Looking for some inspiration I sat down with my Bible and an Easter egg.
What a fantastic combination!
It was fantastic until my caramel cream egg filling dropped on the page I was reading!
 Don’t worry.
I managed to clean it up…

I figured that something I should read was some of the stories leading up the accounts where Jesus was crucified. Figured it kind of fits really.
I mean, here we are a few days out from Easter…

You read that in the days leading up to Jesus death, there was a lot going on!
This was the time when Lazarus was raised from the dead. It was also when the famous story of Mary pouring perfume over Jesus and drying him with her hair happened.

And then you have a group of people really unhappy!
They don’t like Jesus.
They don’t like the fact he performs miracles that improve peoples lives. They ignore the fact that everything he seems to do benefits everyone else and not himself.

They said things like:
“Here is this man performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.” John 11:47-48
...the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him. John 12:10-11

So what was the deal here?
One word...Jealousy!
They were Jealous. And it clouded their judgment so much that were willing to kill people over it.
It didn’t matter what good had happened.
If the ‘good’ wasn’t benefiting them directly then they didn’t want it.

Jealousy is so powerful that it will take you and I places we will regret.
No one is immune from it, but we can all control it.
For me this has reminded me to watch myself, my motivations and my reactions. I don’t want to respond to things out of some jealous motive.

These stories remind that it doesn’t matter how much I think I know about God...jealousy will derail me.

Something to think about...

think

Where the mind goes, the man follows - Joyce Meyer
Which is a very simple yet profound truth!

I am reminded all the time about this in some way or another.
People tell me what they think about things. People tell me what the think of others sometimes. And people definitely tell me what they think about themselves.

It is an amazing thing this whole thinking thing…
The brain with its composition of mostly fat, water and electrical impulses, is extremely powerful.
Get the right combination of the above and you can split an atom or invent human flight. Get the wrong combination and you can seemingly ship wreck your life very quickly.

So what do we do?
Can you control fat, water and electricity?

One thing you can try is to take some hints from the ultimate thinking changer...the Bible. It gives me hope that I can change my thinking.

It says things like…
...train yourself to be godly. 1 Timothy 4:7
...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

Peter said in one of his letters published as part of the Bible ...I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 Peter 3:1

The point really here is this:
If you want your thinking to change you need to train or stimulate your thinking with something better.
For me that is very simply training my thinking with someone else’s thinking that is way better than what I can come up on my own. For me that is with God!
What God thinks about me, says about me, and speaks all around me has got to be my first port of call. I am training my thinking with God’s thoughts through His Word. Little by little I am letting His thoughts become my thoughts. I am trying to do it each day.
I take it that seriously. I think you should too...
It is worth it I think…

irony

For me there is a huge sense of irony to some of life right now…

Just in the last 24 hours we have a new video clip for the whole world to watch of a celebrity losing the plot over some missing paint and sponges.
On one hand it is a visual record of someone losing all self control and making a complete fool of themselves.
On the other hand, the producers of the show he is part of are now rubbing their hands together with glee, knowing that ratings will go up and they will get a big fat financial bonus.

It is like there is reward for something wrong…
It certainly got me thinking about me. As I watched part of the clip (and turned it off) I felt really uncomfortable about it. I don’t want to be the sort of person who gets some pleasure from others peoples misfortune or entertained by others character issues.

Maybe that is the point?
When you spend all your time looking at others and not yourself it can be easy to forget about you. You notice everyone else’s issues and not your own. You focus on what they can or can’t do. You can even become cynical and critical.

Jesus said one day to some people to ignore the speck in someone else’s eye and sort out the plank in our own eye. Simply meaning that we all have issues and things we are dealing with. But the most important thing is you focus on your own. Deal with your own stuff and get help if you need it.
The cool thing there is that is exactly what God loves to help us with!
Being entertained by someone’s speck will never help you! Going to God and asking for help and the grace to deal with our stuff...now that is a way better idea.

Something to think about…