discernment Archives

Why should we strive to think like Jesus?

“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” —1 Corinthians 2:16

I enjoy watching a lot of news, but each hour I spend doing so requires significant effort on my part. I’m learning to watch the news while making the effort to think about it the way Jesus would. I love the tagline for my husband’s Daily Article: “News discerned differently.” That tagline could be a spiritual guideline for all of us.

Television and internet news should now be considered forms of entertainment. Walter Cronkite has left the building. The cultural failures of the past decade are causing a lot of upheaval and restructuring for television networks today. Most news anchors are simply props, reading content produced by one side of an issue or the other. Truth has been exchanged for influence.

Because we can no longer expect to hear objective truth from a news source, we are tasked with discerning truth for ourselves. Everyone must accept the fact that we can no longer listen to a news anchor and know what to think and believe. There could be a few Walter Cronkites hired in the future if viewers and voters value and demand that type of reporting.

Until then, how should we be influenced by the right people? How should we view every news story we read or hear?

The answer to those questions is provided in God’s Word. We must strive to know what the Bible says, to obey God’s commands, and to live with God’s values. We need to choose to think like Jesus, our Lord.

Charlie Kirk tried to think like Jesus

I focused last week’s blog post on Erika Kirk’s recent interviews about the upcoming worship services for TPUSA, the ministry her husband began. One of my favorite things about Charlie Kirk was his thoughtful use of blunt, biblical truth.

Charlie Kirk wasn’t a perfect teacher, but I admired his efforts. Every Bible teacher, myself included, will trip over their personal motivations. Jesus didn’t have that weakness.

Jesus is the only perfect teacher we will ever know. His Holy Spirit was his great gift, given to empower God’s children to think his thoughts. The Holy Spirit should be the most powerful influence we seek, because he can help us think like Jesus. Paul told the believers in Phillipi, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). The verses that follow in Paul’s letter illustrate the many ways the Holy Spirit will cause us to think like our Lord.

How can we think like Jesus?

Paul told the believers in Phillipi:

Even Jesus, “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped” (Philippians 2:6). We cannot think like Jesus until we realize we cannot think God’s thoughts on our own. We live in a culture that pursues the wisdom and ideas of intelligent people and forget that God bluntly said, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (Isaiah 55:8). How will you step away from human ideas to seek God’s thoughts today?

Jesus, “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7). While Jesus lived “in human form,” he chose to humble himself “by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (v. 8). When Jesus chose to become a human being, he understood he would need to recognize that his humanity would require his complete submission to God’s direction. Jesus begged his Abba Father to spare him the suffering on the cross, but he was willing to obey whatever God’s perfect holiness required. Our own perfection will one day, in heaven, be the result of the humility Jesus understood was required for all humanity. Jesus took on flesh in order to be our example. How do you need to humble yourself today?

Jesus lived in human form to be our holy example. “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (vv. 9–11). We will think like Jesus when we humbly submit our ideas to our “highly exalted” Savior. He is, once again, fully God and no longer fully man as well. Any thought the Holy Spirit of Christ authors in us is perfect wisdom. Every other thought must be considered as possibly human.

Let’s pray for Romans 8:28 out of the daily news

The apostle Paul wrote Philippians while under house arrest in Rome. Some “news anchors” of that day said Paul should be viewed as shamed because of his imprisonment. Many teachers of that day taught that people should view Jesus the same way because he had gone to the cross.

After Saul of Tarsus met Jesus on the road to Damascus, he was compelled to repent and to align his life with God’s good purpose. We wouldn’t have the church growth from Paul’s missionary work if Paul hadn’t learned to submit his plans to God’s. We wouldn’t have the book of Romans and the rest of his theology in our Bibles if Paul and the early Christians had refused to think like Jesus.

Ananias wasn’t thrilled about going to visit the dangerous man named Saul, but he did! The Jerusalem Christians weren’t thrilled with Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles at first, but you and I are likely descendants of those Christians. Will we learn to value and think in ways that call us to God’s good and holy purpose?

You are able to think like Jesus

We must think the thoughts of our exalted Savior today. His answers are the only solutions that will enable his blessings.

