Sharper Thoughts

June 19, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

John Maxwell said, “Some of my best thinking has been done by others.” I believe that what Dr. Maxwell was saying is that our creative thoughts can become even better when someone else helps sharpen them.

King Solomon, a pretty fair thinker himself, said the same thing when he wrote, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17). In other words, you need some pretty sharp people to help you think better thoughts, sharper thoughts.

Check out what John Stuart Mill wrote in On Liberty—

“Nor is it enough that he should hear the arguments of adversaries from his own teachers, presented as they state them, and accompanied by what they offer as refutations. That is not the way to do justice to the arguments, or bring them into real contact with his own mind. He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them; who defend them in earnest, and do their very utmost for them. He must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form; he must feel the whole force of the difficulty which the true view of the subject has to encounter and dispose of; else he will never really possess himself of the portion of truth which meets and removes that difficulty. Ninety-nine in a hundred of what are called educated men are in this condition; even of those who can argue fluently for their opinions. Their conclusion may be true, but it might be false for anything they know: they have never thrown themselves into the mental position of those who think differently from them, and considered what such persons may have to say; and consequently they do not, in any proper sense of the word, know the doctrine which they themselves profess.”

General George C. Marshall, chief of staff of the Army during World War II, created the largest army the world had ever seen (13 million soldiers) in the shortest time possible. General Omar Bradley tells of being called into Marshall’s office in 1939, a week after the outbreak of war in Europe. Marshall was disappointed in Bradley, “You haven’t disagreed with a single thing I have done all week!” Marshall wanted to make sure he was doing his very best so he was calling on another sharp comrade to challenge his thinking.

Do you have some sharp people around you? Do you listen to those who disagree with you? If you do, your creative thoughts can become even sharper.

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Are You Out Of Your Mind?

June 17, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

I love this thinking thought from James William Fulbright—

“We must dare to think ‘unthinkable’ thoughts. We must learn to explore all the options and possibilities that confront us in a complex and rapidly changing world. We must learn to welcome and not to fear the voices of dissent. We must dare to think about ‘unthinkable things’ because when things become unthinkable, thinking stops and action becomes mindless.”

After you have identified the negative thoughts and you have started thinking creatively, you have to be able to take it further. You have to be able to think unthinkable things.

Too many times we don’t let our minds begin to go into “unknown” places, so we look at everything through the lens of what we’ve experienced in the past. Our thoughts are “in our minds.” When Albert Einstein began to propose that there were more dimensions to our universe than scientists had previously thought, people had a hard time following his reasoning. Even those in the scientific community thought he was “out of his mind.”

One of Einstein’s favorite books was called Flatland. In this book, Square lives in the two-dimensional world that Sphere came to visit. Because Square’s world only has length and width (no height), he can only see the part of Sphere that was on his level. As Sphere moves through Flatland, Square can see different parts of him, but he can never see all of him at the same time. If Sphere moves above Flatland, Square can still hear his voice but cannot see his shape.

So, too, with us. Many times we only perceive what moves through the “line of sight” we have previously experienced. We are—so to speak—in our minds.

But look what God has in store for you—

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him. (1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT)

So here’s how Scripture teaches us to pray—

I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.(Ephesians 3:16-20 NLT)

God wants to do infinitely more than you can ask or think. He wants to show you new dimensions of His greatness and His love—notice that Paul goes out of his way to list four dimensions (wide, long, high, deep) even though we live in a three-dimensional world.

Here’s the question: are you OUT of your mind or IN your mind? In other words, are you only looking for things that you know can happen, or are you believing God for things that are completely OUT OF YOUR MIND?

