HOW TO THINK LIKE JESUS
TO THINK like Jesus, our thoughts must begin with:
LOVE, MERCY, GRACE, COMPASSION, FORGIVENESS, KINDNESS, GENTLENESS, POSITIVENESS, BELIEF, COURAGE, EMPATHY, SYMPATHY, AND HIS TRUTH AS FOUND IN HIS GOSPEL OF GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY, WHICH SHALL BE TO ALL PEOPLE, because His do.
Let’s open with this message to us from God the Father, God Jesus, and God Holy Spirit:
“Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for HE WILL FREELY PARDON.
Because, My thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,
As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
(Isaiah 55:7-9)
That is a direct quotation from GOD to us through His anointed Prophet Isaiah!
GOD HIMSELF declared that if the wicked turn to Him, He will “FREELY PARDON THEM” BECAUSE His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts because His ways and His thoughts are above ours.
PAY ATTENTION TO THE WORD FREELY! Note that there are no other qualifications than that they turn to Him. No, if they are baptized, repent, confess, and never sin again.
Full disclosure: Some translations use the word ABUNDANTLY (from the Hebrew rabah). Meaning: THOROUGHLY, EXCEEDINGLY), Instead of FREELY.
The point is that God has promised to FREELY, ABUNDANTLY, THOROUGHLY, AND EXCEEDINGLY Forgive those who turn to Him.
Some folks call this “greasy grace.” Why? Because religion has taught us that God’s promises are too good to be true. When we try to understand God, we unwittingly attempt to bring Him down to our level.
The first trick that the evil one used to deceive humans was to call the Word of God into question. It happened in the Garden of Eden, and it happens every day now. “Surely He Did Not Say!” (Genesis 3:1)
If we are to think like Jesus, we have to let go of our flesh minds, our religious paradigms, our non-biblical cliches, and our entrenched flesh-created beliefs and become WILLING TO LEARN AND CHANGE.
BACK TO THINKING LIKE JESUS:
Jesus had just fed fifteen thousand men, women, and children with five barley loaves and two small fish, and causing a boat full of disciples to be instantly and immediately transported by molecular transformation from the middle of the sea of Galilee to the shore in Capernaum eight miles away.
(John 6:21)
The crowd of Jews and Gentiles that He fed followed him and chased Him down, wanting to make Him their earthly King, which he did not wish to be.
They wanted a warrior king to overthrow the Roman government in Israel and their subservient partners, the ruling class of Jews. They wanted Jesus to make them rich and powerful. They wanted Jesus to be who they wanted Him to be. He had other plans, as we now know.
After Jesus told them to stop chasing Him around trying to get things from Him, they asked Him this question:
“What are we to do, that we may habitually be doing the works God requires of us?”
“Jesus replied, THIS IS THE WORK THAT GOD ASKS OF YOU: THAT YOU BELIEVE IN THE ONE WHOM HE HAS SENT!” (John 6:28-29)
Then they demanded that He give them a sign that would prove that He had the authority to make such a declaration, even though they had just seen Him feed them and the rest of the fifteen thousand.
Jesus went on to explain that belief and belief in Him was the replacement for the Ten Commandments and the attached six hundred and thirteen man-made ordinances. They all went berserk. All of His followers left Him, and the disciples almost went with them. The disciples freaked.
This is what those closest to Him, those who had seen every one of His acts and miracles, said to Him: “This is a hard and difficult and strange saying, and offensive and unbearable message. Who can stand to hear it? Who can stand to listen to such teaching?”
RELIGION IS STILL SAYING THAT!
Then Jesus asked His disciples this question:
“Is this a stumbling block and an offense to you? Does this upset, and displease, and shock, and scandalize you?” (He knew that it did).
Then Jesus asked them another question:
“What then will be your reaction if you should see the Son of Man ascending to the place where He was before?”
Check this out:
“Even as they were looking at Him, He was caught up, and a cloud received and carried Him away and out of sight. And while they were gazing intently into heaven as He went, pay attention, two men in white robes suddenly stood beside them, Who said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing into heaven?’ This same Jesus Who was caught away and lifted up from among you into heaven will return in the same way in which you saw Him go into heaven.“
(Acts 1: 10-11)
Jesus punctuated His declaration that all God requires of us is to believe in and believe the One Whom He has sent with the ascension.
The Jews in the synagogue in Capernaum had demanded a sign to prove that He had the authority to make such a statement. How is being caught up into heaven for proof?
Jesus never qualified blessing people based on their behavior or lack thereof. Tax collectors were considered the most wicked of all people in that time. Jesus made one, Matthew, a disciple and blessed and saved another named Zacchaeus.
Saul of Tarsus was the evilest man who had ever lived. He was bound and determined to wipe out all of the followers of Jesus and destroy the movement before it began. He encouraged and watched the Jews stone the believing Stephen to death. He was on his way to Damascus with letters of authority from the San Hedrin to round up and prosecute all of the followers of Jesus there, When God turned Him into Paul, the writer of two-thirds of the New Testament. Religious thinking would have God destroy him and throw him into hell.
HERE ARE A FEW OF THE THINGS THAT JESUS DID WITHOUT REGARD FOR THE BEHAVIOR OF THE RECIPIENTS OF HIS BLESSINGS:
The Hebrew law required Him to demand that the adulterous woman be stoned to death. Jesus broke the law and sent her on her way.
(John 8:4-11)
Jesus healed everyone who was brought to Him.
(Matthew 8:16-17 and many more)
Jesus healed all diseases, known and unknown, on the cross. (Isaiah 53:4-5, Psalm 103:1-3, 1Peter 2:24, Matthew 8:16:17)
Jesus forgave all of our sins, past, present, and future, and took them away forever and can not even remember them.
(Revelation 1:5, Zephaniah 3:17, Psalm 103:1-3 and 12, John 1:29, Hebrews 8:12, Hebrews 10:10-18)
Jesus gave us everything we need or want, including His faith.
(2Peter 1:1-4)
If we think like Jesus, we don’t ask Him to forgive us; we accept the fact that He has.
If we think like Jesus, we don’t ask Him for things; we thank Him for already giving them to us, and we act as if they are ours, regardless of what we see. When Jesus faced that crowd of fifteen thousand Men, Women, and Children who were hungry, He didn’t beg God for food or call a group of prayer warriors together; He gave thanks, and the food appeared.
(Mark 11:22-24, John 6:11)
If we think like Jesus, we don’t ask Him to heal us; we thank Him that He already has, and we fight our flesh and the words of others as if our lives depend on it because they do, and we choose to believe Him.
ALL OF THIS IS HARD TO BELIEVE AND HARDER TO DO. THEY ARE MUCH EASIER SAID THAN DONE.
Many genuine believers struggle to hear, accept, believe, and walk in the promises of Jesus. The reason is that the evil one, our ego-driven flesh minds, and religion have trained us to believe what we see more than what we don’t see, and they have taught us to call the Words of Jesus into question, and it is hard for us to think outside the window that our flesh mind presents to us. It is hard to think like Jesus.
Holy Spirit teaches us the opposite. “FOR WE CAST OUR EYES NOT ON THE THINGS THAT ARE SEEN BUT ON THE THINGS THAT ARE NOT SEEN; BECAUSE THE THINGS THAT ARE SEEN ARE TEMPORARY AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE, BUT THE THINGS THAT ARE NOT SEEN ARE OF GOD AND ARE ETERNAL.”
(2 Corinthians 4:18)
Our challenge is to think like our King of Kings. Jesus knew how difficult this would be, so He left us Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth and show us the things to come.
We can listen to Holy Spirit and the Words of Jesus or our flesh. It’s our choice.
