Grab your coffee and open your heart to the aroma of God!
Of late, I have realized that me, myself, and I have been in the center of my own life! And according to Jennifer Rothschild, I’m living in the land of Me, Myself, and Lies. Therefore, I have written this to give myself a final hoo-rah, tootles, good-bye, sayonara, ttfn, and see ya! In the words of Mercy Me, So Long Self, it’s been fun but I have found somebody else!! There’s no room for two so you are going to have to move…..
This study is highly recommended by me for whatever that is worth, but it has been a wonderful time with some dear sweet ladies. We have shared, encouraged, allowed a safe place, and prayed prayed prayed!! I have realized how much of me is truly central and I am so profoundly ashamed of myself!!
This study is highly recommended by me for whatever that is worth, but it has been a wonderful time with some dear sweet ladies. We have shared, encouraged, allowed a safe place, and prayed prayed prayed!! I have realized how much of me is truly central and I am so profoundly ashamed of myself!!
This may sound like it has nothing to do with what I had intended to write, but as I watched a movie called Acceptance the other night I realized there was yet another issue. This in its own funny way resembled this last week of my life. Now this particular movie was about being accepted into a college, but I saw a totally different picture. As each of the students sought their college acceptance it revealed how truly unaccepted they felt inside. This last week in our Me, Myself, and Lies Bible Study, left me astonished, convicted, remorseful, and new. Those are lovingly dealt with in week 5, so I will get to that, acceptance, in another post.
I am not just advertising a wonderful study but I intimate that it will challenge you to your core. A group of us Bible study junkies, courageous, and adventurous gals thought we would tackle seemingly good but less difficult study. HA!! I love this study (if you are spiritually masochistic you will get that – bring on the conviction Father)!!
I love the way Jennifer draws you in and gets you so excited about cleaning out something, your closet. She makes you eager to get in and get stuff organized and cleaned, then BAM!! God reveals and convicts just how much of yourself is in the center of ALL your waking (and sometimes sleeping) thoughts. OUCH!
This study we have done is appropriately subtitled “Cleaning out your thought closet”; this is poignant and true and reveals a lot of yourself to you. I can see how off balance my thoughts can be. I recognized there is no monthly maintenance medication and no twelve step program for this ailment. But you must train your thoughts to be on (revel in) that which is spelled out so lovingly for us in Philippians 4:8.
In week one we incorporate Philippians 4:8. If you have never memorized or meditated on this verse you should do it soon. See how it affects your life?...
What do you think on most days? How are your thoughts? What is their health condition? Are they cluttered, disorganized, and false?
Are your thoughts true? Have your feelings taken the driver’s seat and you are just a passenger watching things pass by? Thoughts do fly by before you have even had an opportunity to take a grip on them. Is it only your perspective you see? Remember how things make you “feel” will influence how you remember them. Strong’s simply states it is “truth”. Are your thoughts based on truth? I had to realize that God’s truth does out-weight and hold privilege over what we see as fact in our world. That was a bombshell for me!!
Can you handle the truth????
I am not just advertising a wonderful study but I intimate that it will challenge you to your core. A group of us Bible study junkies, courageous, and adventurous gals thought we would tackle seemingly good but less difficult study. HA!! I love this study (if you are spiritually masochistic you will get that – bring on the conviction Father)!!
I love the way Jennifer draws you in and gets you so excited about cleaning out something, your closet. She makes you eager to get in and get stuff organized and cleaned, then BAM!! God reveals and convicts just how much of yourself is in the center of ALL your waking (and sometimes sleeping) thoughts. OUCH!
This study we have done is appropriately subtitled “Cleaning out your thought closet”; this is poignant and true and reveals a lot of yourself to you. I can see how off balance my thoughts can be. I recognized there is no monthly maintenance medication and no twelve step program for this ailment. But you must train your thoughts to be on (revel in) that which is spelled out so lovingly for us in Philippians 4:8.
In week one we incorporate Philippians 4:8. If you have never memorized or meditated on this verse you should do it soon. See how it affects your life?...
What do you think on most days? How are your thoughts? What is their health condition? Are they cluttered, disorganized, and false?
Are your thoughts true? Have your feelings taken the driver’s seat and you are just a passenger watching things pass by? Thoughts do fly by before you have even had an opportunity to take a grip on them. Is it only your perspective you see? Remember how things make you “feel” will influence how you remember them. Strong’s simply states it is “truth”. Are your thoughts based on truth? I had to realize that God’s truth does out-weight and hold privilege over what we see as fact in our world. That was a bombshell for me!!
Can you handle the truth????Are your thoughts noble, honorable, or reverent? Do you think on the things of the King? Would your thoughts be invited to the next meeting of the Royals? Would your thoughts fit in? Are you a rebellious princess who refuses to wear her crown? Ask yourself if your thoughts venerated for a Godly character or do they violate His very existence? Are they noble?
Are your thoughts right, just, or fair? Are they upright? In other words acc
ording to Strong’s, are they righteous and observing the divine laws when exercised?
Are your thoughts pure? What does that mean you may ask, pure? Are they free of carnality? Do they emulate the immaculate, chaste, and modest? Basically ask yourself if your thoughts are clean? What are you entertaining in the crevices of your most secret places?
Are your thoughts lovely? The feet of the one who brings good news are lovely. But are your thoughts acceptable and pleasing? Are they lovely or would you rather hide them behind a veil of deceit? Our hearts, we are told in Jeremiah 17:9 are wicked, deceitful and incomprehensible.
