Think Great Thoughts

You are what you eat. I am what I eat. It is true, physically. It is true, psychologically. The Scripture says what – Proverbs 23: “As a man thinks” – or as a woman thinks – “in his heart, so is he.” In fact, Ralph Waldo Emerson even gets in. He says, “Life consists of what a man is thinking about all day.” Your life consists merely of what you’re thinking about all day.

But it’s also true, spiritually. And Romans 8 – you might jot this down – verses 5 to 8, when you have some time, are worth looking at.

It talks about this deliverance we have, the Spirit being in us, the Law and the Spirit of life, the Law, spirit of death. And then, after talking about having been delivered by what God has done, it says, “For the mind set on the flesh is death. The mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God, and it is not able even to please God.”

I’m going to become, physically, what I put in my body. I’m going to become, psychologically and spiritually, what I put into my mind. I’d suggest that the most important decision you make, and the most important decision your children make, and your grandchildren make, every single day, is this: what they allow to go into their mind. Because you’ll notice, there’s a little graphic on the bottom of your notes. And the idea is: wrong thinking leads to negative emotions, that leads to unwise behavior, that leads to devastating consequences.

You have to start, it all begins with your thinking. Wrong thinking produces negative emotions. Negative emotions will produce behavior that is unwise. And a pattern of unwise behavior – what’s the Scripture say? “If you sow to the flesh, you reap corruption. A man and a woman – don’t be deceived, my beloved brethren, you’re going to reap –” I’m going to reap what I sow.

By contrast, right thinking produces positive emotions. Positive emotions produce wise behavior. And wise behavior, sowing over time, produces fruitful consequences. We are a product of our thought life. And the point I want to make is, change, all change, all lasting change begins with how you think. And the Scripture is filled with it. I gave you Romans 8:5 to 8. Study, sometime, Ephesians 4:22 to 24: Take off the old. Have your mind renewed. Put on…

It’s everywhere. Colossians 3, “Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth. Set your mind where your life is hidden with Christ.” Over and over and over and over. Just get out your concordance, and look up the word mind, or look up the word metamorphosis, or transformation, or change, and just watch how it is peppered all through Scripture. Change begins with your thinking.

And that’s why the second practice, to go from good to great in God’s eyes, is to think great thoughts. We are a product of our thinking. Our emotions flow from our thoughts. And what we allow to enter our mind is the most important decision we make every day. That’s the net, net. That’s the summary.

Now, notice, since we’re a product of our thought life, God commands us. I didn’t just make this up. He commands us to think great thoughts. And you say, “Well, where do you get that?” Well, follow along. Let’s look together at Philippians chapter 4, look at verse 8, “Finally brethren –” Verse 6: “Don’t be anxious for anything.” Verse 7 – how God’s going to work as you learn pray, give thanks, and the peace of God.

Verse 8, he says, “Finally, brethren, whatever is true” – that means objectively true, conforms to reality – “whatever is honorable” – that has the idea of that which is worthy of respect or dignity – “whatever is right” – has the idea of justice or righteousness – “whatever is pure” – that’s the idea of moral purity; free from defilement, “whatever is lovely” – that has the idea of something that is winsome, and attractive, and beautiful – “or whatever is good” – and the idea here is “admirable; of good report; worthy of passing on to another” – “and whatever is of any excellence, and if there is anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

A great little biblical exercise is to go through and circle all of those words, and just do a little mini-Bible study on what they mean. And then, they can become a little grid for what I allow to come into my mind: Whatever is true. Whatever is lovely. Whatever is honorable. Whatever is right. Whatever is pure. Whatever is of good repute. And then, Paul kind of thinks, In case I left something out, “If there is any excellence, if there’s anything worthy of praise” – notice what he says – “dwell on these things.” That’s the first command.

Then, notice, the second command is, “The things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me” – then what do you do? Those are all receptive-type words, aren’t they? Learned, received, heard, seen. Take all this data, “Practice these things” – and what’s the promise? “The God of peace will be with you.”

You see, when we’re anxious – really, you know what anxiety is? Anxiety is just dwelling on something. Anxiety is negative meditation. Some people say, “Well, I don’t know how to meditate on Scripture.” Well, just try worrying, and reverse it.

We take one little thing, and we dwell on it, and then we pull it apart, and then we factor out all the possible negative things that could happen. What happens to your emotions? Start to get depressed. Little panic attack.

And what the apostle Paul is saying is that, in the area of anxiety, come to God, and learn to offer it. Recognize what’s happening. He uses three or four different words for prayer. He says come, in general. Give thanksgiving. Take the specific issue. Get it before the Lord. And the promise is that the God of peace will be with you. And the peace of God will reign in your hearts.

And then, he says, Now, let’s get rid of that, as a lifestyle. “Finally, brethren, what I need you to do is – I’m going to go back beyond the emotions, beyond the anxiety, beyond the behavior. I’m going to go back to your thinking.” So, “Finally, brethren” – he gives us six or seven things, and then scrapes the Milky Way – basically, think godly, pure, righteous, honorable, winsome, lovely, God-honoring thoughts. And the promise is – what? “The God of peace will be with you.”

The word dwell, there – the command is to “dwell.” Write that word in, will you? It’s, “to dwell.” I actually put the word, in Greek, it’s logizomai. It means “to consider” – the word dwell; to think on; to recon; to deduce; to reason; to calculate; to ponder.

To “dwell” means to deliberate upon, through protracted analysis and thought. When he says “purity,” “honorable,” “justice,” “righteousness,” “lovely,” “beauty,” he says, “I want you to get your mind focused in, and, with a protracted, energetic, intentional ability, think on these things. Meditate on these things. Analyze these things.” It’s not casual thinking. It’s not passive thinking. It’s intentionally focused, protracted thought on what is right, pure, good, lovely, and righteous.

Colin Brown’s Dictionary of the New Testament, of this word, says, “It’s not an unemotional or an unphilosophical word.” This is not just, like, an accountant going through. “But, by contrast, it’s the very process of reasoning and deduction that separates good from evil.” So, it’s thinking on what is right, and pondering what’s right, and thinking of the implications, and looking at situations, and looking at what’s true, and then analyzing in such a way, and saying, I wonder how that would play out in this relationship? I wonder how that plays out in how God looks at me? I wonder if that, over time…?

It’s an analytical dwelling on truth – on God, for who He is, on you, for who you are, on other people, for who they are, looking at future and past circumstances through the lens of truth of God’s Word.

And that’s powerful. It’s powerful, powerful. There’s a reason why people are paid – do you remember what it was, for thirty seconds at the Super Bowl? Huh? How many millions, billions of dollars for – what? Two point five million dollars for thirty seconds, I believe, was the cost. Why would anyone pay that much money to have people’s attention for thirty seconds? I’ll tell you why: Because, whatever they see, whatever they hear, whatever you put in their mind, that’s what they go out and buy. It’s to influence you.

Why do companies spend billions in advertisement? The drug companies, recently – I read a statistic – the number of billions in advertisement. Why? Because when something hurts, and it’s not working, I’m going to say, “Hey doc, you know, did you see that commercial? What about this? Do you think that would help me?” Because it influences. We’re a product of our thought life.

Let me show you how powerful this is. This is not a made-up story. You know, sometimes, you have one of those illustrations that is so over the top you just think, You know what? This guy, he just – he makes these up. A fellow, his name is George. In fact, I’ll give you his full name, because, if he ever hears this – because he’s heard it once – it’ll just encourage him: George Dzindra.

