Let's Change Friday the 13th

I (Dawn) have never liked the superstition involved around a simple Friday—Friday the 13th.

Secularists give lots of possible reasons for mankind's fear of that day and why people think it's so "unlucky."

Two examples:

• On Friday the 13^th in 1307, a raid on the Knights Templar took place, essentially wiping them out.
• Judas was supposedly "the 13^th person at Jesus’ table" at the Last Supper before Good Friday when Jesus died. (That’s a stretch, right?)

Crazy, huh?

I say, let’s turn this “unlucky” day into a day of “Unparalleled Praise.”

Stop right now and think of 13 character qualities of God—the members of the Trinity—and offer praise for them.

Worship Father God, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit for WHO THEY ARE!

Ponder their matchless:

• wisdom,
• mercy,
• kindness,
• power,
• presence,
• love, etc.

Scientists tell us what we think about will color our actions.

Dr. Caroline Leaf, in her book, Switch On Your Brain, wrote, "When you objectively observe your own thinking with the view to capturing rogue thoughts you in effect direct your attention to stop the negative impact and rewire healthy new circuits into your brain."

With directed—or rather re-directed—thinking, we can change our behaviors.

It's the concept of bringing into captivity every thought (2 Cointhians 10:5) and renewing our mind (Romans 12:2) so we will not conform our lives to the sinful and superstitious patterns of this world, but rather to God's will.

Consider these scriptures:

1. Whatever you sow, you will reap (Galatians 6:7-8). What are you sowing in your thoughts?
2. Turn away from foolish, evil thinking—don't be reckless and careless with your mindset (Proverbs 14:16)—if you want to please the Lord.
3. Don't feed on folly (Proverbs 15:14).
4. Take your thoughts "captive" to the Word of God (2 Corinthians 10:5), and stand against opinions that rise up against "the knowledge of God."
5. Make the best use of your time as a wise person, not "unwise" (Ephesians 5:15-16).
6. Don't waste time on Friday the 13th fears. God has not given His children a spirit of fear, but rather a "sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7) of power, love and self-control.

So forget about all the supposed "unlucky" superstitions. Don't give in to the mindless fears of Friday the 13th.

Instead, take time today to focus on and honor God.

It's a far better, far wiser and certainly more God-honoring way to use your thoughts and time.

Have you feared Friday the 13th in your past? Try the challenge to focus on 13 things about God's character today and watch this praise challenge feed your faith, not your fears!

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is a speaker and author, and the creator the blog, Upgrade with Dawn. She is a contracted researcher/reviewer for women's teacher and revivalist, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, at Revive Our Hearts, a blogger at TrueWoman.com, writes wiki-type posts at  Christianity.com, and is a regular columnist at Crosswalk.com. She and her husband Bob live in sunny Southern California, and she has traveled with Him in Pacesetter Global Outreach. They have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

What You Think Upon Grows

The simple messages of truth from Kolleen Lucariello's heart always challenge mine. In this Biblical Thinking UPGRADE, she asks us to examine the flow of our thoughts.

"After listening to a powerful message on my ability to overcome," Kolleen says, "I walked out of the Easter Sunday service, and within a matter of a few moments allowed a spirit of offense to overcome me."

Oh, how often I (Dawn) have felt a rush of negative emotions driving my thoughts, growing like weeds on steroids and leading to embarassment and regret. So what's the remedy?

Kolleen continues . . .

Looking back on the day, the offense was silly—and completely unnecessary, but the Lord used it in a powerful way to teach me a valuable lesson: what you think on grows.

Easter Sunday brought several visitors to our already large church, which is always a great thing. However, losing sight of the back of my husband’s head as we shuffled out among the crowd was not.

After he decided to follow our son-in-law to retrieve the grandkids without my knowledge, trying to find him in the midst of the large crowd was also not that great.

I tried to stand patiently and wait for his reappearance—truly, I did—but after several bumps, thumps and shoves in a very short amount of time, I began to feel heat rise from within me as my thoughts took a turn for the worst.

After an attempt to reach him on his phone failed, I wondered if I’d find him at the car; I did not, but what I did find was locked doors on a blustery-cold-snowy-twenty-degree day.

My thoughts began to grow aggravation. Quickly.

Standing outside the car, I called his phone one more time. He finally answered to discover, through a rather terse conversation, he’d best find his way to the car. NOW!

(Amazingly I was able to smile and sweetly greet people as they passed me in the parking lot. It appears all my snarkiness was reserved for Patrick).

When his head came into view, the intensity of my frustration grew; and when he asked, “Where did you go?” the thoughts I’d been holding inside came pouring out like the water shooting over a waterfall.

“Where did I go? Where did YOU go is the better question!”

Once we were both safely in the car, the fit was able to find its form in a full-blown tirade.

The takedown was swift, and the outcome embarrassing when, in the midst of my tirade, I suddenly heard, “Hello? Hello? Hello?”

Glancing down I discovered I had somehow called a gas company! The poor lady on the other end was listening to the fruit my thoughts had grown: annoyance and irritation.

And she was able to feast upon them while we were exiting our Easter Sunday church service.

Nice.

After wishing one another a Happy Easter, I decided it was best to apologize and then remain silent.

If we’re not careful, our thoughts can grow quite the outcome—in our lives as well as those around us.

A great example of this is found in 2 Samuel 13 where we find ourselves peering into the lives of Amnon, Tamar and Absalom, and the devastating aftermath uncontrolled thoughts can have.

As King David’s son, Amnon, thought about his fleshly desire for his half-sister, Tamar, lust grew. While his lustful thoughts grew, his cousin helped devise a scheme that planted deceptive thoughts. The result of his deceptive thoughts led to rape. Following her rape, her brother, Absalom, gave in to thoughts of revenge and murder.

Whatever you think on grows.

Paul must have recognized this when he told the Philippians to fix their “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” (Philippians 4:8, NLT).

Implanting this into our hearts may save us from embarrassment and heartache.

You upgrade your life when you:

1. Think differently!

Understand that while you “are human, you don’t wage war as humans do” (2 Corinthians 10:3, NLT).

2. Know the truth of God’s Word!

“We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments” (2 Corinthians 10:4, NLT).

3. Capture your Thoughts!

“We break down every thought and proud thing that puts itself up against the wisdom of God. We take hold of every thought and make it obey Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5, NLT).

May 31 is designated: Whatever You Think Upon Grows Day.

What fruit are you growing? Grow something good!

Kolleen Lucariello, #TheABCGirl, is the author of the devotional book, The ABC's of Who God Says I Am. Kolleen and her high school sweetheart, Pat, reside in Central New York. She’s a mother of three married children and Mimi to five beautiful grandkids. She desires to help others find their identity in Christ – one letter at a time. Find out more about Kolleen at her website.

Graphics adapted, courtesy of Anemone123 and Geralt at Pixabay.