How are your thoughts? If we think on what we feel and what comes out of our mouths reveals what is in our hearts, then doesn’t that speak volumes of our thoughts as well? How beautiful are they? Are they as beautiful as the One who granted you life?
Are your thoughts of good report? Do you speak auspiciously (favorably, propitiously, positively) of others and/or events? What have you reported on lately?
Finally, we are instructed to think on things that are virtuous and of moral excellence. We must exercise our thoughts by meditating on the Word of God. I do not believe on our own we would accomplish this commandment in full favor. I know I would be greatly lacking if it were not for the Lord. We are to think on such things. Even if we were to “weigh” their thoughts and deem them more so than not so, I believe the Holy Spirit would still find us fallen short of the mark. We must meditate on these things in order to have the mind of Christ; we must think on what is in His mind. Where do we find "what" is on the mind of Christ? It's in the BIBLE, the B -I-B-L-E.
Ask the Lord today to allow you removed and He present and active. The more of Him in you the less of you to leave an impression on others. (good bad or indifferent). Remember too that when someone rejects Christ by the invitation that comes out of YOUR mouth, it is still Him they reject. Do not feel rejected for you can offer them nothing in comparison to eternity. Allow these things which are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and praise worthy to be in all areas of your mind. My Uncle John told me once that you can only lead someone to Christ as close as you are willing to walk with Him.
Week one also deals with God’s thoughts of you! Yes!!! Y-O-U, little ole you! He loves us so much and thinks high and noble things of us!! We realize that He searches our hearts and reveals that which is not needed in us and desires to remove it.
Then Jennifer shows us that we need to meditate. Just as I said on exercising our thoughts, she shows us in Day 3 that in Psalm 19:14 that the meditation of our mouth and our hearts should be acceptable in His sight.
In Day 4 we deal with our issue of “what ifs”. Oh don’t those consume much of our thoughts and hold us captive to yesterday rendering us inactive today. What a sad position we willingly place ourselves in!
We end week one with what we choose to say to ourselves in ways of name calling or speaking untruths to ourselves. She speaks of the tower of Babel in the wrap up session and we realize that they were descendants of Nimrod…so don’t call yourself a nimrod either. OK!
Listen this study will gently bring you into your thought closet where you begin by arranging and discarding the obvious, but stay alert and prepared…you will discover more than you expect.
More on Week two later!!
ording to Strong’s, are they righteous and observing the divine laws when exercised?Are your thoughts pure? What does that mean you may ask, pure? Are they free of carnality? Do they emulate the immaculate, chaste, and modest? Basically ask yourself if your thoughts are clean? What are you entertaining in the crevices of your most secret places?
Are your thoughts lovely? The feet of the one who brings good news are lovely. But are your thoughts acceptable and pleasing? Are they lovely or would you rather hide them behind a veil of deceit? Our hearts, we are told in Jeremiah 17:9 are wicked, deceitful and incomprehensible.
How are your thoughts? If we think on what we feel and what comes out of our mouths reveals what is in our hearts, then doesn’t that speak volumes of our thoughts as well? How beautiful are they? Are they as beautiful as the One who granted you life?
Are your thoughts of good report? Do you speak auspiciously (favorably, propitiously, positively) of others and/or events? What have you reported on lately?
Finally, we are instructed to think on things that are virtuous and of moral excellence. We must exercise our thoughts by meditating on the Word of God. I do not believe on our own we would accomplish this commandment in full favor. I know I would be greatly lacking if it were not for the Lord. We are to think on such things. Even if we were to “weigh” their thoughts and deem them more so than not so, I believe the Holy Spirit would still find us fallen short of the mark. We must meditate on these things in order to have the mind of Christ; we must think on what is in His mind. Where do we find "what" is on the mind of Christ? It's in the BIBLE, the B -I-B-L-E.
Ask the Lord today to allow you removed and He present and active. The more of Him in you the less of you to leave an impression on others. (good bad or indifferent). Remember too that when someone rejects Christ by the invitation that comes out of YOUR mouth, it is still Him they reject. Do not feel rejected for you can offer them nothing in comparison to eternity. Allow these things which are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and praise worthy to be in all areas of your mind. My Uncle John told me once that you can only lead someone to Christ as close as you are willing to walk with Him.
Week one also deals with God’s thoughts of you! Yes!!! Y-O-U, little ole you! He loves us so much and thinks high and noble things of us!! We realize that He searches our hearts and reveals that which is not needed in us and desires to remove it.
Then Jennifer shows us that we need to meditate. Just as I said on exercising our thoughts, she shows us in Day 3 that in Psalm 19:14 that the meditation of our mouth and our hearts should be acceptable in His sight.
In Day 4 we deal with our issue of “what ifs”. Oh don’t those consume much of our thoughts and hold us captive to yesterday rendering us inactive today. What a sad position we willingly place ourselves in!
We end week one with what we choose to say to ourselves in ways of name calling or speaking untruths to ourselves. She speaks of the tower of Babel in the wrap up session and we realize that they were descendants of Nimrod…so don’t call yourself a nimrod either. OK!
Listen this study will gently bring you into your thought closet where you begin by arranging and discarding the obvious, but stay alert and prepared…you will discover more than you expect.
More on Week two later!!