I was involved in campus ministry as a young Christian. I’m now a couple years old in the Lord. And this campus goes from three or four or five kids, and now, we’ve got about forty, fifty, sixty, seventy kids, and we’re meeting in this guy’s basement, and we’re starting to grow. And I’m really a believer, and I’m walking with God, but I’m also on the basketball team. And some of the believers really loved God, but were very uncool. You know what I mean? They didn’t dress cool. They didn’t talk cool. Some of the girls were not the prettiest girls on campus.

But, over here, on the basketball team, they were “the cool guys.” We had the big hats, and the platforms, and had the full-length leather coat, walking in, “Hey what’s happening, dude?” We were cool.

And when I went on Thursday night to Bible study, I loved being around this group, but when I went on road trips, and I was with the basketball team, I had to be cool. But I had this bad situation, where I would be with the basketball team in the cafeteria, and someone that I’m supposed to love and enjoy and be a good friend and be a Christian, like I treated them on Thursday night – would come up to me.

And George would come up to me. And George had a little bit of a lisp. And George, I don’t know about you, and God bless those who have hair. God bless those who do not have hair. But when you’re nineteen, and have no hair, it’s not really good, in college. And George had already, like, three strands, going over to the left. And he came from a Slavic background, came over to this country. He grew up in hardcore New York City, in a neighborhood. His childhood, basically, was getting up, walking to school, getting beat up on the way, coming home, getting beat up on the way home. The guy had a self-image that was about that big, more negative, had a little bit of a lisp, had zero confidence. How he ever made it into college, I’ll never know.

And, “Hey Chip.” And I’m going, “Agggghhh!” You know what I’m saying? Now, none of you have ever done this, because you’re spiritual, and you love everybody, all the time, and you can’t identify with this. But maybe on a bad day, once. And it was like, “Oh, hey, good, George. Hey, man, I’ve really got to go, all right?” This guy is socially, mentally, spiritually – you know those extra-grace-required people? Those people who, when you see them coming, and there’s another stairway, you use it. This is one of those where you pretend not to see them. No eye contact. And you say to the person, “Let’s act like we’re really talking right now, because I do not want to talk to that guy.” He was that kind of guy.

But there was a guy named Jerry on our campus, and he was a little bit older. He came to help out. And Jerry saw something in George. And Jerry allowed him to get involved in an investigative Bible study – George wasn’t a Christian – and, little by little, George got interested, and he began to investigate the Scriptures.

And for him – are you ready for a thought? What a thought, that someone would love him. What a thought, that he mattered to someone, and not just someone, but God. What an amazing thought, that he had value, not because of what he looked like on the outside, not because of what he had done, or hadn’t done, or what he’d accomplished, or how well he did in school, but, just because he was George, he was valued and loved and important. And this message of the grace of God, and the gospel of Jesus Christ, finally gave birth to a new life in George.

And I saw George at the end of the school year, and I headed off, and he headed off. And we came back, and I met George about four or five months later, and, without exception, he was very different. He was cogent in his thinking, and some of the wackiness was sort of gone. I was trying to figure out what was going on. He went somewhere with Jerry – and I cannot tell you all the details, but he went to some seminar, or some conference, where someone was teaching about Scripture memory, and he went ballistic.

And so, by about Christmastime, I happened to be talking to George, and he had these 3x5 cards, about this thick, in his pocket. George had the book of James memorized. George had the book of John memorized. George had the book of Colossians memorized. George was finishing up the book of Matthew. And it was like, “George, what are you doing?” And it was literally – you know those extreme makeover shows? It was like into, it was like, Is this the same guy?

And you’d talk with him – and I could make it a long story, and it would really be fun, because it is so amazing, but all I can tell you is, George ended up on the floor with all the fraternity guys – and he was one of those nerdy-type guys that everyone would like to make fun of.

George’s life changed so much, and George had such wisdom, and God changed him as he continued to memorize the Scripture, that, soon, the fraternity guys – the super cool dudes, guys going out and doing all this stuff – they were lining up at his door, because George had this sense of what God was doing. And he was counseling them about their girlfriends, and counseling about issues when your parents break up.