God’s answers and his discernment are available to disciples who will humble themselves and submit their thoughts to God’s. The example Christ set for humanity is always perfect truth for our lives. Let’s pursue his humility and access his thoughts as we submit our own ideas to his perfection.

Maybe we will have another Walter Cronkite someday, but even that person’s words will be imperfect. Let’s seek the discernment of Christ as we turn on today’s news and then again when we turn it off. We don’t need to be entertained or influenced by slanted, human ideas. We need to be inspired by God’s perfect thoughts through the Spirit of Jesus.

We are able to think like Jesus. Will we humbly do what is necessary to obtain his thoughts?

Was that you God?

I think one of the most important spiritual disciplines is learning to discern God’s voice from all others. It’s not always easy, but it’s always important. As I’ve said before, it’s important to remember that when God speaks, it’s not a suggestion.

My favorite quote on the subject is by Frederic William Faber. But before I give you the quote, you need to know that Frederic Faber was born in 1814 and died forty-nine years later of kidney disease. He had been an Anglican priest who then converted to Catholicism. He wrote poetry and hymns, his most famous hymn being “Faith of our Fathers.” Faber suffered a lot in his short life from Bright’s Disease, especially toward the end. That fact alone gives a sweet perspective to his words about God’s voice.

Faber said, “There is hardly ever a complete silence in our soul. God is whispering to us well nigh incessantly. Whenever the sounds of the world die out in the soul, or sink low, then we hear these whisperings of God. He is always whispering to us, only we do not always hear because of the noise, hurry, and distraction which life causes as it rushes on.”

I often wonder what Faber would say about the “noise, hurry, and distractions” we have today.

When God whispers . . .

God speaks to his kids every day. I’ve often had widows tell me that they still talk to their husbands every day, even though they know he is in heaven. They usually tell me that cautiously, hoping I won’t think that is odd. I always tell them I think it is wonderful!

When you love someone, you want to talk to them. When someone has been a huge part of your life for many years, it’s normal to want to tell them about your thoughts and the important things that happen. That love relationship doesn’t change just because they aren’t present.

Mom and I talk about my dad quite often. Sometimes, I can “hear” what he would say in a certain situation, and it makes me smile. I listened to his advice, thoughts, and reactions for a lot of years, and I still do! I’m sure the same will be true of my mom one day.

God is my parent, too. I love him and often know what his word would say in a certain situation. The Holy Spirit is our constant reminder of his words, will, and compassionate counsel. God does whisper, “well nigh incessantly.”

Do you notice God’s voice in your daily life? When was the last time God gave you direction, knowledge, or understanding? When was the last time God said, “I need you to do something for me.”

When God whispers, is the noise of other’s advice too loud? Are the demands of a calendar, a job, family matters, or an illness creating too much distraction in your day?

When God whispers, there is no other voice that matters more. God whispers because that’s the voice that causes people to stop talking and grow quiet so that they are able to hear. I used to teach second grade, and if I wanted my class to grow still, I would lower my voice. My sons knew that I meant whatever I was saying when my voice grew quiet.

When God whispers, listening is the only option.

Some favorite verses to consider:

“And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper” (1 Kings 19:12).
“Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him’” (John 12:28–29).
Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it’” (Jeremiah 6:16).

The Faith of our Fathers

The beloved hymn of Frederick Faber is titled, “Faith of our Fathers.” I’m finishing a book right now that calls us to consider the “ancient paths” as our path for today. The ancient paths are full of wisdom, experience, and unchanging knowledge.

The hymn “Faith of our Fathers” ends with ancient wisdom for God’s people today. Faber encouraged God’s people to live with God’s high standards more than two hundred years ago. His words are still as important to God’s people today.

The lyrics say:

Faith of our fathers, we will strive
To win all nations unto thee;
And through the truth that comes from God,
We all shall then be truly free.

Faith of our fathers, we will love
Both friend and foe in all our strife;
And preach thee, too, as love knows how
By kindly words and virtuous life.

When I read those lyrics I thought, “Is that you God?” I knew his quiet whisper said “Yes.”

You can know God’s voice.

God speaks all the time. He loves us and wants us to know his thoughts. One of the best ways to discern God’s voice is to know God’s word. Scripture is the voice of God, speaking to us today.

