Tag Archives: thinking

September 15, 2022 · 5:30 AM

Think Differently

Several years ago, Apple was floundering as a company. They had lost their soul and direction. They decided to bring Steve Jobs back as the CEO to see if he could turn it around. One of the things he did after revamping their product line was to change advertising agencies. The agency that won pitched him the idea of the now famous “Think Different” campaign. The commercial showed different geniuses from history with a voice that started off, “There are people who see the world differently. They see things in new ways.” While the commercial went on to advertise Apple, it reminds me that you and I as Christians are called to think differently.

Proverbs 23:7 tells that our thoughts determine who we are. We must then learn how to control them or at least stop the negative thoughts that lie to us. 2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us that we must bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. We can’t just allow idle thoughts or negative thoughts to float around in our heads. We must capture them and change them. It’s easier said than done, I know, but it starts with challenging the thoughts that don’t line up with what God says. When those thoughts come in, you counter with who God says you are and what He’s promised to us as believers. God knows that one way to change our lives is through changing our thoughts.

Isaiah 8:11 says, “The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does” (NLT). Why would God do that? Because we are called to be and live differently than the world. We are to be set apart and to see the world in a different way. We are to change culture rather than to be a reflection of it. The only way to do that is to think differently and to see the world as God does. He transforms us by the renewing of our thoughts and in turn, we transform the world. Don’t get caught up today thinking and seeing the world the way others do. Pray and ask God to change how you think and see so that it reflects how He thinks and sees. In turn, you’ll begin to fulfill your purpose and help others along the way.

Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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August 22, 2022 · 5:55 AM

Changing Your Thoughts

Growing up, I was taught that what I thought about mattered. In children’s church I memorized Philippians 4:8. It says, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (NLT). If I said something or did something that was out of line, people at church understood it was a reflection of what was going on in my mind. They would then ask, “Is that true? Honorable? Right?” They would go down the list. It created a filter to run things through as thoughts entered my mind.

Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks within himself, so is he” (TPT). You will always become a reflection of your thought life. If you’re constantly thinking about issues, problems, lies, revenge, etc., your life is going to show it. Those things get into your heart and show up in your actions. If you think about things that are true, honorable, right, pure, etc., those will also get into your heart and show up in your actions. The things you dwell on in your mind can have a positive or negative affect on your life and your relationships with others. It’s important to develop a filter from God’s Word to run your thoughts through. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ” (NLT). It takes some discipline to capture thoughts and realign your thinking.

Everyone of us face situations that are out of our control. Situations create internal feelings. Those feelings create thoughts, and those thoughts create actions. If you want to change how you react or behave, you have to change those thoughts. If you want to change those thoughts, you have to change how you feel because you can’t change the situation normally. You have to capture those thoughts and feelings when they come in. Challenge them by holding them up to the standard of God’s Word. If the don’t align, then you must change them to dwell and think on what is true. Insert what God says about the situation rather than what your feelings say. Remember how and what you think will affect every area of your life. Creating a standard to hold your thoughts up against before you let them filter into your life will change your life.

Photo by Chetan Menaria on Unsplash

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July 1, 2021 · 5:30 AM

Empowered For Victory

Fear. Worry. Addiction. Self destructive thoughts and patterns. Insurmountable odds. Our past. These are things that many of us battle on a daily basis. They are mentally and physically taxing. It’s hard to sleep when these battles loom over us because they’re all we think about. The idea of getting free of them rarely enters our mind anymore because we’ve given up hope of overcoming them. They are powerful and make us feel powerless against them. We yield to them because we know it’s useless. So we live under their cloud in a defeated life without hope of winning victory over them.

If you struggle with these things, you’re not alone. Millions of people live just like that believing they’re the only ones going through it because the enemy of their soul has lied to them. He knows if he wins these battles, he can sideline you for a lifetime. But God has not given you a spirit of fear, nor has He abandoned you. He has given you the strength and the tools to break every chain and every stronghold that tries to hold you down and keep you from the life He created you to live. Remember that our weapons are not carnal, but are mighty through God (2 Cor 10:4)!

