Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Thursday February 28, 2008

The other day I was talking with my publisher friend, Dave Caswell, and the subject of success in spite of adversity came up and as we talked Dave said, "You are aware Larry that our attitude of mind limits us more than any circumstances." Many of my friends will question this statement, but it is a fact. The Bible clearly states, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.." therefore most of us, need as Zig Ziglar used to teach, "a check up from the neck up."

The word "mind" is used 99 times in the English Bible and is referred to many times more. 2 Timothy 1:7 is a favorite of many, including me, and I find when I have failed to read and muse on this verse that I begin to lack in the qualities mentioned. This much used verse reads:

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

Years ago the Great Blonde wrote this verse on a piece of paper and handed it to me with the phrase, "Sound mind" underlined. She is one smart cookie. One of Nehemiah's secrets in the miracle of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem was amazing that the people had a mind to work.

In spite of truckloads of writing about the human mind very little is actually known. Most who study the brain which seems to regulate the mind state that we use about 5 to 10 percent of its potential. This is the primary reason Christians are instructed to rely on the mind of Christ when Paul writes; "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:" Philippians 2:5. To let, permit Christ’s mind to work in us according to the context means to operate with a mind of service, a mind of selflessness, a mind a of sacrifice for the benefit of others. You get the idea.

For years I listened to and read the material of Earl Nightingale, now passed. He wrote a little book called "The strangest Secret" and the idea behind the book was solidly based in Scripture though I do not believe Mr. Nightingale understood spiritual things in the way Bible believers do. His "Strangest Secret" was simply that men become what they think about. I now know that God protected me when I was in Junior High or I would have become a tall brunette teacher!!

Concerning the mind Earl also wrote in the same book:

"The human mind is the last great unexplored continent on earth."

Single mindedness is taught as a positive trait throughout the Bible and James, our Lord's brother taught that a "double minded man is unstable in all his ways." The idea in the verse is "focused" rather than "Scattered." Paul communicated this truth when he said, "This one thing I do." The focused mind will accomplish much more than the person who says, usually with misplaced arrogance, "I have a million ideas" on any number of things. Focus on one of them and get with it. As every dieter knows a waste is a terrible thing to mind and the phrase made famous by Lou Rawles, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste" is true beyond our wildest imagination. I am repeating a line from Charlotte Elliot's song, Just As I Am, "Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind; Sight, riches, healing of the MIND, Yea, all I need in thee to find, O Lamb of God, I come to thee." One man told me that he thought I put too much emphasis on the mind, that the scripture puts emphasis on other things. Yet he uses Just As I Am every Sunday. Go figure, perhaps my friend needs Timothy's "Sound Mind?"

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2008 Use with Credit

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