Teenage years of Jesus Christ
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Disciplining Your Thinking
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
The third aspect of maturity involves our thinking. Paul wrote, “When I was a child…I thought as a child.” When he became a man, he “put away” immature thinking. He began to think like a man instead of a boy.
Does the Bible give us instruction concerning the maturity of our thinking?
What is the difference between the way a child thinks and the way a man thinks? In Paul’s instruction to Titus, he encourages the young preacher to exhort the young men to think properly, to mature in their thinking: “Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded” ().
What is the difference between the way a child thinks and the way a man thinks? In Paul’s instruction to Titus, he encourages the young preacher to exhort the young men to think properly, to mature in their thinking: “Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded” ().
A mature mind is a sober mind. A sober mind in the Bible means a disciplined mind. What Paul is saying in is, ‘When I was a child, my mind was undisciplined. Then when I became a man, I began to discipline my thinking.’
The mature mind is a disciplined mind. God commands us to control our thoughts, to discipline our minds, to think correctly.
“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”—.
Maturity is correcting and disciplining our thinking, capturing every sinful, evil or unproductive thought and banishing it from our minds. It is making our minds obey Christ. This is the challenge of teenage years.
Which kinds of thoughts should not be allowed in a mature, disciplined mind?
Daydreaming Versus Diligent Thoughts
“I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.”—.
The word “vain” means desolate or empty. It is unproductive thinking.
King David, a man after God’s own heart, said that he hated empty thoughts. It made him mad when he caught himself daydreaming. He did not make excuses for it but treated it as a weakness of character.
Nothing is as undisciplined and unproductive as a wandering mind. David realized that a healthy, intelligent mind was a gift from God, a gift to be used to accomplish things for God.
Children daydream. In our Christian school, I often walk by a desk and observe an elementary student just staring off into space, completely lost in another world. In front of him sits his unfinished assignment. He is wasting time and accomplishing nothing.
I clear my throat and bring him back to the here and now. He glances at me sheepishly and once again dives into his work. I smile to myself. Daydreaming is part of childhood, a characteristic of immaturity.
A mark of maturity is the ability to concentrate fully on a project until it is complete. The ability to focus is a valuable commodity in the workplace and one of the characteristics of a productive employee. In school, discipline, more than intellect, is the difference between the A and B students.
“The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness.”—.
“Diligent thinking” is the opposite of “daydreaming.” Diligent people use their minds to create and produce; they are always planning, evaluating or meditating. They discipline their minds to work, not wander. It is the kind of thinking that separates the mediocre businessman from the truly successful one, the kind of thinking that enables one man to get twice as much done in a week as the man who is undisciplined.
The Humble Mind Versus the Proud Mind
I registered as a freshman in college when I was seventeen years of age. One of my first-semester Bible classes was taught by a godly professor, Dr. Carl Laurent. On the very first day in his class he gave us an unusual assignment. We were required to look up and write down all of the verses in the book of Proverbs that contained any form of the word “pride.” The assignment was due the next day.
I rushed to my dormitory after class to begin my assignment and quickly finished it. The next day Dr. Laurent stood before the class and challenged us to stand and read any verse that we had found in which God had anything good to say about pride. No one stood. I reread the verses before me and found just the opposite was true. God hates pride. As a young man, it was one of the most valuable lessons I was ever taught.
“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering.”—.
“Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”—.
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
“Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
“But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
“And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”—.
One of the weaknesses of youth is pride. Dr. Laurent, recognizing this, did the incoming freshman class a favor by impressing upon our minds God’s view of this sin. Anytime we think of ourselves more highly than we ought, we should immediately confess this sin to God, personally rebuke ourselves, and banish such thinking from our minds.
“For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”—.
Sober or disciplined thinking refuses to allow men or women to think more highly of themselves than they ought. We ought to think of ourselves as children of God, because we are. We should think of ourselves as joint heirs of Christ, as overcomers, as beloved of God; because we are all these. But remember, these things are given to us by God. The moment we take credit for what we are or what we have accomplished, we commit the sin of pride.
The proud teenager says, “I can do all things.” The humble teenager says, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Evil Thinking Versus a Pure Mind
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”—.
