2020-10-18
Proverbs 12:5 NKJV
Your mind can work for you or against you. When it works for you, it helps you to stay positive, reach your goals, and enjoy each day. But when it works against you, it can make you negative and discouraged, hold you back, and cause you to think thoughts that result in self-sabotage. So teach your mind to work for you instead of against you.
An important way to do this is to make an intentional decision that you’ll begin to think positively – in terms of faith and not fear.
Now, your brain won’t be able to fulfill this new role overnight. You may be asking it to undergo a radical transformation, and that takes time. But determine that with your diligence and God’s help, instead of working against you, your brain will go to work for you and become a positive force in your life.
Dr. Caroline Leaf, a cognitive neuroscientist, points out that the brain takes eighteen years to grow, and a lifetime to mature. Don’t miss this point! While every organ in your body was fully formed when you were born and got bigger as your body grew, your brain actually takes a full eighteen years to grow. And once it’s fully formed, it continues to mature until the day you die. That means no matter how old you are, your brain is still growing. This is great news, because it means you don’t have to stay stuck in old or wrong thought patterns. Your brain is still maturing, which means you can still improve in your thinking.
As the Bible says, “The thoughts of the righteous are right.”
Soul food: Matt 21:18-22; Matt 8:5-13; Mark 6:1-6
Philippians 4:8 NLT
Our minds can work for us or against us. When they work for us, it helps us to stay positive, reach our goals, and enjoy each day. But when they work against us, it can make us negative and discouraged, hold us back, and cause us to think unhelpful thoughts. So we need to train our minds to work for us instead of against us.
An important way to do this is to make an intentional decision to begin to think positively – in terms of faith and not fear. Our brains won’t be able to carry out this new instruction overnight. It might be a radical transformation from the way we usually tend to think, and changing a habit takes time, especially if it’s one we’ve had for a long time. But if we’re determined to do it thoroughly and accept God’s help, instead of working against us, our minds will go to work for us and become a positive force in our lives.
An interesting thing to remember is that when you’re born, every organ is fully developed and then gets bigger as you grow. Except for the brain. This develops for a number of years (approximately twenty-five, and possibly more) until it’s fully developed. And even after that, it continues to mature, creating new connections and networks for the rest of your life. That means we can constantly learn new things, and change and improve the way we think.
So let’s try to stay positive, and focus on good, godly things: ‘Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise’ (Philippians 4:8 NLT).
Matt 21:18-22; Matt 8:5-13; Mark 6:1-6
2020-10-17
Psalm 126:2 NLV
God het elke menslike emosie wat jy voel, geskep. Hy het jou ontwerp om te huil wanneer jy hartseer is en te lag wanneer jy gelukkig is: ‘Daar is ‘n vaste tyd vir alles… ‘n Tyd om te huil en ‘n tyd om te lag…” (Prediker 3:1,4 NLV). Jesus het gesê: ‘Dit het Ek vir julle gesê sodat julle my blydskap mag ervaar en julle blydskap volkome kan wees’ (Johannes 15:11 NLV).
Vraag: Hoe gereeld lag jy? Dokters sê dat lag ‘n wonderlike genesende effek op jou liggaam het. Dit het ook wonderlike genesende effekte op jou gedagtes en siel. Stop en dink aan die dae wat jy gelag het, selfs al het jy nie regtig iets gehad om oor te lag nie. Jy was ver van God af en deur jou sondige gewoontes gebonde, maar Hy het jou vrygemaak, nie waar nie?
In die Ou Testament lees ons: ‘Toe die Here die bannelinge teruggebring het na Sion toe, was dit soos ‘n droom. Ons het gelag en van vreugde gesing. Die ander nasies het gesê: ‘Die Here het groot dinge vir hierdie mense gedoen.’ Die Here het groot dinge vir ons gedoen en ons is vol vreugde!’ (Psalm 126:1-3 NLV).
As God jou vrygemaak het, het jy waarlik iets om oor te lag. Hou op om so hard op jouself te wees – omdat jy nie perfek is nie, jou stadige groei in God, jou gebedslewe wat aandag kort, dat jy nie meer Skrifgedeeltes kan memoriseer nie, jou vrees om jou geloof met ander te deel, ens. Ons dra sulke swaar laste rond. Dis maklik om baie dinge te vind om oor bekommerd te wees, maar jy moet soms ‘n bietjie daaraan werk om gelukkig te wees. Die woord vir jou vandag is dus – lag meer!
Sielskos: 2 Sam 14:21-17:13; Joh 4:27-38; Ps 87; Spr 24:1-4
Psalm 126:2 NLT
Even though the Bible mentions joy many times, we can sometimes think that Christians have to be serious all the time. But God wants us to laugh and to be full of joy – if we’re not, then we’re missing out on a large part of what God created us to be. God created every human emotion we feel. He designed us to cry when we’re sad and laugh when we’re happy: ‘For everything there is a season…A time to cry and a time to laugh’ (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4 NLT). Jesus said, ‘I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete (John 15:11 NIV).
In the Old Testament we read: ‘When the LORD brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! We were filled with laughter…sang for joy…And the other nations said, “What amazing things the LORD has done for them.” Yes, the LORD has done amazing things for us! What joy!’ (Psalm 126:1-3 NLT). When we think about how much God loves us, accepts us, and has set us free from every burden, we should be full of laughter and joy. We shouldn’t be worried about showing our happiness to the world, because our joyfulness is a great testimony to others of what God can do.
Of course, there are times and situations when laughter isn’t appropriate. But at other times, let’s try not to be too serious and hard on ourselves, and instead remember these words: ‘This is the day that the LORD has made. Let us rejoice and be glad today!’ (Psalm 118:24 NCV).
2 Sam 14:21-17:13; John 4:27-38; Ps 87; Prov 24:1-4
Psalm 126:2 NLT
God created every human emotion you feel. He designed you to cry when you are sad and laugh when you are happy: “For everything there is a season…A time to cry and a time to laugh” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4 NLT). Jesus said, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11 KJV).
Question: How often do you laugh? Doctors say laughter has incredible healing effects on your body. It also has incredible healing effects on your mind and soul. Stop and think about the days you laughed, even though you really didn’t have anything to laugh about. You were far from God and bound by sinful habits, but He set you free, didn’t He?
In the Old Testament we read: “When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! We were filled with laughter…sang for joy…And the other nations said, ‘What amazing things the Lord has done for them.’ Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy!” (Psalm 126:1-3 NLT).
If God has set you free, then you truly have something to laugh about. Stop being so “heavy” about everything! Expecting perfection from yourself; your slow growth in God; your deficient prayer life; your failure to memorize more Scripture verses; your fear of sharing your faith with others, etc.
We carry around such heavy burdens. If you’re “laughter impaired” you may have to work at it. It’s easy to find plenty to worry about, but to be happy, you sometimes need to work at it a little. So the word for you today is – laugh more!
Soul food: 2 Sam 14:21-17:13; John 4:27-38; Ps 87; Prov 24:1-4