If God preserved those words for us, they are holy truth. If you know God said something in a certain situation in the Bible, you can know what he would say in the same situation today. Anytime a passage says, “And God said . . .” you can know that as you read those words, you are listening to his voice. Allow those words to have the greatest impact on your thoughts.

God does speak “well nigh incessantly.” How often are you in a conversation with your Father in heaven as you read his word? Say a prayer? Walk through your day?

God wants you to know his direction even more than you want to have it. He is ready to speak. Are you listening, ready to obediently respond to his voice?

The Mind of Christ, Given to You

Every Easter I struggle to comprehend how Jesus was able to wait in the darkness, watching the torches descend from Jerusalem, knowing those soldiers were coming for him. When I am in Israel, the Garden of Gethsemane is the place I most often struggle with tears. I can see the gate in the city wall the soldiers used. Jesus could have escaped, but he chose not to.

Jesus experienced a struggle between his mind and his earthly body, so he prayed for the strength to remain in the garden. His mind, strengthened by God’s, enabled Jesus to wait. That process in the Garden of Gethsemane may be one of our most important lessons of Easter.

According to 1 Corinthians 2:16, “We have the mind of Christ.”

The mind of Christ gives a new perspective

Paul was writing to the church in Corinth. Let’s just say that those early Christians struggled to think and act like Jesus. The culture of Corinth was similar to our own, only worse.

Paul taught the Corinthian church one of the most important lessons in Scripture about the Holy Spirit. He said, “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God” (1 Corinthians 2:12).

When we think with the mind of Christ, we won’t think like the world. We will see things from a spiritual perspective and our views will change. We will understand things like Christ would and perceive situations with his thoughts.

When last did you watch the news and view those stories and images as Jesus would?

The mind of Christ authors our words

All of us have conversations that feel above our spiritual pay grade. I still get caught off guard sometimes. Someone is in great need, and God has given me an appointment to answer. There is a verse I try to lean on and teach others to lean on as well. It should be our prayer and our purpose in every spiritual conversation we enter into. Paul taught, “We impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:13).

This is a whole sermon, but I will teach that verse like this:

We don’t want to speak our ideas. Human wisdom will not lead people to know God.
We do want to pray for, and yield our minds to, the mind of Christ, his Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit will author our words, be our wisdom, and teach the truth that person needs to hear.
The key: Those who think with the mind of Christ will be able to interpret spiritual truths to someone else. And “you have been given the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).

Christ doesn’t always change people’s minds

Sometimes your Spirit-led conversations don’t change a person’s mind. That doesn’t mean you didn’t speak the thoughts and words God authored. If you were prayerful and allowed the Spirit to empower your mind and author your words, then “well done, good and faithful servant.”

You aren’t responsible for a person’s response to God’s truth. You are only responsible to speak the truth, led by the mind of Christ, his Holy Spirit. Paul taught the Corinthian church, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one” (1 Corinthians 2:14–15).

Jesus couldn’t convince the Pharisees he was their Messiah. We won’t convince everyone either.

The Easter story doesn’t end with the empty tomb

It may seem like Easter is over and it’s time to move on to other subjects. Christians rarely celebrate Pentecost as a holiday, yet it is the real ending to the Easter story.

The tomb was empty; Jesus was resurrected. But Jesus returned to teach his followers until his ascension. The ending of the Easter story was the beginning of the Christian movement in the world. At Pentecost, the disciples of Christ received his Holy Spirit. They received the mind of Christ.

You can think, talk, and walk with the mind of the Lord

It’s easy to feel like Jesus ascended to heaven and then left his work to his followers. He didn’t. Jesus didn’t leave his work to us; he went to heaven so he could do his work through us. The body of Jesus was resurrected, but then his mind, his Spirit, returned to indwell those who would believe in him.

Human beings don’t teach spiritual truths, speak spiritual words, or love people as Jesus did. Jesus teaches, speaks, and loves through the person who will yield his or her mind to the Holy Spirit.

Paul said, “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).

This week, maybe today, Jesus will give you a chance to speak to someone, or treat someone, like he wants to. Before you say a word, pray that Christ’s mind will do the talking and caring instead of your own. It could make all the difference.

We have been given the mind of Christ. In gratitude for Easter, let’s use it!