And pretty soon – and this is gospel truth – about another six or eight months, I remember talking with George, and I was not only not embarrassed, it was like, “George, you think you and I could get a little time? Just hang time, you and me?” “Sure, Chip.” And I would go, and I would meet with George, and I would just ask him questions.

And it was like I have never in my life, ever seen a transformation in about a nine to eighteen-month period of time, that revolutionized a man’s. And he was so – can I say this? – beautiful. He was so beautiful on the inside, I no longer saw the features. And I no longer saw the loss of hair. And the little accent became almost attractive, and drawing, instead of a repellent. George Dzindra life, he became one of the key people in this entire ministry, and he became someone that we wanted to be around, because he renewed his mind at a level like no one I’ve ever met.

I was teaching that illustration with another passage, about three years ago, and I got an email: “Hi. My name is so-and-so Dzindra, and my husband’s name is George. And you can’t be that same Chip Ingram from West Liberty State College, can you? Because George was saying that he was involved in a college ministry with some “Chip Ingram,” but you’re on the radio, and, well, my husband’s a pastor now.” And, you know what? I just, man, I just, I can’t even type. “Dear…I’m the same Chip Ingram. And you’ve got to know, I had no idea what happened to George after graduation. Your husband has inspired me to walk with God, memorize Scripture, and take seriously what I put in my mind, like no other human being I’ve ever met.”

Here’s what I want to tell you: Your life can change. All that baggage, all those struggles, all those thoughts. You are a product of your thought life. Wherever you are today is a product of how you have been thinking. And here’s the deal: Wherever you’re going to be next week, next month, next year, next decade is going to be about how you start thinking right now.
I want to give you some very specific ways to learn to think great thoughts. Okay? I’m not going to leave you with, Oh gosh, I’m going to try real hard to think great thoughts. Or, I guess I’m going to have to memorize the books of Matthew, James, Colossians. It’s a good idea, but I doubt if many of us are going to go there overnight.

So, what I want to talk with you about are seven areas to cultivate great thinking. I’m going to touch on them, and then, at the end, I’m going to give you a little game plan. I believe it’s really, really crucial that we think great thoughts.

We need to think great thoughts about God. I’ve just given you one verse. Now, I will say, for you second milers, if you had a 3x5 card somewhere, you could say, “Think great thoughts about God,” and then, when no one’s looking, you could write, “Romans 11:33.” And by the way, I only put “33,” but you might want to put all the way to 36, because it’s hard to stop. “Oh, the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable” – how unsearchable – “is God’s wisdom and His paths beyond finding out! Who has known the mind of God? Or who has been His counselor? Who has given anything to God that He should repay him? For by Him and for Him and through Him are all things.”

What if that was the kind of God you worshipped? What if you thought there was a God who knows all things, His ways are mysterious – they’re beyond finding out – and you began to think a high, accurate view of God? And, yes, you can learn it from books like Tozer, but I think, first and foremost, the depths and the riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God…do you know what wisdom is? The definition of wisdom, wisdom is: God does, and brings about, the best possible results, by the best possible means, for the most possible people, for the longest possible time. “Oh the depth of the wisdom.”

Anything you’re going through in your life right now, you worship, if you know Jesus, personally, you worship a God…if there were an easier, lighter, better way to orchestrate what He’s doing in you and through you, He would be doing it that way. The wisdom of God tells you He’s bringing the best possible results, by the best possible means, for the most possible people, for the longest possible time.

Second, though, is, we need to not only think rightly about God, we need to learn to think rightly about ourselves. Learn to think great thoughts about yourself. And you say, “Well, what do you mean?” I mean, learn to look at yourself the way God looks at you.

And here’s my key verse, Zephaniah 3:17: “The Lord your God is with you.” Isn’t that comforting? He’s with you. Well, if He’s with me, what can He do? “He is mighty to save.” He’s powerful. He’s with you. And whatever needs you have, He has the power, and ability, to save. Yeah, but would He help someone like me? “He will take great delight in you.” Would you circle the word delight in your notes? Just to get involved? “He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Would you put a little squiggly line under rejoice over you?

You see, we’ve got to think great thoughts: about God, about ourselves, and about others. I love the passage in 1 Samuel 16:7. It’s the prophet has been told, Jesse, one of his boys was going to be the next king. And, so, the prophet goes, and he sees this big hulk of a guy, and he’s good looking, and a head taller, and he thinks, Well, I guess this is the guy. And the Lord speaks to him and says, “Samuel, do not consider his appearance or the height of his stature for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at things the way a man looks at things. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

And you might jot down 2 Corinthians 5:16. 5:17 – we kind of know the verse: “If any man be in Christ, new creature.” In 5:16, he says, Paul will say, “Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, now we know Him thus no longer and therefore we judge no man according to the flesh.”

See, I want to learn to look, and think about other people the way God thinks about them. And so, I have little 3x5 cards, because I can’t keep things straight, and I write them. And I don’t try and memorize them. I used to try and memorize them, and I felt all this pressure. I just read them over, and I end up memorizing them. I don’t know why, but it just seems a little less legalistic, and a little less like I’m banging myself in the head. I just read them over, just read them over, and enjoy them. And I have a 3x5 card that says, “I long to look at people the way that You look at people, Jesus. Not by their outward appearance, status, ability, or wealth, but by their heart.”

The fourth area to think great thoughts about is your life. You need to think great thoughts about life itself. Notice what Jesus said about life. He gives us a great thought in Luke 9:23 to 25. He said to them, remember Peter? Peter has just finally got it really right. “Who do men say that I am?” “Some say Elijah. Some say this. Some say a prophet.” “Peter, who do you think?” “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Bang! “You win today, Peter. Way to go. You’re right.”

And then, He shifts it, and He talks about, Now that you know who I really am, “Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will save it.”

Think great thoughts about life. Life is not about getting, accumulating, controlling, manipulating, and having my way, so that I create a false sense of security, and I can project and think that I’m a “somebody,” significant because I have done this, and own this, and can do that. Life is about following Jesus, and losing my life, but not because I’m dumb. It’s because I’m smart. If He’s the Author of life, then I’m going to lose, or surrender, my life, and by that I’m going to gain it. And then, He gives us the greatest reason: “For what good is it for man to gain the whole world, and yet forfeit his very self?”

Fifth, think great thoughts about your future. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.’”

What would happen if you thought great thoughts about the future? Is God sovereign, or not? Is God good, or not? Is God all-wise, or not? If there is a good God, who has a good plan for you, and He’s all-knowing, and He’s all-wise, He has the power to deliver it, and orchestrates all things on the face of the earth, you can face the future with confidence. You can face the future with hope.

Think great thoughts, next, about the past. Paul would say, in Philippians 3:13 and 14, “Brothers, I don’t consider myself yet as having laid hold of it. But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for that which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Would you underline forgetting what lies behind? And then, underline, I press on. And underneath that, I want you to write a little note that says, “I will forget about my past failures, and I will forget about my past successes.”

What’s in your closet? What is it that, down deep, you spend an inordinate amount of energy covering? A divorce, a separation, an abortion, some stealing, some lying? Think great thoughts about your past. Psalm 103, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has God taken your sin from you.” Isaiah 1, “Though your sins – though my sins be like scarlet, He’ll make them white as wool. Though they be as red as blood, He’ll make them white as snow.”

You’re clean. You don’t have to do penance. You don’t have to feel like a second-class citizen. Put your past behind you. That is not you. You are fresh. You are clean. You are born again. You have been adopted into His family. You have an eternal inheritance. You have the Spirit of God living. You are a son. You are a daughter. You have a future. You’re heaven bound. And He loves you. Think those thoughts. Don’t be paralyzed by the past.

