Monday Morning Devotion-March 13, 2017
God-Ideas
We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5
One God-idea is worth more than a thousand good ideas. I've been thinking about that statement made by Mark Batterson. I have no reason to doubt its accuracy. I'm happy to believe that. It gives me a certain degree of comfort. Now the next thing is how do I figure out what is a God-idea instead of just a good idea?
Well, first of all I think that we all believe that ideas are important. The late Dallas Willard, who was a brilliant man, great author, preacher, man of God wrote this in his book "Hearing God": "We truly live at the mercy of our ideas; this is never more true than with our ideas about God. Those who operate on the wrong information aren't likely to know the reality of God's presence in the decisions that shape their lives, and they will miss the constant divine companionship for which their souls were made."
So if we are at the mercy of our ideas, which govern the way we think and even more important the way we act, then God-ideas are important to us. They matter because "your beliefs influence how you feel about yourself and others. They determine how you feel about what your life ought to be like and how you act on those feelings. Your deep-seated beliefs, particularly the unexamined ones, shape what you think and how you perceive reality." (www.christiansimplicy.com)
It seems like following God-ideas is the way to go in living our lives. That's a no-brainer. Okay, now that is settled what's next? Might be a good idea to figure out how we can discover good God-ideas.
Here are some ways:
1) Explore the testimonies of other Christians who have preceded you. Study the ones you admire. There are over 2,000 years worth of examples out there. What beliefs did they live by?
2) What about current model Christians you know or can observe? Look at their lives. Are they honest good, kind people? Doers of the word, not hearers only?
3) Examine your own beliefs, character and life. Where are you in terms of the beliefs you live by and how you feel God wants you to live?
4) Test the ideas you discover that come along in this process. How do they reflect your outlook? Do you treat others differently? Are you more at peace and secure in God's love?
And here is the first and most important thing: "Never believe anything bad about God." If an idea is shaky or borderline it is not a God-idea.
Dallas Willard (The Spirit of Galileo) wrote: "Knowledge grows and information increases when we test ideas and beliefs against the realities they presume. This is true in all areas of life, including the personal and the spiritual."
Let me share one God-idea and the zillions of people who have been affected by the faithfulness of the man who followed it: The man was George Washington Carver.
Back about the turn of the 20th century the South was suffering from a pesky little old boll weevil that was destroying the cotton crops. The farmers had been planting cotton year after year stripping, the soil of its nutrients and making it ripe for the boll weevil to wreak havoc.
Carver, who possessed one of the most brilliant scientific minds of the day introduced the idea of crop rotation…not planting cotton every year but planting peanuts every other year instead. There was not as big a market for peanuts, certainly not as big as for cotton. Consequently, the peanuts started rotting in the warehouse and the farmers started complaining.
So here's what George Washington Carver did: He usually got up at 4 a.m. to walk through the woods and talk with God especially about the mysteries. He felt that God was directing him to a particular passage from the Old Testament book of Job that he had read. "Speak to the earth and it will teach you." Job 12:8
He felt that God was somehow directing him to study the peanut further. Carveertook it inside his laboratory and separated it down into it's basic components (water, fats, oils, gums, resins, sugars, starches, and amino acids. Then as he put them back together under temperature and pressure he discovered why God made peanuts.
Batterson writes: "On January 20, 1921, Carver testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on behalf of the United Peanut Association of America. He was told that he had 10-minutes to present his case.
One-hour and forty minutes later Carver had mesmerized the Committee with his description of the myriad uses of the peanut. He was told that he could come back anytime he wanted and take as much time as he needed.
One God-idea that the All Mighty shared with a concerned George Washington Carver fostered the creation of three hundred uses of the peanut. Batterson says: "The next time you shave or put on makeup, the next time you stain the deck or fertilize your garden, the next time you enoy a good old-fashioned peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, remember, all of those trace back to a man of faith, on a four a.m. walk with God who was rewarded with a major God-idea that has benefited mankind in many ways.
And just to get you started seeking your own God-ideas from the Creator here is one other story: Mark Moore had a passion for changing the world through helping one malnourished child at a time. I know you have seen the heart-breaking pictures of those children who don't have enough or barely anything to eat and are just skin-and-bones.
Mark Moore did something. He took a God-idea to help the helpless and discovered RUTF, which is the most important discovery ever to cure and treat malnutrition. It is easily digestible for those whose stomachs have shrunk because of malnutrition. And it's main ingredient is "peanut paste." The God-idea given to George Washington Carver lives on and is ositively affecting millions and millions of lives.
Is that enough incentive for you to seek out your own personal God-idea that the Heavenly Father has awaiting you?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for God-ideas. Please make them an integral part of our lives.
Author's note: Plan to spend some quiet time with the Lord this week and see what God-idea is waiting to bless your life.