What’s on your mind: A consideration of opposite kinds of thinking

The wise King Solomon coined the aphorism, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7, KJV), in accordance with the inspiration of the Lord.  An online source indicates that the saying “not only embraces the whole of a man's being but is so comprehensive as to reach out to every condition and circumstance of his life. A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.”[1] Depending on the thoughts entertained, a man or woman will either think positively or negatively. Consequently, his or her life will be shaped for good or for bad.

On one hand, positive thoughts are powerful and praiseworthy. On the other hand, negative thoughts are nagging and do not help us accomplish God’s purposes. We must, therefore, choose our thoughts carefully. The Bible encourages us to think positive thoughts, i.e. “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, and whatever is lovely, [and] whatever is admirable...” (Philippians 4:8, NIV).

“A good man [woman] produces good deeds from a good heart. And an evil man produces evil deeds from his hidden wickedness. Whatever is in the heart overflows into speech” (Luke 6:45, TLB). Indeed, our speech is the result of our thoughts. The Lord sets a good example for us:

He never utters any untruth about us.

He never belittles or despises us, especially as we humble ourselves before Him. Instead, the Lord welcomes us into His presence and presents us as friends.

He dines with us and does not show disdain to our unfamiliarity or unpreparedness.

He longs to spend time with us and can’t wait to reveal more of Himself to us.

He has nothing to hide and He’s never too busy to hang out with us.

He daringly and dearly invites us:

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3, NIV)

---

[1]https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/As_a_Man_Thinketh

A story of the hymn, “I Need Thee Every Hour,” by William Petersen

You don’t often think of hymns being written by a thirty-seven-year-old homemaker from Brooklyn, but that’s the story behind this hymn. Annie Hawks was busy with household chores when the words came to her. Later she recalled the day, “I was so filled with a sense of nearness to my Master that.... these words, ‘I need Thee every hour,’ were flashed into my mind.” It was a bright June day, so she sat by an open window, picked up her pencil, and wrote the entire hymn. She gave the words to her pastor, who wrote the music and the chorus.

When evangelist Dwight L. Moody discovered the simple hymn and began using it in his meetings, the hymn became famous, much to the amazement of Annie Hawks, a simple homemaker from Brooklyn.

Scriptures: Psalm 86:1-4; Psalm 109:22; Philippians 4:19

Themes: Prayer, Meditation

Lyrics of the Hymn:

I need Thee ev’ry hour,

Most gracious Lord;

No tender voice like Thine

Can peace afford.

I need Thee, O I need Thee;

Ev’ry hour I need Thee!

O bless me now, my Savior,

I come to Thee.

I need Thee ev’ry hour,

Stay Thou nearby;

Temptations lose their pow’r

When Thou art nigh.

I need Thee ev’ry hour,

In joy or pain;

Come quickly, and abide,

Or life is vain.

I need Thee ev’ry hour,

Teach me Thy will,

And Thy rich promises

In me fulfill.

By ANNIE SHERWOOD HAWKS (1835–1918) Robert Lowry (1826–1899)

Reference for the Hymn:

Petersen, William. The Complete Book of Hymns (pp. 178-179). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition. 

A story of the hymn, “When We All Get to Heaven” by William Petersen

Retreats and conferences can be mountaintop experiences. Sometimes we come away from such a time and say, “Heaven can’t be much better than this.” Of course, it will be, but that was the feeling Eliza Hewitt and Emily Wilson had at the Ocean Grove Conference Grounds in New Jersey.

Eliza Hewitt was a Presbyterian and a schoolteacher. Emily Wilson was a Methodist and a pastor’s wife. They both lived in Philadelphia, but the time that they looked forward to was the time in the summer when they would meet in Ocean Grove. It was almost like heaven.

One summer when they got together, Eliza Hewitt brought along a poem she had written. She thought it might be a good song for their Sunday schools to sing. Since Emily was a musician, Eliza asked her to write the music for it. We may have mountaintop experiences here on earth, but we still look forward to the time when we all get to heaven and see Jesus. “What a day of rejoicing that will be!”

Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 4:17-18; 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18; 1 John 3:2

Themes: Heaven, Joy, Fellowship

Lyrics of the Hymn:

Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,

Sing His mercy and His grace;

In the mansions bright and blessed,

He’ll prepare for us a place.

Chorus:

When we all get to heaven,

What a day of rejoicing that will be!

When we all see Jesus,

We’ll sing and shout the victory.

While we walk the pilgrim pathway,

Clouds will over-spread the sky;

But when trav’ling days are over,

Not a shadow, not a sigh.

Let us then be true and faithful,

Trusting, serving ev’ry day;

Just one glimpse of Him in glory

Will the toils of life repay.

Onward to the prize before us!

Soon His beauty we’ll behold;

Soon the pearly gates will open,

We shall tread the streets of gold.

By ELIZA EDMUNDS HEWITT (1851–1920)

Reference for the Hymn:

Petersen, William. The Complete Book of Hymns (pp. 468-470). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

A story of the hymn, “Faith is the Victory” by William Petersen

In Batavia, New York, John Yates was the manager of the local hardware store. Shortly after he left the hardware store to become editor of a local newspaper, he wrote this hymn, “Faith is the Victory.” The key phrase is taken from the King James Version of 1 John 5:4, which says, “And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” 

The imagery of the hymn is drawn from several sections of Scripture. In Ephesians 6, Paul speaks of the Word of God as our sword, salvation as our helmet, and truth as our belt. And faith, Paul says, is our shield. The phrase “His banner over us is love” comes from Song of Songs, and his reference to “white raiment” in the last stanza comes from the book of Revelation, which says, “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment” (3:5, KJV). No doubt about it, newspaper editor John Yates knew his Scripture, and he knew that it is true that “faith is the victory.”

Scriptures: Ephesians 6:10-17; 1 John 5:4; Revelation 3:5 
Themes: Faith, World, Conflict 

Lyrics of the Hymn:
Encamped along the hills of light, ye Christian soldiers, rise,
And press the battle ere the night shall veil the glowing skies.
Against the foe in vales below let all our strength be hurled;
Faith is the victory, we know, that overcomes the world.

Faith is the victory! Faith is the victory!
Oh, glorious victory, That overcomes the world.

His banner over us is love, our sword the Word of God;
We tread the road the saints above with shouts of triumph trod.
By faith they, like a whirlwind’s breath, swept on o’er ev’ry field;
The faith by which they conquered Death is still our shining shield.

On ev’ry hand the foe we find drawn up in dread array;
Let tents of ease be left behind, and onward to the fray.
Salvation’s helmet on each head, with truth all girt about,
The earth shall tremble ’neath our tread, and echo with our shout.

To him that overcomes the foe, white raiment shall be giv’n;
Before the angels he shall know His name confessed in heav’n.
Then onward from the hills of light, our hearts with love aflame;
We’ll vanquish all the hosts of night, in Jesus’ conq’ring name.
By JOHN H. YATES (1837–1900)

Reference for the Hymn:
Petersen, William. The Complete Book of Hymns (p. 99). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

A story of the hymn, “There Shall Be Showers of Blessing” by William Petersen

As a teenager, Daniel Whittle was a cashier at the Wells Fargo Bank in Chicago, but when the Civil War erupted, he enlisted and soon became a soldier in General Grant’s Union Army. Just before he left, his mother put a New Testament in his kit, where it stayed unread. In 1863 during the siege of Vicksburg, in which nearly twenty thousand soldiers lost their lives, young Whittle was wounded and taken prisoner by Confederate troops. His right arm had to be amputated. In the hospital he finally discovered the New Testament in his kit and began to read it. 

One day an orderly came and told Whittle that a man was dying in the next room and needed someone to pray with him. Whittle protested. Just because he was reading his Bible didn’t mean he was a Christian, and he didn’t know how to pray. But because of the urgency of the situation, Whittle went to talk with him. When the man said, “Pray for me, and ask God to forgive me,” Whittle asked God to forgive his fellow soldier and then prayed for forgiveness for himself as well. Whittle got up from his knees and discovered that the soldier had died while he was praying. As for himself, Whittle had entered into new life; he had become a new creation. His mother’s prayers had been answered. 

