Chains

(photo from armstrongeconomics.com)

Most likely, your chains are not on your hands and feet, but on your mind. It’ll take more than just wishing to get free.

Surely, you’ve had bad dreams. The only way to get free is to wake up! When it seems like life is caving in on us, we need to awaken to what God has to say about it.

In Romans 12:2 God’s Word tells us to renew our mind. In short, this means to replace the thoughts in our mind that bring us down or lead us the wrong direction, with God’s thoughts on the matter; what we find in scripture. For example, if we bash ourselves with thoughts like, “I can’t do anything right” God wants us to know that we “can do all things through Him (Christ) Who strengthens us.” (Philippians 4:13)

In Philippians 4:8 God’s Word tells us to think on the good things. This is what enables us to renew our minds. What we think produces what we become. If I constantly criticize myself for being “so fat” I’ll just get fatter. That’s the direction my mind is going to take my body with those kinds of thoughts. Whereas, if I believe that “I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” (Psalm 139:14) I can begin to realize that I was purposefully made with love; I’m worth taking care of. Once I believe God on this, I’ll care enough to take care of myself. As I read that I am the temple of the Holy Ghost (1 Corinthians 6:19), I discover why I need to take care of my body. I’m housing the very Spirit of God in my heart! If too much weight is making me unhealthy, I can begin to take measures to lose it, by caring for this “temple”.

(photo from cnn.com)

In the book of Psalms, we learn that God wants us to listen to His voice. In Psalm 34:11 we read, “Come, you children, and listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.” Again, in Psalm 81:8, God Himself implores us, “Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you. O Israel, if you will listen to Me!”

God gave revelation to man to write His Word for our instruction and encouragement. To not hear what He has to say to us is like buying a very expensive electronic gadget and tossing aside the instructions, then play around with it trying to figure it out. I don’t know how tech savvy you are, but I’d ruin my expensive gadget quickly. Some of us might figure out the basics of how to get it to work, but if we didn’t ruin it in the process, we’d certainly never be able to take advantage of everything it can do without those instructions. I cringe at the thought of wasting my money like that. I also cringe at the thought of how much God’s put inside of us that we never use, or for that matter, that we never even know about.

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In James 2:18-26 God’s Word tells us that we need to put action to our faith, that faith without works is dead. (Works without faith may look good, but they count for little.)

That’s not to say that we can earn anything in the kingdom of God, only that once our faith comes alive, we’ll want to share it. That will include working to bless others. We can’t pour from an empty ladle, so we first need to find the gifts that God has already placed there.

If we piece together each of these points, we have a pretty good blueprint for freedom. Freedom from sin and the thoughts that bring us down. Freedom to live life abundantly, and to share it generously with those around us.

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Freedom comes when we renew our mind. Delve into that, today!

Think good thoughts that are uplifting and productive; not evil and lazy and unproductive.

Listen to God’s voice, hear His instructions. Whether He speaks to you through His Word, or the still small voice that draws you closer to His heart, listen.

Act like the child of God you’re called to be. Put your love and your faith into actions, sharing God’s love with everyone you meet.

The Action Word

(picture from kisworldfun.com)

Love is a verb.

Yes, sometimes the actions of love take place on a level where we find it hard to focus. Say, for example, a parent has grounded their child for misbehavior. The child may only see the frustrations of the removed privileges. The parent’s love for their child is hoping to see a correction to said misbehavior. Love is often misunderstood.

Love is also distorted and sometimes actions labeled as love, are really not love at all. If a man, in his drunken stupor, beats his wife senseless, then later, insists through his tears that he really loves her, he clearly doesn’t know how to love. Something has gotten in the way. Whether he was never taught, by example how to love, or perhaps evil entered his life along the way and buried his capacity to love or a myriad of other possibilities; he’s crippled. He may behave in a loving manner sometimes, but he has core issues to deal with.

To truly love, one must know Love. God IS love, so, to know God, is to know love.

But, we all go through things in life that challenge God’s love and our ability to love others. Our pasts are riddled with mysteries, some of which we’ll never solve. Some of those mysteries fade away as explanations make their way to the surface. Some of us fiercely search for answers, others try to brush away the events of our past and count them as unworthy of our time and attention.

Love is never crippled, but our ability to give and receive love can be not only crippled, but completely paralyzed.

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Fresh encounters with God, daily, can help the crippled parts within us to heal. That’s why spending time in God’s Word is so incredibly important. Through His Word, God can reveal Himself and His never-ending love to us anew every day. God can speak to us through anything, or anyone.

So often in life when I’ve faced difficult circumstances and despair crept in like a subtle fog, I’ve begged God for answers, yet allowed my distractions to keep me from spending quality time with God, reading and pondering His Word. The longer I go without reading and meditating on God’s Word, the more frustrated I become. The more I talk to God yet refuse to take time to listen for what He has to say to me, the deeper the talons of despair pierce my heart.

God didn’t create us all to think like rocket scientists. He created us with one-of-a-kind hearts, with minds that think as individuals. He doesn’t seek to make things difficult for us; He simply wants us to turn to Him, with all our heart, and He will open the doors to understanding for us.

That means spending time with Him, quality time.

But, we’re so b-u-s-y! There’s so much to get done in a day, when do you find time to spend with a God you can’t see or touch?

You don’t.

 

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You MAKE time. Priorities take us to land us where we are; good priorities take us to good places, scattered or unproductive priorities take us nowhere. We look around and things are still the same way we left them yesterday, sometimes – the same way we left them ten years ago. We wallow in the same pit of despair or poverty we told ourselves we wouldn’t settle for.

