Questions

 Have you ever wondered how many questions you ask in a day?

Maybe it's just me but I'm kind of a nerd when it comes to trivia like this. Here's what I discovered:

Approximately 2 questions per minute, 40 per day and 70,000 per year. Unless, of course, you are a toddler, then the number jumps exponentially. 

We ask questions for various reasons: for knowledge, for clarification, for conviction, and because I'm an educator, to assist in learning. 

So let's talk about the Bible for a minute. The King James Version is home to 3,298 questions. Can you guess which book has the most questions? If you guessed Job, you'd be correct. Even though it is not the longest book in the Bible, it has the most questions coming in at 329. The others?

Jeremiah 195, Isaiah 190, Psalms 163, 1 Samuel 157, Genesis 149 just to name the top few. All four of the gospels together have 630 total. 

I'm sure some of you by now are saying, "So what?" 

If you have read the Bible at all, you may have noticed that God often uses questions as His primary source of imparting wisdom. Jesus himself spent a lot of time asking questions, answering questions and causing questions. God often asks questions He already knows the answer to. Case in point; Adam and Eve hiding in the garden. God obviously knew where they were but asked the question anyway (Genesis 1:9).

But let's get back to Job. There is one question in the very first chapter that causes the hair on the back of my neck to stand up every time I read it. "Have you considered my servant, Job." (Job 1:9) He is, of course, talking to Satan and effectively just put a target on Job's back. And Job's primary question is one that I'm sure we would all be inclined to ask given his same circumstances, "Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb?" (Job 3:11)

And then for 35 chapters, Job moans, cries and questions his very existence. Nowhere in those 35 chapters do we see God strike Job dead for asking questions. In fact, when God finally answers in chapter 38, he answers with questions...tons of them. God reminds Job of who He is through a series of questions that for the most part can all be answered with "Not me." "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?" (Job 38:4-5)

Although God's answer may seem like a reprimand, Job 42:12 says He blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. There is a difference between asking God questions and questioning God. God is not opposed to our questions. In fact, He welcomes them. 

How awesome is it that we serve a God that is so confident in His goodness, righteousness, blamelessness and integrity that His reputation isn't threatened by questions? Now that's a question I know the answer to. 

E + R = O

If you hate math, don't panic and don't quit reading. Here's the formula explained:

Events + Response = Outcome

Often the Events in our lives are beyond our control and sometimes they could be the result of our own bad choices. Sometimes the Es in our lives are good but we tend to dwell on the bad Es.  Unless you live under a rock and never come out, Es are going to happen. We can't change the Es.

Our Response, however, rests entirely on our own shoulders. We have complete control over our Rs so it behooves us to concentrate on that rather than our Es. The main reason being that our Rs determine the O (Outcome).

So what should our Rs be? Ephesians 4:31 gives us a list of inappropriate Rs:

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice."

When you look at this list, it's pretty convicting. I doubt many of us have participated in "brawling" lately but what about the rest? 

Bitterness, rage, anger, slander. 

Who of us has not harbored bitterness and anger against someone who has wronged us in some way? When was the last time someone cut you off in traffic and you had a bit of road rage going on? Anyone guilty of gossiping about someone behind their back? 

Ouch, ouch, ouch and ouch. 

And what is usually the Outcome? Bitterness, anger and rage only hurts us in the long run, especially if the offending party isn't aware that we are upset. And slander brings us down to a level where no one really wants to be. 

Then what should be our R? The very next verse tells us:

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

And what will our O be if we do what this verse tells us?

Romans 8:37 Overwhelming victory; 1 Corinthians 13:12 Clarity; 1 Corinthians 15:57 Victory over sin and death; 1 John 4:4 A greater spirit

E + R = O 

A formula for success if we  allow God to direct our Rs despite our Es. 

On Purpose Thinking

What if I said to you, "Don't think about what you are going to have for lunch."

What's the first thing you are going to do? Think about lunch, of course. Our thoughts can be hard to control. Our minds are a battlefield and more battles have been won in our minds than anywhere else.
I can physically choose not to do certain things. I can choose not to drink or smoke. I can choose not to watch R rated movies. I can choose not to get that second dessert. But when my mind gets involved, it becomes much harder. "One drink won't hurt." "That movie only has a couple of bad words in it." "I exercised this morning so that second dessert won't count." 

We can justify just about anything if we think about it long enough. We can build up scenarios in our minds that may or may not ever happen. We can take a simple, insignificant issue and turn it into a major problem just by mulling it around in our minds for a few hours. Or sometimes, it only takes a few minutes to create a proverbial mountain from the proverbial molehill. 

Have you ever looked at your schedule for the day and decided it was going to be a bad day before it even started? Our moods are directly linked to our thoughts. And it can become a self-fulfilling prophesy. We'll have a bad day because we've already convinced ourselves it's going to be. 

So what are we to do with this runaway train we call our minds?

Our minds are a battlefield. If Satan can control our minds and thoughts, our actions won't be far behind. We have to choose our thoughts on purpose. If we don't choose our thoughts, the enemy will make the choice for us. 

Our words begin in our thoughts. Self-talk is a powerful thing. Let's say your spouse irritated you this morning and you think about that all day. By the time he/she gets home that night, you explode on them because you have moved from irritated to full blown mad based on your self-talk. 

This is why God gave us Philippians 4:8:

"And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."

God has given us the ability to make choices about so many things in life, including our thoughts, and we must be responsible to make those choices carefully. 

On purpose thinking...controlled by the Holy Spirit. It is possible. 

2 Corinthians 10:5 "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (emphasis mine)