Whittle wrote many popular gospel songs later in his life, including “There Shall Be Showers of Blessing.” This gospel song is derived from Ezekiel 34:26 in which God promises showers of blessing upon the land.

Scriptures: Psalm 72:6; Ezekiel 34:11-26; Zechariah 8:13 

Themes: Blessing, Revival, Prayer 

Lyrics of the Hymn:

“There shall be showers of blessing”:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing, 
Sent from the Savior above.

Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need:
Mercy-drops round us are falling, but for the showers we plead.

“There shall be showers of blessing”
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.

“There shall be showers of blessing”:
Send them upon us, O Lord;
Grant to us now a refreshing,
Come, and now honor Thy Word.

“There shall be showers of blessing”:
Oh, that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call!
By DANIEL WEBSTER WHITTLE (1840–1901)

Reference for the Hymn:
Petersen, William. The Complete Book of Hymns (pp. 319-320). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

A story of the hymn,“’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus” by William Petersen

Louisa Stead and her husband were relaxing with their four-year-old daughter on a Long Island beach when they heard a child’s desperate cry. A boy was drowning, and Louisa’s husband tried to rescue him. In the process, however, the boy pulled Mr. Stead under the water, and both drowned as Louisa and her daughter watched.

Louisa Stead was left with no means of support. She and her daughter experienced dire poverty. One morning, when she had neither funds nor food for the day, she opened the front door and found that someone had left food and money on her doorstep. That day she wrote this hymn.

Sometimes we mouth platitudes about our Christianity—glibly quoting Scripture and singing songs about trusting Jesus. For Stead, there was nothing glib or superficial about it. Her hymn remains a timeless reminder and comfort to all believers who have experienced this same truth: “Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him! / How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er! / Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! / O for grace to trust Him more!”

Scriptures: Psalm 91:4; John 14:1-3; Ephesians 1:3-5
Themes: Trust, Confidence, Commitment

Lyrics of the Hymn:
’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word,
Just to rest upon His promise,
Just to know “Thus saith the Lord.”

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more!

O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood,
Just in simple faith to plunge me
’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease,
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest and joy and peace.

I’m so glad I learned to trust Him,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that He is with me,
Will be with me to the end.
By LOUISA M. R. STEAD (1850–1917)

Reference for the Hymn:
Petersen, William. The Complete Book of Hymns (pp. 113-114). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Cultivating an Attitude of Thanksgiving Daily

Thanksgiving Day and days of corporate worship are excellent times for expressing our thanks to God. However, it does not mean we have to wait until those days show up on our calendars to say thank you to God. Enabled by God’s grace, we can learn to live thankfully everyday by cultivating an attitude of thanksgiving. King David knew this secret and encouraged others in Psalm 100 to “enter the gates of the Lord with thanksgiving.”

In Hebrew, the word for thanksgiving is תּוֹדָה (todah), and is derived from yadah. Its common form means “to acknowledge, confess, or praise.” Thus, todah in Psalm 100 is an acknowledgement or confession of God’s greatness. In God's presence, the worshipper extends the hand to praise Him for His greatness, and this is best accomplished through singing (Psalm 147:7). To cultivate an attitude of gratitude (thanksgiving), as we daily come before God, we must be ready to (a) give Him a sacrifice of praise in worship through singing; (b) acknowledge how great He is, as both the Creator of man and of the universe; (c) offer Him our all as an expression of our dependence on Him in all that we are, what we have, and hope to be in this life and the next.

What a big difference giving thanks makes in our lives! The apostle Paul in writing to the believers in Thessalonica gave them this exhortation: “In everything give thanks for this the will of God in Christ concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). It is probably easier to argue and complain than to discipline oneself into displaying an attitude of thanksgiving. Let us make it our goal to do everything without arguing or complaining—this is what will identify us as God’s children. We should not be like everybody else. Instead we should be different because it is the difference we make or show through our actions that will set us apart from the crowd.