“A Penny for Your Thoughts”
“Cease striving and know that I am God;
(The Psalms 46: 10 NASB)
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
“May I offer you a penny for your thoughts?”
Tell me what you are thinking. Sir Thomas More wrote a variation of this slogan in 1534, implying that we might be willing to pay money to know what another is actually thinking. In the 16th Century, the British penny was worth a significant sum, unlike the penny’s value of today. Many today will not even bend to pick up a penny from the ground, but when More wrote, most would gather all the pennies available. “What are you thinking?” we may ask another.
- Maybe one is quiet while a specific topic is being discussed.
- Maybe one has nothing to say when something divine has been read.
“What are you thinking? What are your thoughts? That was my question after reading God’s Word. “I don’t know what to think. I don’t know what to say,” was the response. When this reply comes, then those who believe, immediately pray: “Thank you, Lord. Speak to this person’s heart.”
“Cease striving and know that I am God; . . .” (The Psalms 46: 10a NASB)
- What are you thinking?
- What thoughts do you dwell upon daily?
12,000 thoughts to upwards near 60,000 thoughts—Neuroscientists believe we (human beings) think that number of thoughts each day & every single day of our lives.
- Who do you think of first when you arise from your bed?
- Who do you think of last as you drift off to sleep?
- What thought gives you pause during the noon meal?
- What thought reminds you to pause and pray whenever you bow to say grace?
- Where do your thoughts run when you are afraid?
- Where do your thoughts seek when you face that which you most fear?
- When we cover our mouths & bend our knees, we are open & willing to listen to God.
- When we surrender our heart & seek to know God, we become willing to allow God to do whatever it takes to be Holy in our lives.
- Why magnify our problems when instead we can magnify our God-thoughts?
- Why must we turn a deaf ear to those who speak doubt & unbelief, as we set our heart and mind on a more holy cause?
THE CASE FOR CHRIST IS A MOST-WORTHY THOUGHT TO DWELL UPON, TO THINK!
“I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (The Psalms 46: 10b NASB)
The gospel is not superficial; the gospel transforms lives!
Therefore, think on the things of Christ Jesus, those thoughts the apostle Paul encouraged in his letter to the believers living in Philippi.
- True thoughts.
- Honorable thoughts.
- Right thoughts.
- Pure thoughts.
- Lovely thoughts.
- Reputable thoughts.
- Excellent thoughts, worthy of praise thoughts.
Dwell there, on these types of thoughts & allow the thousands of thoughts we think each day to be thoughts that Father God would have us think.
“Therefore, prepare your minds for action,
(The 1st Letter of Peter 1: 13 NASB)
keep sober in spirit,
fix your hope completely on the grace
to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”