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The Thinking Book

June 10, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

“The book to read is not the one which thinks for you, but the one which makes you think. No book in the world equals the Bible for that.” —James McCosh

My kids recently returned from a PK (Pastor’s Kids) Retreat weekend. Our Michigan Assembly of God District Youth Director Jeff Kennedy coordinates this weekend every year. A fun part of their time together is a take-off of Jeff Foxworthy’s “You might be a redneck if…” routine. It’s called “You might be a PK if….” Here are a couple of my favorites—

  • You might be a PK if you’ve used the church sound system as your personal stereo.
  • You might be a PK if National Take Your Kid To Work Day is any day you don’t have school.
  • You might be a PK if you’ve ever taken a bath in the baptismal tank.
  • You might be a PK if you occasionally take Sunday afternoon naps on a church pew.
  • You might be a PK if every answer your Dad gives you comes from the Bible.

Cute! And, for the most part, dead-on accurate!

But that last one got me thinking: do I do this? I sincerely hope (not just because I’m a pastor) that the answer is always “yes.”

I agree with James McCosh that no other book in the world compares to the Bible for challenging me to think. In the King James Version of the Bible, there is a phrase that James uses about God’s Word: he says that we should “receive with meekness the engrafted Word” (James 1:21).

The more I read the Bible, the more its principles become engrafted into my thought patterns. The more I think about the Bible, the more my attitude about life conforms to God’s attitude. And the more my attitude conforms to God, the more my actions and words align with the Bible.

You don’t have to read much every day for God’s Word to make a difference in your life. If you are honest with the Holy Spirit as He illuminates a passage of Scripture to you, you will see how God’s Word can be applied to your life today.

“The Bible is…a chart by which the Christian sails to eternity, the map by which he daily walks; the sundial by which he sets his life; the balance in which he weighs his actions.” —Thomas Watson

To be successful make sure you are looking often at the chart, the map, the sundial, and the balance of God’s Word.

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Say What?

June 3, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

I know that you had a very important conversation yesterday. And I also know that you are going to have an extremely important conversation again today. The question is not if you had the conversation, it’s whether or not you heard the conversation clearly?

The most important conversation you will have today is the ongoing conversation you will have all day long with yourself.

But are you clearly listening to what you are saying to yourself?

I was helping Betsy grade some papers from her fourth-grade students and I noticed something consistently appearing on one of her student’s papers. This student performs well academically, and Betsy says her behavior in the classroom is “angelic.” So I don’t think it’s coincidental that this young lady talks to herself positively all day long. On her papers she writes notes to herself like “You R The Best” and “I rock!”

The way you speak to yourself matters.

The way you speak to yourself determines your attitude.

The way you speak to yourself will determine how you treat others.

Jesus said it this way, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. …[And] love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31).

The way you love yourself determines how you love others.

The way you speak to yourself determines your performance. Dr. James Hardy of the University of Wales says, “Athletes who talk to themselves in a positive way perform better. Thinking good thoughts isn’t enough you have to say them, either muttered or out loud.”

Some of you may be saying some really harsh things to yourself. Some of the things you say to yourself would earn someone else a smack in the mouth if they said the same thing to you.

Listen to what you are saying to yourself! Stop beating yourself up!

Maybe like Betsy’s student, you might even have to write yourself a note or two to remind yourself how valuable you are. You are one-of-a-kind—there’s never been anyone like you before, no one is like you now, and no one will duplicate you in the future.

Make sure that’s the message that’s getting through loud and clear today.

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A Healthy Breakfast

May 13, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

Health experts say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Your body has been without food (or fasting) during the hours you are asleep, so in the morning you are breaking your fast = break-fast.

Do you want to lose weight? Eat breakfast. Studies show that those who do best on their diets eat breakfast every morning.

Do you want to fire up your metabolism to burn more calories during the day? Eat breakfast. The way you stoke your body’s engine in the morning determines how it will run all day.

Do you want to maintain a stable blood sugar level so you don’t get sleepy mid-morning? Eat breakfast. A good breakfast regulates your insulin and blood sugar levels.

Do you want to learn more? Eat breakfast. Studies show those who eat breakfast regularly have longer attention spans and greater learning capacities.

What you put in your body in the morning determines the course of the rest of your day.