But I would encourage you, also, don’t think about past successes, either.

Finally, think great thoughts about challenges. How we think about the difficulties and the adversities that come into our lives really shapes us.

James says some very hard words, but they’re said to a group of people that are in a lot worse shape than most of us. First book written in the New Testament. It says, verse 1 of James chapter 1 is to those scattered abroad. They’re Jewish Christians, and they’ve come to know Christ, and a lot of people are becoming human torches, and persecution has hit.

And some people have said, “I believe Jesus is the Messiah.” And their parents said, “Guess what, you’re no longer my son. You’re no longer my daughter. And now, you don’t have an inheritance. You don’t have a place to live.” And the persecution came. And they’re spread out. And they’ve lost homes. They’ve lost relationships. They’ve lost their jobs. They’ve lost their companies. Everything! They have a broken world. It is not working. It’s shattered. Their financial security, their relational security – everything that helps us stay solid is gone.

So, what would God say to a group of people like that? “Consider it.” The word is reckon. “Think thoughtfully; ponder.” “Consider it pure,” or, “all joy” – what? – “when you encounter various kinds of trials.”

The word for “various trials,” there, has the idea of, “those things that come from the outside, those circumstances, those uncontrollable things.” Consider it – choose, literally – choose to consider it joy when adversity and difficulty come into your life.

And you’re thinking, Why? “Knowing” – and the word for knowing, here – circle it, if you would – it’s not an intellectual knowledge. There are two words in the New Testament for knowing. One has to do with knowing by way of experience, and the other is knowing intellectually: Two plus two is four. I know that’s true. This is knowing by way of experience. “Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let” – or allow – “endurance to have its perfect result, that you may be perfect” – or mature –I like the version you have right there – “perfect” – or mature – “and complete, lacking in nothing.”

James would say to a group of people who, guess what, in our vernacular, their marriage broke up. They had a grandchild commit suicide. They financially thought everything would be okay, but now, wow, some things really went in a way that – and you’re in a situation where you’re thinking, I never dreamed I’d be where I am now.

And you know how you think great thoughts about your adversity, your challenge? I choose, because God is in control – I choose to consider this pure, or unmitigated, joy. A feeling? No. It’s a choice. Why? Because what I know is that God, being all-knowing, good, wise, and powerful, what I know for sure is, this adversity is going to do something, and this testing is going to produce endurance.

Like a weightlifter. You put the weights on, and you start doing the dips. And, like a weightlifter, if you keep doing that, guess what’s going to happen? Over time, those muscle fibers begin to split. Any of you guys that have lifted weights know that’s why you rest the second day. Then, it heals. And how does it heal? Stronger.

God brings weights into your life – sovereignly, lovingly, wisely. Internal weights, relational weights, financial weights, family weights. Painful things into your life – it’s a fallen world. He allows them to happen, but He’s going to work them for good. But your response – how you think about it, your attitude – will make all the difference.

We’ve got to think accurately, great thoughts about God, ourselves, our future, our past, our challenges, because you are a product of your thought life.

How do you get there? Let me give you a little to-go package, and we’ll wind it up. Has anyone got the idea that, possibly, memorizing and meditating on Scripture is going to be a part of this deal? And you know what? You don’t have to kill yourself on this. You can write them on 3x5 cards. I think The Navs still put out the Topical Memory System. I started with just sixty verses. They have thirty topics. You memorize two verses.

And then, I just started making up topics of my own. And then, you do have to review them for four or five weeks, or they won’t stick. And then, you’ll get so many that it’ll get a little overwhelming, and some of you get a little arrogant. You get a few hundred verses, and you’ll think, Oh wow. And then, God will bring some humbling things into your life, and you’ll realize, It’s not memorizing the verses. I’m sorry, Lord. Knowledge puffs up, love edifies. But then, you’ll just develop a little system.

