Caffeine Free Discipleship

Thanks for a great, Starbuck's and Red Bull - free class. A guy from work, who ran the lake with us a couple of weeks back thought I'd be interested in switching to this new, Fruit of the Spirit flavored energy drink. Good stuff.

Throw A Lasso Over Your Wandering Mind

we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
II Corinthians 10:5

During your own time with the Lord, as you read your Bible, does your mind tend to wander?

Do you have a hard time concentrating on what God might be wanting to tell you through his Word?

If so, throw a lasso over your thoughts by maintaining a journal.

Over the past several years, I've developed this habit and believe me, it wasn't easy at first because as we all know, good habits are hard to start and easy to quit and bad habits are easy to start and hard to quit. For me, the key is to keep it simple.

After reading a passage or a few chapters ....

- I choose a verse and write it down in my notebook.

- I then write down how the verse impressed me.

- Finally, I create a title that captures the gist of what I wrote down.

Here's an example of one of my journal entries from a few years ago (in my notebook I don't write the italic parts I show here):

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Date: June 21, 2000

Title: My Hand Steadied by God's Hand

Best thing I marked today (reference): Genesis 49:24

Passage: "But his [Joseph] bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob..."

How it impressed me: If I want my aim in life to be steady, I need to ask to Lord to place his hand on my hand.

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As you can see, I kept it real simple and that is how I usually do it. Other times, I write much more down (as the Spirit moves me).

When I read the Bible with the intention of finding something to write down, I ALWAYS find something that God wants to highlight for me and sometimes I don't discover what that is until I actually begin the process of writing. A friend once described it this way: "Our thoughts untangle themselves as they flow over the lips and through the fingertips."

Searching a passage to find an impression for my journal helps me to throw a lasso over my wandering mind and corral it into focus. What a simple, tremendous tool. Ron Klug, in an article entitled, "How To Keep A Spiritual Journal," said: "A journal is an aid to concentration, a mirror for the soul, a place to generate and capture ideas, a safety valve for the emotions, and a powerful tool for spiritual growth."

Lastly, as our course book Growing Strong in God's Family points out, this discipline .....

- gives you one thought to reflect on each day, rather than a vague assortment of ideas.
- may help you see trends in God's dealing with you over a period of days or weeks.
gives you something specific to pray for yourself and/or share with others.
- helps to sharpen and organize your mind as you sift through your reading in search for something standing out in high relief above the rest.

Press on and keep fightin' the Good Fight.

- Bill

"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" -- Psalm 42:1,2