Momentum For Monday, January 2nd 2023

"Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered." (Prov 28:26)

This Proverb is not worded gently and heads up, neither will today's post. I mean business today. Take the bluntness for clarity and concern though. You absolutely cannot trust your own thoughts.

On Thanksgiving, my family lost another to suicide. I’ve not mentioned it much because I needed time to sort through emotions and thoughts. That makes three people lost to suicide, two in less than two years. Losing one person alone is one too many.

He was a Christian that attended church regularly. Yet, there was something in him that was not ok. This is not to say anything against him, but my point is that being in church or being a Christian doesn't inoculate us from mental illness.

Gang, please listen to me. Church is a wonderful thing, but it is not enough to save you from this world. Salvation is the best decision you'll ever make, but it's only the beginning. You and I need to desperately stay in relationship with Christ. The Holy Spirit deposited into us from Salvation is the key to living well.

Not sure if a thought is a godly one? Here's a couple of ideas I use- See how it looks next to Scripture. If it doesn't look like it would be joyful, peaceful, full of patience, or any other fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5, then it's probably not from God. Or look at 1 Corinthians 13. There's a full description of what love looks like. If that thought doesn't have some semblance of Paul's description from that chapter, kick it to the curb.

One last thing, I'm not doing this for a shameless plug, but because I feel compelled to do so, my book The Daily Dose that is coming out will focus on these types of tips. It's a 31 day devotional that gives every bit of advice I learned while wrestling through my own mental health struggles as a Christian. I'm giving you a heads up because I want to get this book into as many hands as possible. If it can help just one person, then all the time, struggle, and even money spent on this will have been more than worth it. I'm still finalizing details with the publisher, so just be on the look out for more information.

"You should not fool yourself. If any of you think that you are wise by this world's standards, you should become a fool, in order to be really wise." (1 Cor 3:18)