And as God really speaks to you, write it down, and you memorize it, and you use those little times where you’re kind of bored. And you will find that God will renew your mind, and transform your life. I encourage you to use your drive time. I listen to teaching tapes. I listen to worship. But, sometimes, I just turn it all off and be quiet. Think great thoughts.

What if you just took these seven areas? What if you took these seven areas that I gave you, and the single verse that I gave you, and you wrote, “Think great thoughts about God – Romans 11:33.” And you wrote it down, and you made seven cards. And, in the next couple of weeks, you just started in on them, and just read them over, and began to think.

And then, add little thoughts of your own on the back of the card, about thinking great thoughts. Do you know what would happen? I’m just telling you, in ten days, your emotions will start to shift. Why? Because right thinking produces – what? Positive emotions, which lead to wise behavior, which leads to fruitful consequences.

Second, or, third, actually, is: listen to great music. Thinking great thoughts – it’s interesting. I’m reading through The Daily Walk. I did it for years and years and years, and then I haven’t done it. And Theresa and I thought, You know, let’s go back and read through The Daily Walk Bible.

And, so, we’re, we thought, well, now we’re grandparents, so we’re thinking like grandparents. So, we got a Daily Walk Bible for all of our kids, and all of their wives, and everybody. And, so, I don’t know if they’re all doing it, but, at least theoretically, we could be moving through the Bible together. It feels warm and ooey-gooey in this grandfather’s heart. Just right here.

So, it’s interesting, though, that I’m reading through. Moses, after all the turmoil, and when he wanted the people – the second generation, after they blew it – did you notice what happened? What God told him to do? God said, “Moses, round 1, they didn’t do so well.” That’s a very loose translation of that phrase. “But we need to do better this time. So, what I want you to do is, I want you, after you review it, put it into a song.” And we have the Song of Moses.

And in my Bible, it’s pretty small print, but it’s three or four columns. He put the entire history of Israel, and the greatness of God, and redemption, and deliverance, and who God is, and who we are, and what He did, and what His promises are, and he put it in a song. I don’t think there’s anything, probably, that is an easier way to memorize, or to also get good things in your mind, than by listening to great music.

And, finally, take those walks in nature, and hear God’s voice. One of the things that I’ve done that’s been very helpful – I learned this from my wife – was, memorizing random Scriptures can be very helpful. But I’ve tried to look inside my heart, and my life, and my family, and I realize I’ve got a half a dozen issues. Maybe I’ve got twelve, but I’ve only learned about six or seven, so far, and they’re reoccurring. I get overextended. Why? Well, down deep, I want to prove myself. I don’t believe God really loves me. Okay. Well, you can just keep being a workaholic, or you can keep pleasing people. And you can just have a quiet time over here, and not make the connection.

And so, what I finally did, years ago, I said, You know something? This is the truth I need. And so, I wrote down, “I feel compelled to please people, to be on the go, to make this happen, because I, down deep, don’t believe I’m significant in Your eyes.” Period. Stop. And then, turn the card over. And then, put a Zephaniah 3:17 on the other end.

And just take – what are the issues in your life? Is it temptation with lust? Memorize a verse on that. Is it struggles in a relationship? Is it temptation with the media? But take the area where you struggle – and we all do – and write out your bad thinking, and then, write, “Stop.” In fact, I even made a little stop sign. Mine’s very artistic. And then, flip it over, and put the truth.

And what you can train your mind to do – you can train your mind, because you read that one, and you say, “Stop.” When, unconsciously, those thoughts come, because you’ve been programmed, the “stop” will come, and then God will bring the verse to mind, and you can break out of destructive habits, and your life can totally change. Does it take time? Yeah. Does it take work? Yes. Take focus? Absolutely. Take discipline? Mm-hmm. Those are fruits of the Spirit. Think great thoughts, and you will experience a great God, and a great life.