Psalm 18:35 puts it this way, “You empower me for victory with your wrap-around presence. Your power within makes me strong to subdue, and by stooping down in gentleness you strengthened me and made me great!” (TPT) Yes, you were made to be great and victorious through God. When we spend time in His presence through prayer, reading His Word and in praise and worship, He envelops us with the power we need to overcome. You don’t have to be a prisoner to these other things because you’ve been empowered for victory. Capture the thoughts that are not from God, and change them to what God’s Word says.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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July 21, 2017 · 4:38 AM

Think About Your Thoughts


When I was a kid, and was wrong about something, I would start off my sentence with, “But I thought…” My dad would always be quick to say. “That’s what you get for thinking!” He was being humorous of course, because thinking is all we do. Sometimes we over think things, and other times we don’t put much thought into what we are doing. Either way, thinking is not just what we do, it creates who we become. 

The way we think is so powerful that few of us grasp it. I love how Henry Ford described the power of thought. He said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” Our thoughts control our belief system, and our belief system controls our actions. That’s why I would always start my sentence with, “But I thought…” It’s so important that you and I control what we think about, and thereby control what we believe. How we live and who we are is a result of the sum of our thoughts. 

The Bible has a lot to say about our thoughts. Here are a few verses. 

1. The weapons we use in our fight are not the world’s weapons but God’s powerful weapons, which we use to destroy strongholds. We destroy false arguments; we pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 GNT

2. Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].
PHILIPPIANS 4:8 AMP

3. Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.
Romans 8:5 NLT

4. Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.
Proverbs 4:23 GNT

5. Therefore if you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, sharing in His resurrection from the dead], keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value].
COLOSSIANS 3:1-2 AMP

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April 29, 2015 · 6:27 AM

Thinking Problem

  

The Bible talks a lot about what we think because God understands the power of our thoughts. Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Our thoughts determine who we are and how we act. Proverbs 4:23 tells us, “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. (GNB)” Another version wrote that same verse, “More than anything you guard, protect your mind. (CEB)” Solomon understood the importance of our thoughts and wanted those who read his writings to understand it as well.

Brian Tracy’s Law of Concentration states that whatever you dwell upon grows. If you worry a lot, then those thoughts will snowball and continue to grow. The things you think the most about take the center stage in your life. They control your schedule, your mood, your attitude, your actions and so much more. We often let our minds dwell on something for so long that it grows into an obsession. There was a time when I couldn’t get enough of the news. At home, I had my 24 hour news channel on and in my car, I had new radio. When I realized it was controlling my actions and mood, I had to break free.

Brian Tracy also teaches the Law of Substitution that says, “The conscious mind can only hold one thought at a time.” It can be a positive thought or a negative thought. I am the one who chooses what I think about. I am the gatekeeper. As Solomon said, I have to be careful of how I think. I cannot allow thoughts of worry overrun my mind. I cannot permit thoughts that are detrimental to my faith and family to stay in my mind. I cannot entertain thoughts and ideas that are contrary to God’s Word. I must consciously substitute those thoughts for the thoughts that lead me down God’s paths.

Philippians 4:8 tells us, “Fill your mind with things that are good and deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely and honorable. (GNB)” The way I fill my mind with those things is to force myself to think about them when the other thoughts come in. I must protect my mind if I’m going to protect my actions. I have to constantly watch each and every thought that enters my mind and learn how to push out the thoughts that are detrimental to who I am in Christ and to replace them with the thoughts that feed who I am in Him. According to that first scripture I shared, I become what I think about. 

Food for thought: Who do you want to be? What thoughts are detrimental to being that person? What thoughts can you replace them with? You can change who you are by changing what you think.

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February 27, 2015 · 5:30 AM

10 Scriptures On Thinking



1.   Wise thinking leads to right living; Stupid thinking leads to wrong living. (Ecclesiastes 10:2 MSG)

2.   With my voice I cry to the Lord, and He hears and answers me out of His holy hill. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! (Psalm 3:4 AMP)

3.   Do not be like children in your thinking, my friends; be children so far as evil is concerned, but be grown up in your thinking. (1 Corinthians 14:20 GNT)

4.   Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. (Romans 8:5 NLT)

5.   Don’t shoot off your mouth, or speak before you think. Don’t be too quick to tell God what you think he wants to hear. God’s in charge, not you—the less you speak, the better. (Ecclesiastes 5:2 MSG)

6.   Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. (Colossians 3:2 NLT)

7.   Think of what he (Jesus) went through; how he put up with so much hatred from sinners! So do not let yourselves become discouraged and give up. (Hebrews 12:3 GNT)

8.   Think over these things I am saying [understand them and grasp their application], for the Lord will grant you full insight and understanding in everything. (2 Timothy 2:7 AMP)

9.   Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent. (Psalms 4:4 NLT)

10.   For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them]. (Philippians 4:8 AMP)

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