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Weekly Devotions

Delete, Delete, Delete-March 2, 2020

Hitting the delete button could be one of the most important actions you take!

Monday Morning Devotion-March 2, 2020

 

Delete, Delete, Delete

 

I praise you Lord because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Your works are wonderful.  I know that full well.    Psalm 139:14

 

            Joel Osteen starts his book "Think Better, Live Better" with these words;

           

"Our mind is like a computer.  How we program it is the way we are going to function."

 

            In last week's devotion ("Your Best Version" February 24, 2020) we discussed how to become the best we can be.  That involves dropping and adding various actions and activities, but it starts in your mind.  It starts with reprogramming your mindset and being determined to improve.

            As Osteen points out:  "You can have the most powerful computer ever made , the latest and fastest model, with the maximum amount of memory available, but if you put the wrong software in it, it's not going to function as it was designed."

            He adds, "We have all had to deal with computer viruses.  They can get into a perfectly good computer and start to contaminate the software.  Before long the computer is slow, then you can't access your files.  None of these problems occur because it's defective or poorly made.  The computer's hardware is fine.  It's because somebody has reprogrammed the software.  Somehow the insides got messed up.  Now the software is contaminated."

            Osteen says that in a similar way God created us.  He made you then he stepped back and said; "Another masterpiece."  At that time your hardware was perfect.  Right size.  Right nationality.  Right gifts.  It was all good."

            This original software programmed you to be victorious, healthy, strong, and creative.  It says "I can do all things through Christ."  So, what happened?  Why is it that you don't always feel all of these positive things?

            This is not to say that you are a bad person.  A sinner?  Yes, we all sin. Nobody is perfect.  But as the old saying that keeps popping up in my mind from time to time goes: "God loves you just the way you are, but he loves you too much to let you stay that way."

            For Him to help you change and become the best you can be it requires reprogramming your mind.  Just like when that computer virus sneaks in it requires reprogramming to get back to working with maximum efficiency. 

            Now there is one thing you must do before you can reprogram your mind to work best.

Learn to hit the delete button.  When those negative, self-defeating things creep into your mind, and lets face it they are subtle and sneak in there before you realize it, hit the delete button.  Wipe them out before they start affecting the way you live.

            These negative thoughts have a way of lingering and causing harm.  If not deleted they can even exist, doing their bad work, for a lifetime. 

            Osteen tells the story of a man who was raised by a very negative father.  His father was always putting him down.  He was always telling him what he couldn't become. Surprisingly this lasted through his 30's even into his forties.  His father's words would play on his mind.  "You'll never be successful.  You don't have what it takes."

            Consequently, this man struggled with his life.  He always felt inferior.  Was afraid to take a new position because he feared not being able to measure up.  One day he heard Joel talking about wrong mind-sets and making sure you don't have things that are holding you back.

            Boom!  It finally dawned on him that his father's words had become a stronghold in his mind. He started hitting the delete button and reprogramming his mind and that changed everything.  His father's negativity no longer kept him captive. Today, this gentleman is extremely successful and has a beautiful family.

            It's all about realizing that Almighty God is saying to you:  "You are not defective.  You are not flawed.  You have been fearfully and wonderfully made."  Then, when those negative thoughts insinuate themselves in your thinking;  Delete! Delete! Delete!

            Over the years I have developed a friendship with Florida State Seminole baseball coach Mike Martin.  Mike is an unusual person.  He is a man of great faith.  He can coach a baseball team and impact the lives of young men off the field as well.  He can coach a game in them accept an invitation to speak at a church where he always delivers a well-reasoned, scripturally sound sermon.

            But it wasn't always peaches and cream for the man called "11" (his uniform number).

Growing up Mike loved sports.  He was talented and excelled in a variety of sports, but his real love was for baseball.  He spent what his dad thought was an excessive amount of time on playing baseball, listening to games and talking about the diamond game.  His one desire was to grow up to be a baseball player.

            His dad thought that was foolishness.  He thought Mike should concentrate on getting a real job.  He told Mike that he would never amount to anything playing baseball.  It was just a silly game.

            In 2019, his final season after coaching Florida State baseball for 40 years he said, with a touch of whimsy: "I'm still trying to prove him wrong."

            So, did Mike Martin amount to anything playing and coaching baseball?  Well, when he retired, he had won more baseball games, 2,029, than anyone who ever coached the game.  He had impacted the lives of countless players and the National College Baseball Writers Association renamed the annual award given to the best coach each season the: "Mike Martin Coach of the Year Award."  All this happened because many years ago #11 deleted those negative self-defeating thoughts from his father and pursued his dream.

            How about you?  What is holding you back from being the absolute best you can be?

Whatever it is:   Delete! Delete! Delete!

Prayer:  Thank you Lord for granting each of us the ability to delete and move ahead in your will.    Amen!

           

 

 

 

           

 

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