An important message from Joyce Meyer and King Solomon

It might seem strange to mention Joyce Meyer and King Solomon in the same sentence, but keep reading. Both people came to similar conclusions in their later years about the subject of prosperity. All of us can benefit from their words.

Recently, Joyce Meyer announced she had come to believe the Bible teaches a different message than what she had previously believed and taught. The Christian Post reported, “Popular televangelist Joyce Meyer has admitted that her beliefs in prosperity and faith were at times ‘out of balance.’ When bad things happen to people, such as the death of a child, Meyer said she now understands that it’s not because they didn’t have enough faith.”

What is the balance between faith and blessings?

King David said, “For the Lord is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).

King Solomon wrote, “The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22).

Jesus was preaching the Sermon on the Mount when he said, “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38).

David was offering a psalm of praise to God. His words speak of all that God is able to do, not all that God has obligated himself to do. We should define “good thing” as God intends, not as something we want it to be.

A proverb in Scripture is a word of general truth, not a promise. King Solomon was not saying that if God is blessing our faith, he will make us rich and without sorrows. Solomon was saying that God’s blessings are our wealth, whatever those blessings may be.

All of us can know the peace of God’s presence in our sorrow, but sorrow does not mean that God is not with us. And Jesus was not saying that whatever we give or do, God is obligated to return that gift or blessing to us.

If that were true, then why did Jesus, who treated others with perfect love, suffer persecution and death?

I appreciated Joyce Meyer’s recent words admitting that at times her message of prosperity was “out of balance.” It was a good reminder that we should all be cautious about the words we teach as well.

What is the prosperity gospel?

An article in Christianity Today provides this definition: “An aberrant theology that teaches God rewards faith—and hefty tithing—with financial blessings, the prosperity gospel was closely associated with prominent 1980s televangelists Jimmy Swaggart and Jim and Tammy Bakker, and is part and parcel of many of today’s charismatic movements in the Global South.”

The prosperity gospel has always been popular because it is a message we enjoy hearing. Those who preach that gospel are often popular and, quite frankly, wealthy. If a preacher/teacher wants to own a private jet and a mansion, it is probably a good idea to call it a “blessing.”

We want to believe that, if we follow their message, we will always be blessed with health, wealth, and happiness. And it is possible to use God’s word to create a prosperity gospel. But God’s word cannot be accurately taught using snippets of truth. Theology requires wisdom and knowledge of God’s entire Scripture.

Theologian John Piper provided this caution about the prosperity gospel and those who teach it. He said, “Look for the absence of a serious doctrine of the biblical necessity and normalcy of suffering, the absence of a doctrine of suffering; the absence of a clear and prominent doctrine of self-denial; the absence of serious exposition of Scripture; the absence of dealing with tensions in Scripture; exorbitant lifestyles of church leaders; and preachers’ prominence of self and a marginalization of the greatness of God.”

Each of us needs to listen to sermons and biblical teaching with a Berean church mentality. Scripture speaks of those believers saying, “They received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11). None of us will be able to stand before the Lord in judgment and say, “Well, the preacher said . . . .”

What do Joyce Meyer and King Solomon have in common?

Joyce Meyer and King Solomon both achieved great wealth and popularity in their lives. Both teach God’s word. Both are flawed human beings God used to bless others. But the strongest similarity is found in the wisdom each gained toward the end of their lives.

King Solomon amassed greater wealth than anyone in Scripture but, at the end of his life, he said, “I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:14).

Joyce Meyer said, “I’m glad for what I learned about prosperity, but it got out of balance. I’m glad for what I’ve learned about faith, but it got out of balance.”

The truth about prosperity

I hope Joyce Meyer will focus on teaching the entire truth of God’s word. Biblical theology is crucial to teaching others, and the so-called prosperity gospel does not prosper and is not the gospel truth.

King Solomon’s perfect teaching is found in Scripture and therefore reliable truth. I try to remember Solomon’s closing words in Ecclesiastes as a “north on the compass” lesson. At the end of his life, Solomon provided us with a message of wisdom that should benefit anyone who will take it to heart.

He said, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13–14).

If we live with Solomon’s wisdom, we will prosper in whatever circumstances God allows for our earthly lives. The gospel truth about prosperity is found in Romans 10:13: “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

In other words, if you are a Christian, you are blessed.