Recently I was challenged to recognize my first thoughts
upon rising in the morning. The purpose is to determine how my thoughts impact
my life. That challenge caused me to recall a time that I would often wake up
thinking, “I am too tired to face all I have to do today. I can’t do it!” Now
there is a recipe for a life of defeat! As I learned to let God change the way
I think, my first thoughts of the day changed from defeat to anticipation. Now I
am more likely to say, “Thank you, Lord, for another day filled with the
blessing of knowing You are walking with me, giving me all I need to do to
fulfill Your plan for my day.”
There is a Deceiver who will hi-jack our thoughts, like he
did mine for years, and destroy the victory designed for our days if we don’t
learn to identify the difference between God’s Truth and the counterfeit truth
that we find in the world.
As parents, it is imperitive that we recognize the
difference between real Truth and real deception. Often we look to the “experts”
for how to accomplish that. When I was raising my first 2 kids, it was the era
of Dr. Spock who touted the philosophy that children should be allowed to
express themselves without being directed and shaped by adults. A decade later,
when I was raising my next 2, Spock recanted his teachings, realizing we had
raised a generation of self-centered, undisciplined people with no moral
compass. I’m glad I knew the Truth back then!
My point is, when we look to people to show us truth we will
not have a constant, irrevocable source of truth, because people change. Philosophies
change. Societies change. Cultures change. The saying, “Hindsight is always
20/20,” should tell us that we don’t know squat about life without the Source
of Universal Truth.
For this reason we, as parents, must be students of the
Word, because that Truth is eternal. It has never changed. It was written by 40
different people who lived on 3 different continents, writing in 3 different languages
over the span of roughly 2,000 years. The authors range from shepherd to
military leader to architect to physician to cup-bearer to poet to historian.
It was written from palace, prison, wilderness and exile. The authors did not
meet at Starbucks to compare notes or corroborate stories yet the same common theme runs throughout all 66
books that comprise the Bible.
The message we find woven through all of Scripture is the
TRUTH that Creator God made us in love, with a purpose and we are to honor and
worship Him by allowing His Truth to guide our lives. From Eden to 2017 the
universal theme of humanity is to rebel against His Truth, create our own truth
and go our own way, becoming a society of individuals who are confused, self-absorbed,
hopeless, lost and defeated. The other thread in this Divine tapestry is GRACE
that will do whatever it takes to reconcile His lost children to Himself.
Parents, will you begin 2017 finding the Truth that God
longs to speak into your life? Will you let go of the deceptions that control
your thoughts, decisions and relationships?
Perhaps we should recite the Truth in which God desires us to live each
morning until the false ideas die away and our default is the Truth in which
God created us to live. Try this as you start your day…
“This is a new day for me to walk in the Truth. I will make
my time with God my first priority so that I can discover the Truth He has for
me. I am a student of the Word of God and will dedicate myself to the Truth I find
there. I will say “NO!” to the one who draws my thoughts away from the Truth. I
will embrace the fact that I am a unique creation of Almighty God, made for a specific
purpose and empowered by God to fulfill it. I will shine the light of Truth so
my children can see the path God has for them. I will embrace God’s command to love
my spouse and honor them with my words and deeds. I will be a beacon of hope to
others because I am living in Your Truth. I will allow the joy of the Lord to
be my strength as I walk through this day. I will grow in wisdom as I surrender
my thoughts to You. I will live in the Truth of the many blessings You give me
daily and I will have a thankful heart.”
"Do not live as the world lives, but let God transform you by changing the way you think."
Romans 12:2
"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life."
Psalm 143:8
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