Becoming What You Think

“You’ll always travel in the direction of your thinking.”—T.D. Jakes

The psalmist asks, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?” Friday night, the surprising answer was, “I go with you everywhere, even to the football game, in ways that will surprise you…”

…Standing at the fence and watching the action on the field, my friend, who I often saw at breakfast downtown on Saturday mornings, asked if I was going there Sunday morning. I told him that by the time I got out of church, they would probably be closed. “Well I go there very early, when they open, before I go to church,” he replied. Suddenly, what was happening on the field went into the background—we had never had this type of conversation before. “I go to the early service because I have people to see.” Not his family or friends, but shut-ins. Every Sunday, for the past several years, my friend has shared communion with elderly saints who cannot get to church or who are all alone. Often, he discovers by the saint’s nonstop, one-way animated conversation that he was probably their first visitor of the week. “It’s incredibly rewarding, and I feel like I’m making a difference in some small way. Sometimes, those with Alzheimers don’t remember what the elements are for, but I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

And Jesus at the football game reminded me:

Better to be the Church than just go to church.

…The final five minutes of the game were so intense, the usual away-from-the-field activities of kids running around, playing soccer or football or tag, and of older folks socializing and talking about things other than football, momentarily froze. As I turned around and looked, “uh-oh” seemed to be everyone’s expression. The home team’s seemingly safe lead was suddenly in jeopardy, and the visitors were within striking distance of the go-ahead score. One final shot with less than 10 seconds to go: A pass into the end zone, up for grabs…intercepted by the good guys. The “enemy” had been defeated, and there was joy all around. But the real story was what happened the next morning. As I passed the football field on my way to the recycling center, I let out an audible, “Wow.” Members of the same team that had been victorious 12 hours earlier were not in bed savoring the moment but were back out on the field working on improving their game. A young team in a rebuilding program was thinking like winners.

And Jesus at and after the football game reminded me:

Rejoice in your victories but never become complacent, satisfied, or go on cruise control. Press on to know Him more.

Excellence in serving the saints and those in need and in persevering on the Journey requires many things, but it begins with the right attitude and saturating your mind into overflow mode by thinking the right thoughts:

“Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things—center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart.”—Philippians 4:7-9, Amplified

“You become what you think about all day long.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson