer to Jesus than the east is to the west. He was still just a man and had all the faults and failures associated with human hood. He wasn’t Jesus. He wasn’t perfect and his list of missteps could be a separate category on Wikipedia.

It’s important to understand that Moses, though one of the most accomplished humans ever was still nothing compared to Jesus. We can learn from Moses but we shouldn’t try to be him. [Read more…] about 25 Observations From Moses’ Last Forty Years

6 Truths About Thinking, 3 Ways To Think

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A brain should never be used as a sponge.

Auto-Think Will Never Keep You Safe

Everyone thinks.

I do. You do. Bright people do and even the less bright do.

No groups or individuals hold exclusive rights to thinking.

We all entertain ideas, consider possibilities, and we do this constantly.

The only people who don’t process thoughts are either comatose or dead.

But those observations raise many questions. If we’re all thinking, why don’t we all come to the same conclusion? Why don’t we all arrive at the correct answer? Why do we readily, with eyes wide open make bad decisions?

The Brain Is A Tool

Simply put, the brain is a tool. A very important tool. We couldn’t live without it and it does many things automatically. The brain controls breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, and more without our involvement even when we sleep.

The brain also has a manual setting. We can engage it deliberately to make it work for us. Like items in a toolbox, we can pick the brain up and apply it to specific problems as they arise.

When we do that it’s called thinking.

The problem is, though universal and necessary, thinking doesn’t always lead to solutions.

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We employ the brain to help us solve problems but nothing’s guaranteed. Use your brain the wrong way or incorrectly or haphazardly and you’re likely to get into trouble.

Can you imagine using a drill as a hammer or a shovel as a screwdriver? We don’t typically use rakes to paint walls?

By the same token, a brain should never be left on autopilot and should never be used as a sponge. [Read more…] about 6 Truths About Thinking, 3 Ways To Think

4 Lessons From Moses’ First Forty Years

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The beginning or bottom is life's only starting point which is no where yet.

The First Forty: Development

The pertinent details of Moses’ life are well documented in the Bible. Thankfully, it doesn’t include his entire bio. Just the important details.

Moses lived long enough (120 years) that a full-length bio would arguably be longer than the Bible and that length would make it difficult to isolate important lessons.

Instead, his life is divided neatly into three separate stages of 40 years each and only the most important details from each stage are included. The first two stages provide very little detail but it’s enough to gain important insights.

The Broad Strokes

Before we get into the lessons, let’s look at the details of the first stage in broad strokes.

STAGE ONE: THE DEVELOPMENT STAGE
(Infancy to adulthood in Pharaoh’s house, Exodus 2:1-10).

Here’s what happened:

  • Israel was enslaved.
  • Death was decreed for all male born Israelites.
  • Moses was miraculously saved from destruction.
  • And was adopted into Pharoah’s house, enjoying the privileges of a family member.
  • Tradition (Josephus) says he successfully led military campaigns.

The Book of Exodus only provides ten verses on this stage but several lessons emerge.

Growth Is The Only Option

The first stage of life for everyone is the growing stage or to put it differently, the stage at which people tend to balk. Growth starts on day one. It’s the only option but we generally find it uncomfortable.

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People want to be grown but they don’t enjoy the process of growing.

They want to be well informed but that achievement requires hard work, the kind we tend to avoid.

No one starts at the end.

The beginning, or the bottom, is the only starting point, which in real terms is nowhere yet. [Read more…] about 4 Lessons From Moses’ First Forty Years