Daily Stop & Thinks

STOP AND THINK – If we want a new world, each of us must start taking responsibility for helping create it. (Rosemary Fillmore Rhea, late religious leader)

“The world we are experiencing today is the result of our collective consciousness,” Rhea said. We often criticize our “world,” and there is a lot to be critical of. But Rhea reminds us that our society is what we make it. We must take some responsibility for the way things are and work hard to bring change, rather than merely criticizing what we see.

So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. (Romans 14:12)

STOP AND THINK – To speak simply, you must think deeply. (A. E. Wilder-Smith, 20th century British organic chemist)

Another scientist, Albert Einstein, said, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” In a world as technically complex as ours, these are ideas that become increasingly important. Truths that are to be learned and applied by the average person must be thought through carefully and deeply so they can be explained and understood simply.

The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. (Proverbs 4:7)

STOP AND THINK – Make today a day where you take control of the one thing you can control…yourself. (Kary Oberbrunner, author and motivational speaker)

Some people seem to be “controllers.” They want to be in charge. No matter what you have planned, they have a better idea and will set about pursuing their plan. Perhaps it’s an attempt to make up for some lack of control they sense in their own life. And that really is the issue: self-control. It may take supernatural help, but we must learn to control ourselves.

Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city. (Proverbs 16:32)

STOP AND THINK – Behavior flows out of our belief. (Author unknown)
Plato said, “Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge.”

Undoubtedly, there is some truth to that. But how does that knowledge motivate us? What creates or controls our desires and emotions? Basic to our understanding of life and what really influences our behavior is our worldview, what we believe about reality.

The proverbs of Solomon: for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair. (Proverbs 1:1, 3)

STOP AND THINK – All paths lead to the same goal: to convey to others what we are. (Pablo Neruda, Chilean Nobel Prize winner for Literature)

It is true that what we are is more important than what we do. We need not only to see our activity but to understand what motivates us—what we really are inside. But surely, there is more to life’s purpose than merely to know one another’s true character. A higher goal is to know the true character of our Creator, to accept His grace, and to prepare to meet Him.

So we make it our goal to please [God], whether we are at home in the body [alive] or away from it [dead]. (2 Corinthians 5:9)

STOP AND THINK – The human heart set on sin is impervious to reason, never mind appeals to fairness. (Eric Metaxas, biographer, author, Christian apologist)

Whatever your definition of sin, Metaxas notes a common reaction when someone is confronted with his errors: defensiveness and resistance. No matter the arguments about right and wrong or the effects on others of one’s poor behavior, the offender seems impervious to criticism or logic. The result of constant misbehavior is the blinding of a sinner to truth.

Evildoers do not understand what is right, but those who seek the Lord understand it fully. (Proverbs 28:5)

STOP AND THINK – Have a critical eye rather than a critical spirit – It’s an attitude issue. (Tom Roy, former baseball player, coach, and author)

It’s important to view things critically, to spot error, notice inaccuracies, and find ways to bring change. It should be done, as Roy says, with a critical eye but without a critical spirit. The purpose of criticism is to make corrections and to seek improvement by encouragement and a gentle spirit. Otherwise, we will become cynical and foster poor attitudes and behavior.

The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit. (Proverbs 15:4)

STOP AND THINK – I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week, sometimes, to make it up. (Mark Twain, 19th & 20th century American author and humorist)

For some of us it seems that it takes forever to make up our mind. Which outfit should I wear today? Where should we have lunch? Should we go south for the winter or north for the summer? Procrastination in decision-making is a common malady, isn’t it? Yet, the longer we take to make up our minds, the less time there is to enjoy the decision.

Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

STOP AND THINK – Christians do not hope for something; they hope in someone. (John Stonestreet, Christian apologist)

In the western world today is Easter, the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, a fundamental Christian doctrine. The Bible teaches that if Jesus was not raised from the dead, Christian faith is in vain, worthless. But the evidence of His resurrection is overwhelming, and the believer’s faith in Jesus is a certainty, not mere wishful thinking.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. … Without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:1, 6)

STOP AND THINK – The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot! (Inspiration Line)

The older we get, the more time seems to race by. Yet it moves at the same speed all the time. It’s our conception of time that determines how we feel about it. And, for the most part, we’re in charge. Yes, we may have to punch a time clock, and we often have to comply with authorities who affect our schedules. But, ultimately, how we spend our time is our choice.

Since you call on [God] who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. (1 Peter 1:17)

STOP AND THINK – Conviction is worthless unless it is converted into conduct. (Thomas Carlyle, 19th century Scottish philosopher and essayist

We’ve all known someone who loudly proclaimed his or her beliefs but whose behavior sometimes made us wonder about those strong ideas. We sometimes say, as Carlyle might have, “What you do speaks so loud I can’t hear what you say.” We call that hypocrisy, and that is not a strong recommendation for one’s integrity. The Bible puts it in reverse:

Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. … Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. (James 2:17, 18)

STOP AND THINK – What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. (A. W. Tozer, 20th century pastor and author)

In our highly secular world many people may claim that they never think about God. But, in reality, it’s probably true that everyone does at some time or another. Tozer claims that at that time, what you think is critically important. You may believe He exists or you can deny His existence, but whatever you think will largely determine how you live your life.

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1)