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I Think So



            By now you probably know all about this, but something terrible has happened!  Tim Horton’s has changed their cup sizes!! 
    
        Why is this “terrible”?  Well, the other day I ordered a “medium black coffee” as I always do and what I got was a huge, sloshing tub of coffee.  A “medium” is now what used to be called “large” and what used to be “medium” is now a “small”.   Those of you who know me know that I do not need a large “tub” of coffee; I am wound up enough as it is.

            “So why not just order a small coffee?” you ask.  Well, here is the thing, I can’t!  I can’t order a “small” for one good reason:  I think it makes me look like a sissy! 

            Now, some of you are likely thinking, “That is stupid!” and you would be absolutely right. 

            The problem, of course, is not what they call that cup size.  The real problem is my thinking.  Often the way you think about a given situation will determine both your response to it and the outcome from it.

            Near the end of his life, Joshua gathers the people and tells them to remember what God has done for them (see Joshua 23 and 24).  The people hear the message and commit themselves to following the Lord as long as they live.

            Only a few years later, however, we read, “After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel” (Judges 2:10).  The problem was not so much that they did not know the facts.  Monuments, altars and history dotted every hilltop and plain in the entire land.  Worship was still being conducted.  They knew about God.  Unfortunately, they just did not believe that those stories had anything to do with them.  Their thinking was wrong. 

            So, what do you think about God?  Is he far off and disinterested in you and your daily life, or is he near and involved?  Is he going to come back and meet you one day, or does he know you well now?  Are you alone in your struggles, or do you have a God who hears and answers prayers?

            Our thinking determines our actions.  Joshua’s generation was blessed because they knew God and trusted in him.  The next generation did not think the same way and it cost them.
 
            Bottom line:  You do not have to know exactly how God works, but you absolutely must believe that God is working.

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