What you put in your mind in the morning determines the course of the rest of your day, too.

Even if you’re not a “morning person” your mind is highly receptive in the hours right after you wake up. So a healthy mental breakfast goes a long way toward how you will deal with the situations that face you throughout your day.

Just a few things to consider—

  • What’s on your wake-up playlist in the morning? Not-so-cheery headline news? Coarse radio hosts with crude humor? Music with lyrics that are not very uplifting? A harsh buzzer? Perhaps you could rethink your morning mental breakfast with something more positive and affirming.
  • How do you speak to yourself when you wake up? “Ugh, I just gotta get through today”? “I need a vacation”? “Grrr, I hate my job”? Try thinking instead of all of the blessings you have: a roof over your head, a bed of your own, clothes to wear, a family to love, and a family that loves you.
  • How do you speak to others when you wake up? “Leave me alone”? “<Grrrr!>”? Maybe you could serve others the good mental breakfast they need with some kind, encouraging words.
  • What fuel do you put in your mind? Talking heads on the morning TV shows? Your horoscope? Perhaps switching to something more substantial would help fuel your mind for the challenges you are going to face today.

The psalmist David had a God-diet each morning, “Let me hear of Your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting You. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to You” (Psalm 143:8, The Living Bible).

Jesus had a healthy mental breakfast, too: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed” (Mark 1:35).

So let me ask you: What’s your morning mental breakfast like? do you need to make a diet change? I think a few tweaks and you will begin to see some remarkable changes for the better! Try it out and let me know.

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Heart Food

May 4, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

I was running from meeting to meeting, and when I got done I was hungry. So a quick stop into a gas station for a Diet Pepsi and… well, my first impulse was to grab candy or chips. It took no small amount of willpower to make myself grab a healthier alternative.

One of the top rules for healthy dieting: don’t let yourself get too hungry.

Seriously, I know it sounds backward but it works. If you eat three smaller meals with three healthy snacks in between meals you will lose weight. Why? Because keeping the good stuff in you makes the bad stuff less tempting. Try it and let me know how it works for you, but it’s been working well for me.

But what about “heart food” or “thought food”? The Bible says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (Proverbs 4:23, New Living Translation).

If you don’t keep the good stuff in your heart and thoughts, the bad stuff becomes more tempting. And just like the junk food aisle in the convenience store is front-and-center, so are the “junk food headlines.” Swine flu … economic woes … earthquakes … war … these junk food headlines dominate and it’s so easy to snack on them unless you have some healthy stuff in your heart and thoughts.

Health experts say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. What about some healthy heart/thought food each morning? How about some healthy conversation time with God: “In the morning, O LORD, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation” (Psalm 5:3).

Then you could make sure you have a healthy heart/thought diet throughout the day: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).

And then how about a healthy bedtime snack: “I set Your instructions to music and sing them as I walk this pilgrim way. I meditate on Your name all night, God, treasuring your revelation, O God” (Psalm 119:54-55, The Message).

How’s your heart/thought diet doing? Are there any changes you need to make? Best of all, how about sharing with us some heart/thought diet tips that have worked for you.

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Poetry

April 30, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Just finished a nice book of poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson and I thought I’d share a few maxims with you—

  • “To be great is to be misunderstood.”
  • “Happy is the house that shelters a friend.”
  • “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”
  • “A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him, I may think aloud.”
  • “Beauty without grace is the hook without the bait.”
  • “Life is not so short but there is time for courtesy.”
  • “Beware when the great God lets loose a thinker on this planet. Then all things are at risk.”
  • “No man thoroughly understands a truth until he has contended against it.”
  • “In skating over thin ice, our safety is in our speed.”

If you haven’t read any poetry lately, I encourage you to give it a try. It sounds/reads differently, but the rhythm and pace sort of sings to your mind and heart as you read it. For Americans I recommend starting out with some American poets like Emerson or Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; for you Brits, try some Robert Browning.

Happy reading!

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