The Devil will try to convince you that it is impossible to have a pure mind in this day and age. This is one of his lies. The commands of God are accompanied by the grace of God to carry them out. Nowhere is a disciplined mind more necessary than in the battle against wicked thoughts. Consider these Bible principles:
1. God knows our thoughts.
“O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
“Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.”—,.
2. Wicked thoughts are an abomination unto the Lord.
“The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord.”—.
3. Wicked thoughts grieve the heart of our Lord.
“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
“And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”—,.
In counseling young men who are frustrated because of their lack of victory over wicked thinking, I always share the above truths with them. Most already know all three. These truths will not give you victory over wicked thoughts, but they ought to give you the desire to have the victory. You must care about what God thinks and how He feels. Christ’s question to Peter, His backslidden disciple, rings across the span of time: “Lovest thou me more than these?” Well? How about it, young person? Christ awaits your answer.
The secret to overcoming wicked thinking is to learn the scriptural practice of meditation.
The Power of Bible Meditation
“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”—.
Every teenager needs to have committed to memory. Read carefully the first three verses:
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
“But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”—.
Let me describe most Christian teenagers that I meet today. Spiritually, they are like a tree planted in the desert—producing little or no spiritual fruit. They are spiritually withered—no spiritual energy, no passion, no victory. Why is this true? No meditation!
The Bible commands us to meditate upon three subjects:
1. The Person of God
“I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
“My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord.”—,.
2. The Works of God
“I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.
“I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of all thy doings.”—,.
3. The Word of God
“O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.”—.
We must be disciplined to think upon these things when wicked thoughts enter our minds. Good is stronger than evil. Overcome evil with good. A mature Christian learns to meditate on the character and Person of God. Start by writing down all the different titles God gives Himself. Why is He known by these things? Think! Meditate!
Next, write down a list of the mighty works of God—Bible stories that tell of His great miracles: the dividing of the Red Sea; manna from Heaven; turning water into wine; blind men given sight. Read one of these stories each morning, then meditate upon it all day long. What about the works of God in your own life?
Finally, we are commanded to meditate on the Word of God. As a teenager, I developed the habit of writing a verse of Scripture on a 3x5 card and carrying it with me. My goal was to memorize a verse a day. What I found out was that this single verse was also my greatest protection against the “fiery darts” of wicked thoughts that Satan hurled at me each day. I cannot begin to explain how this began to change me.
Any young person who makes the decision to begin to live like Christ, to think like Christ, will face the battle of his life.
“I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.”—.
If, after reading this book, you decide to accept the ultimate challenge of living like Christ, do not think that this decision will go unnoticed by Satan. For many of my teen years, I lived a defeated Christian life. I was saved and faithfully attended church, but in my personal Christian life I was a failure—a failure in my walk with God, in personal holiness, in my ability to stand for Christ, and especially in my thought life. I grew more and more disgusted with myself. Down deep I wanted to please the Lord, but I just couldn’t seem to transfer that desire into action.
“For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.”—.
For a few years, that could have been my life’s verse. Many times I went to an altar to make the decision to do right but over the course of the next few days would again find myself floundering in defeat. I knew that the battle was being lost in my thought life.
Disgusted and tired of living a lie, I sat down one day and made five adjustments that changed my life.
1. I decided that I would make Christlikeness the ultimate goal of my life. I would never again settle for anything less.
2. I set my alarm clock an hour earlier each morning to study my Bible and pray.
3. I left the house each morning armed with a Scripture and a song. I would write down a verse on a 3x5 card and memorize it and meditate upon it during the day. I would then pick a song out of our hymnbook to sing throughout the day. With these, I would do battle with Satan over my thought life.
4. I disconnected the radio in my car. You will never have victory over wicked thoughts while listening to the wrong kind of music.
5. I dissolved several relationships. When I was around certain people, it seemed almost impossible to do what was right. I am not blaming them; but for me to do what was right, these relationships had to be dissolved.
Of these five decisions, the single most helpful one was the decision to carry around a portion of God’s Word. This was my defense against the constant attack on my mind.
You do not have to walk around as a defeated Christian! Saturate your mind with the Scriptures! Plant your mind by the rivers of water. Discipline yourself to meditate on the Word of God.
During His teenage years, Jesus increased in stature. He matured. In order to become like Jesus, put away childish things. Develop excellent speech. Deepen your biblical understanding. Discipline your thinking.