With no target, how can we hit it? With no goal, how can we move on from where we are?

Love is the always-moving vehicle that will get us there. But, we have to climb on board.

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Time to dump some baggage? Time to move forward? Time to learn (or relearn) how to give and receive love?

Spend some time with God, today. Quality time with God will always be rewarded; sometimes tangibly, sometimes in treasures of the heart, sometimes with exciting displays that everyone around you will see; and sometimes, the rewards will be accompanied with a little frustration or confusion, but pursue the rewards of God. His reward is love, the action kind of love, the kind of love that sets us free.

Jesus said in John 6:37, “All that the Father giveth to me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (KJV)

And in Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (KJV)

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails….” – I Corinthians 13:4-8a (KJV)

(picture from forheislove.com)

A Plan of Action: NEBAI

(crafthubs.com)

This cocoon is getting a little tight and I’m getting a little restless. I need to stop being so hard on myself, I’m not a caterpillar permanently trapped in preparation mode. Though I’m anxious to break out, maybe I need “one more minute”.

I’ve been feeling a little anxious lately. Upcoming situations beg me to come up with doable plans to deal with it. However, I don’t see myself as a planner; I’m a pantzer (one who flies by the seat of their pants)!

Clearly, information may lead to transformation, but information itself isn’t transformation. Hence, no matter how much information I’ve crammed into my pretty little head, it won’t do a thing for me just rattling around in there, I have to implement it into my daily life.

(colourbox.com)

 Today I’m looking at some of the things that make me anxious. I know God doesn’t want me dwelling in anxiety. His Word tells me to be anxious for nothing. (Philippians 4:6) His Word also tells me that in this world I’ll have tribulations. Tribulations can bring anxieties along with them. (John 16:33)

I’m drawn back to being mindful. Though I regularly think of myself as ditzy or scatterbrained, I’m not. Those are just adjectives that catapult me into a negative mindset, or attempt to excuse me from being present and in the moment.

I’ve gleaned many tools to help be become a healthier person at the Metabolic Research Center, where I check in regularly. One of those useful tools is a behavior called “pattern interrupt”. Simply put, interrupting a pattern of destructive behavior, or even those that are just not good for me – such as temptations to eat something unhealthy. Anyone with an addiction can benefit by interrupting his or her addictive behaviors.

Interrupt it with what? A different behavior.

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 If it’s my habit to stop at Starbucks on my way home, I need to adopt a new routine. But, if it’s an impulse that suddenly strikes me, I can interrupt it by doing something else. As I sit here, now thinking about a Java Chip Frappuccino, a craving could easily mount. I could abandon my laptop and head over to Starbucks, perhaps justifying it by walking over there instead of driving. Yes, it’s that close. If instead, I choose to interrupt that temptation and pick up my weighted hula-hoop and go at it for ten minutes, by then the craving should pass.

I need to have a ready selection of viable options at my disposal. A list of things I can do instead of give in to the impulse. By viable, I mean things I will actually do. I need to find options I can do anywhere. Yes, here at home, I can grab my hula-hoop. But, if I’m driving down the road – what then? Your list will be different from mine, but we can interrupt a temptation easily, if we’re prepared for them and if we notice when they hit us.

For me, dietary temptations generally hit in the late afternoon. This is common. I may be able to avoid them altogether if I have a prepared or readily available snack with me. Maybe not.

Oftentimes, temptations seem to hit us unexpectedly. They’re most likely emotionally triggered, though. Perhaps emotional triggers cause our sugar to drop, or maybe our sugar dropping creates the emotional trigger. We’ll let scientists sort that out.

(wallpaperseries.com)

Again, with the mindfulness; I need to pay attention. I need to notice what’s going on around me and inside of me when irresistible temptations attempt to consume me. I’m in charge, not the temptations.

Here’s my plan.

NOTICE when I’m anxious. I’ve seen that temptations quickly follow.

(Does my sugar dropping create part of that anxiety?)

EXAMINE what I’m feeling – briefly. Allowing my mind to wallow in something stressful won’t do me any good at all; I’d probably end up eating something sugary while I stew over what’s bothering me.

BREATHE. While looking at what has me falling prey to a temptation, I’ll focus on my breathing for a minute or two; breathing deeply and purposefully. That always calms me down noticeably.

ALLOW the pieces to fall in place. Many of life’s stressors are out of our control. Nevertheless, our response is always within our control. The old Serenity Prayer comes into play here.

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For me, this will mean confronting thoughts that pull me down and taking ownership of them, choosing whether I allow them to dominate my mind. Mindfully following the instructions in Philippians 4:8: thinking on the good things, will give me power.

When I confront my own thoughts, I need to do it in love or I can wind up mentally beating myself up again for thinking them. Self-love is not selfish.

Lastly, IMPLEMENT my alternative activity. I need to get busy on that list and keep a copy in my phone!

Hmmmm. NEBAI. I need an acronym to remember my plan! Is that even a word? I looked it up. How cool is this? According to several Hebrew dictionaries, nebai means fruitful! So, I greatly anticipate that my strategy will be fruitful. And I’ll pronounce it however I like. The “i” will be silent and I’ll make it rhyme with Reba, my favorite country singer.

Sounds easy enough, want to try it with me?

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“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made know to God…” – Philippians 4:6 (NKJV)

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me [Jesus] you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33 (NKJV)