Sky Links, 6-20-14

Photo: Spacebridge by longobord CC 2.0

God Calls You To Jump Off, When You Are Riding High, For A New Beginning 

Bill Yount wrote about, how stepping down from a ministry role when God says to, is like getting off the bull at a rodeo, after the eight seconds.  The dismount is going to hurt, but God will heal us; and staying on longer may be deadly.

Bill wrote:

In a vision, I was riding a rodeo bull. I knew in the Spirit that this bull represented my

favorite area of ministry. To my surprise, I had ridden “eight” seconds on the bull. I was given great honor and recognition by the crowd in the grandstands. The crowd was cheering and applauding what I had accomplished, and how my ministry had touched their lives.

But then something terrible happened–I couldn’t let go of the rope! My fingers somehow got stuck around the rope, and the bull that I had overcome began to throw me uncontrollably! I just could not let go (in rodeo terms this is called a “hang-up”). I must confess that I honestly wasn’t sure if I wanted to let go because of the thrill of the ride and the applause of the many people watching me and standing on their feet giving me a standing ovation.

Bill Yount: My ‘Eight’ Seconds Of Glory On A Rodeo Bull–A Word To A New Breed Of Champions!


Gifted Ministers Need To Be Jesus' Disciples

Worship leader Dave Foster wrote about how worship leaders need discipleship and character development.  God is after something deeper than mobilizing a gift in and through you.  God is also after more than you just learning to keep clean.

Dave wrote:

Over time, God has made it apparent to me that He was using the years of my life differently than I thought He would. He wanted me to learn to submit my hopes and aspirations to Him. He wanted me to be faithful in the small things. He wanted me to learn to follow and trust. He wanted me to become a worshiper who makes it to the finish line. God called me to abide with Him, recognize His voice and do as He says. He called me to be Jesus’ disciple with His character.

Dave Foster: You play Who You Are 


"What Would You Do if Money Was No Object?", is The Wrong Question

This question, although well intentioned is actually the wrong question.  The problem is that your thing might be totally selfish in that your wife or husband is not on board with it and it might not be good for your kids.

Andrew Hamilton wrote about this:

I think the question has the potential to imply that we are sole entities who function as

individuals and it doesn’t pay attention to the wider communal impact of our actions. If we genuinely value one another then we don’t simply ‘follow our dreams’ wherever that leads because we consider how it impacts others. 

True?

So I am pondering a better question. It needs to be one that doesn’t restrict dreaming and one that helps a person’s imagination fire up, but I wonder if the $ question is the wrong way to hit it?…

Andrew Hamilton: The Wrong Question 


The Renewing of Your Mind - Take Another Thought

Doug Addison wrote about, How To Transform Your Mind:

Did you know that it’s harder to keep asking yourself to not think a thought, but it is easier to give yourself something good to think about instead? It is actually hard to focus

on not doing something, but easier to focus on taking a positive action. When we grasp this, we are no longer struggling and beating ourselves up for thinking and doing things that are not good for us.

Renewing your mind and developing godly character involves more than trying to avoid sin or bad habits. If you continually focus on what you are not supposed to do, or on the negative thoughts and behaviors, then that is all you will be thinking about all the time. Eventually you will feel guilty for not being able to change. In the New Testament, Peter instructs us to set the focus of our minds on the positive things that are coming as opposed to negative thoughts.

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:13)

These are my notes on what, "take another thought", means:

If you are vexed with negative thoughts, take another thought. This is what I've heard Graham Cooke say. Take a bigger, more true, more positive thought... I'm thinking it's scripture-based, and send that thought down the path at the negative thoughts like a bowling ball down the lane at the pins.

I don't know what the consensus is in the psychological community, but what I've been told is that you cannot erase "bad" thoughts. You can only think new thoughts or restructure your thinking, so as to get a better perspective on negative thoughts, thereby diminishing or eliminating their power.

If you want to drill down deeper, on the issue of building new thought highways in your mind, I would highly recommend Arthur Burke's CD album of teaching and exercises, PTSD Restoring Dignity and Hope.  Check it out and order it here.