Putting on our thinking caps

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I was driving to the gym today, listening to Lecrae and allowing my mind to wander a bit.  After daydreaming about becoming a famous Christian hip-hop artist with my friends Shiwan and Micah, my thoughts drifted to my childhood.  Uncertain as to the cognitive bridge between Lecrae and my childhood, I followed my stream of consciousness to the river of childhood recollection.

I recalled a time when my dad took my brother and me to a World Wrestling Federation (long before the days of World Wrestling Entertainment) event.  He had purchased (or stolen) floor seats for the three of us.  My brother and I were avid wrestling fans as children.  Many of our Saturdays were spent wrestling each other, imagining that we were wrestling superheroes with finishing moves.  As a fan of Big Daddy Cool Diesel who would later become the New World Order's Kevin Nash, I would often "power bomb" my little brother into the mattress and win the match.  My dad would sometimes get in on the action, always designing each match for my little brother to claim the victory with a "Stinger Splash."  I remember one time my brother jumped off of my dad's shoulders while my dad was standing up.  His head smacked into my abdomen and nearly knocked the wind out of me.  My brother clearly went for the pin and won.  My dad felt badly, laughing at the coolness of my brother's finishing move but he was also concerned that I was okay.  Despite my pain, I was impressed by my brother's agility.  My dad brought that story up for years to come and if he and I were still talking, he would still bring it up.  These details might seem silly or foolish to you, but they constitute the few good memories I have with my dad and my brother.

Lecrae, I am not sure how your music got me to these memories.  Perhaps it is because your music creates an environment where the Holy Spirit loves to dwell.  I remember reading a book by John Eldredge called Waking the Dead, where John mentions that we should not ignore the memories that come to the surface of our consciousness when we are before the Lord and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit.  John mentioned that we should allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us about these memories, to heal, teach, forgive and so on.  As these memories came to the surface, I felt a longing in my heart.  "God, I long for good times with my dad and my brother again."  Unfortunately, those times cannot happen due to circumstances that are beyond my control.   However, it is important that I speak to God about these longings.  It is vital to my emotional and spiritual well being that I do not bottle up these emotions and desires.  Rather, it is wise and spiritually healthy for me to admit they exist and speak to the Lord about them.

In our holy and reverent view of God, we often forget that He listens to our prayers and thoughts just like a good earthly father does.  He does not have a "holiness strainer" in which only the holiest of thoughts or the specifically worded prayers reach His throne.  We can be honest with Him and enjoy the intimacy that comes with a Father and child relationship.  This is one of the many implications of Christ's words that we ought to have childlike faith.  I have listened to little children pray for the welfare of all the puppies and kitties in the world.  God hears those prayers just like He hears the holiest of supplications.  I find rest in the notion that God lends His ear to my puppy and kitty prayers, that He hears me recall stories of my childhood and that He identifies with me in my suffering and longings.  In return to my prayers, He speaks to me.  He grants me peace.  He blesses me with rest for my soul.  He eases the pain of desires unmet.  In the beauty of the green pastures beside still waters, He restores my soul.

When memories surface in your mind, we shouldn't ignore them.  We shouldn't flee from them.  Some of them may be directly from God.  "My child, I want to heal you here" or "I would like to discuss this matter with you."  Some of these thoughts might be from the enemy, accusing you of being a certain thing or perhaps telling you that you'll never change.  He might bring up sin from your past and say, "How can a person who did that be loved by God?"  We should not ignore that thought either.  We can speak the truth of the Gospel, that the blood of Jesus has paid your sin debt and that you are a new creation in Christ Jesus.  We can then pray that the truth of the Scripture would fill our hearts and minds.  Perhaps it will not be the Lord or the enemy who brings a thought to the surface but a natural sequential order of thoughts will occur.  My thoughts of touring with Micah and Shiwan were a natural result of listening to Lecrae's music, not divine revelation from God (at least I think).  We cannot ignore those thoughts either.  We bring all thoughts, the good and the bad, to Jesus.  We ought not flee from a certain thought or desire because it may be painful to encounter.  Those are the thoughts we should especially bring to the heavenly throne of God's love.

When I was discussing this blog topic with Lauren, she challenged my initial supposition that all thoughts that come to the surface out to be examined.  She said, "Some thoughts are to be pushed far from your mind." And she is right.  One of the caveats here is that accusatory and sinful thoughts ought not to be dwelt upon.  We ought not focus on those things that will injure our relationship with God.  The primary lesson here is to bring all thoughts to the Lord, not away from Him or His standards of righteousness.


Lauren can recite the following verse without stumbling.  In fact, she can do it so quickly that I often wonder if she is speaking in tongues.  She's not (unless I am interpreting them).  She just knows the importance of having the Scripture engraved in our hearts and minds.  I will end with the highly relevant verse she reminded me of tonight.

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things" (Philippians 4:8 NIV).


True story.