Sound Mind Set

We want to spend the bulk of our time together in meditation on a powerful chapter that King David wrote. Today, our focus will be to understand who we are, we must first know that God is God and we are not. So much of the issues in our lives regarding our identity is when we try to keep ourselves on the throne when we were never created to sit there. Only our God. (Psalm 84 NLT) How lovely is you...

The apostle Paul wrote one of the most transparent passages about himself in Romans 7. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For...

Busyness and distraction are rampant in our culture. Listen to this story about Jesus and his two friends who were sisters. (Luke 10:38-42 NLT) As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the bi...

(Matthew 7:7-8 NLT) “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. These are the words of Jesus Himself. Notice his intentional use of the language—you will receive … you will find … the d...

Of the thousands of questions about our bodies that scientists have answered, there is a certain mystery that has never been successfully resolved: our fingerprints. Why do we have them? What’s their biological purpose? Years of research have not produced a good answer. The only fact that all scientists agree on is that no two people’s fingerprints are the same—even those of identical twins. Throu...

Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. And now for the beautiful side of the story, let’s skip to verse 21: So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening.  Then the Lord God made...

We all know today that the world and media want to tell us our value, our worth, and our identity. Let’s go back to the first pages of the Bible where God Himself speaks of human origin. (Genesis 1 NLT) Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small...

Psalm 139:13-16 MESSAGE Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;   you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!   Body and soul, I am marvelously made!   I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out,   you know every bone in my body;You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,   how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open...

The story is told of Sir Isaac Newton, the famous mathematician and scientist, who had a strong belief in God. One day, Sir Isaac went to a carpentry shop and asked the owner to make a model of our solar system. This model was to be to scale, intricately painted, and designed to resemble, as closely as possible, the actual solar system. Several weeks later, Newton picked up the model, paid for it,...

Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Yesterday we focused on embracing the feelings that freedom brings and living from that sense of security. In today’s passage, Paul directs us towards actions not feelings. He suggests 3 choices for us to make. Be joyful in hope. Another word for hope is expectant. Will you choose to show joy because your are expectant that...

Psalm 34:4-7 (NIV) I sought the Lord, and he answered me;    he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant;    their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;    he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,    and he delivers them. What does it mean to be radiant? The Psalmist says “tho...

Proverbs 3:1-12 NLT My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart. If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying. Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation. Trust in the...

Proverbs 2:1-8 NLT My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.  Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God. For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come...

LUKE 18:15-17 NLT One day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering him. Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who...

For our final day this week, we are going to read a tough passage, but we’ll also turn it around and end on a bright spot. Paul shared these words with Timothy in his second letter, chapter 3, verses 1-5: You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, di...

1 Timothy 6:6-12 NLT Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destr...

1 Timothy 6:17-19 NLT Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up...

Proverbs 23:4-7 NLT Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit. In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle. Don’t eat with people who are stingy; don’t desire their delicacies. They are always thinking about how much it costs. “Eat and drink,” they say, but they don’t mean it. The Bible never says that wealth i...

David stated in Psalm 24:1: The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. (NLT) People tend to either believe God created the world or He didn’t. And then if someone believes He did, the next step of faith is believing whether or not He is actively involved in the lives of the people walking on His planet. King David was clear. The earth belongs to God....

These are the words of Jesus: Mark 12:30-31 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these. We are told by Jesus to love God with all of us - heart, soul, mind and strength. That is not possible if we are living a fragmented and sp...

Today, we will be looking at the words of Jesus and what He had to say about money. Regardless of our financial circumstances, we can find some peace and hope in this often volatile area of life. The wording of Matthew 6:19-24 in the New Life Bible is intriguing. Listen to the words of Jesus … “Do not gather together for yourself riches of this earth. They will be eaten by bugs and become rusted....

Luke 10:38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to he...

One of the most fascinating conversations recorded in Jesus’s life was with the “rich, young ruler,” evidently a young man that “had it all.” Matthew 19:16-22 NLT Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” “Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you want to receive eterna...

Luke 5:15 "Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." This passage is in the middle of describing many things that were happening in Jesus's ministry. Healing leprosy, a paralyzed man, teaching crowds, and ministering to tax collector over dinner. Then right in...

Today, we close out our meditative walk in worship through the Psalms. Psalm 91 is popular for its incredible promises of God’s protection. Satan even quoted a verse from this passage in his temptation to try and get Jesus to jump off the top of the Temple to prove God would save Him. Whether we consider some of these phrases as literal or metaphor, the reality is that the greatest power we have i...