• one-minute audio messages for June

• 15-20-minute coffeebreaker on Peter: a picture of restoration

• encouraging e-quipped message on being a good friend

Whenever anyone responds to what you're saying by telling you  it's "all in the mind" they usually mean you're imagining things.  On some occasions, this might be the case but, when it comes to our thinking, there can be no doubt that it really is "all in the mind"! 

This weekend I concluded my short series in my home church on "Who Do You Think You Are?"  I called the third and final message in the series "It's all in the mind..." and it focused on the importance of the way we think and explored how a renewed mind leads to renewed thinking.  If you want to listen, click here.

If you missed the earlier parts of "Who Do You Think You Are?" you'll find part one here and part two here. 

Happy listening!

Identity

I was recently looking through a book of poems penned by my mother and came across this one about Heaven.  The poem is short and simple but a reminder that this life on earth is not all there is.  Hope it will be an inspiration to you!
 

THE HEAVENLY HOME

I listened in church one Sunday
And felt a wonderful glow,
For the preacher spoke of Heaven
Where one day I shall go.

He spoke of the body glorified,
And of sanctification too.
My heart was filled with gladness
For I knew it would all come true.

What a wonderful hope have we who believe,
Who pardon and peace from Jesus receive.
We trust in a Saviour crucified,
Who all through life will be our guide.

If you don't know the Saviour
Then make it your earnest quest
To find out more about Him
And enter into rest.

Then you too will feel uplifted
When you hear of the heavenly home,
Knowing that you are ready
When the Lord shall call, or come.
 

My mother moved to her heavenly home 12 years ago...  

1.  We can choose to believe the character of God.  At one level, it’s very comforting to know that God is all-powerful and in control of our lives but, at another level, this knowledge can leave us perplexed when things aren’t going well. If He has all power and authority, we reason, then why does He not do something to stop our pain?  In order to know the character of God, we need to go to the Word of God. 1 Peter 5:7 tells us clearly that God cares for us. Numerous other verses let us know that He loves us with an everlasting love. The bottom line is that our all-powerful God is in charge of our world and He also cares deeply for us. If we allow this knowledge to sink into our hearts and minds, it can help us to keep going when our world falls apart.

2.  We can choose to respond to God in praise.  This is probably the last thing we want to do when things are going badly for us! But, we need to hold on to the truth that, despite our changing circumstances, He never changes. This means we can always praise Him for His constant faithfulness, goodness, mercy, compassion, sovereignty, holiness, and much more besides.  Giving thanks to God is another aspect of praise. Even in bad times, we’ve a lot to be thankful for. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to give thanks in all circumstances, not for all circumstances… We don’t have to give thanks for broken dreams or dashed hopes; the key is giving thanks to God in the broken dreams and dashed hopes. 

3.  We can choose to wait for the Lord to act.  I hate waiting and I guess you probably do too! I’d much rather take action! But waiting is not necessarily something passive. Think of a sheepdog waiting for the shepherd’s command to round up the sheep.  The dog has his attention closely focused on the shepherd, ready to spring into action as soon as the command is given. The animal doesn’t tell the shepherd how or when to respond, but he waits with an attitude of expectation that there will be a response of some kind, at some time. God doesn’t always act in the way we would like Him to, and rarely does He act according to our timetable! So we have to wait. But how can we make good use of this waiting time? Here are four practical suggestions: 

• Take time out each day to focus on God rather than on your problems.
• Try asking what instead of why. Be teachable and ask God what you need to learn at this point in your life. Don’t waste the pain!
• Keep handing over your problems to God and trust Him for the outcome.
• Determine that, whatever happens, you will continue to praise and serve God wholeheartedly.

4.  We can choose to share our problems with a trusted friend.  Don’t underestimate the comfort that a good friend can bring to you. None of us has to walk through troubled times on our own. Your friend might be close at hand or on the other side of the world. With telephone and email access, we can connect with friends who live hundreds, or even thousands, of miles away. A great advantage of email over face-to-face conversations is that it forces you to write down your problem. Sometimes this can help clarify the issues in your own mind. 

5.  We can choose to build structure into our day.  When you go through a period of discouragement, it’s a very natural response to let things slide. Some people neglect their appearance, or turn to the wrong kind of food for comfort. Others feel they don’t have the energy to get out of bed in the morning and have no desire to face a new day dominated by the same old problems. While it’s not a good idea to be too tough on ourselves at times like this, we need to recognise that maintaining some sort of routine each day helps to bring perspective to what’s going on around us.
 
6.  We can choose to rejoice in the Lord.  The Old Testament prophet, Habakkuk, talks about the worst case scenario befalling an agricultural economy (Habakkuk 3:17) and then goes on to say in the next verse, “yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in God my Saviour.” Notice he says that he will rejoice and he will be joyful. He doesn’t say that he feels like rejoicing or being joyful! By a set of his will, he determines how he is going to respond. He recognises that he has a choice. He could focus on a disastrous outcome and be thoroughly miserable, or he could choose to rejoice and be joyful. What an encouragement to know that we can choose our response to bad circumstances in our lives! But Habakkuk doesn’t leave it there. He makes it clear that his rejoicing will be “in the LORD” and he will be joyful “in God (his) Saviour”. Making the decision to be joyful in the face of adversity is not enough. But when we get into the habit of focusing on God by celebrating His character and believing the many promises found in His Word, then we are able to rejoice in Him. 

Why not take on board these six suggestions for defeating discouragement?

Have a great week!

Discouragement

Identity