IDEAS

1 Samuel 7:3--And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve Him only, and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”

Junior High School was the worst period of my life. My family moved from Tokyo, Japan, to Seoul, Korea in the middle of my 7^th grade. I didn’t find a niche in the new school, so I compensated by handling adversity and uncomfortable situations by being funny. Mr. Eng, the principal of the Crusaders, abetted my cause. Once I pulled a rubber band back as if to shoot him and his immediate response was, “That’s stretching things too far!” My life was being stretched, and my ideas for coping weren’t working.

I don’t suppose there is a day when my brain does not spin out a new idea. Ideas are the springtime of civilization. Without them we can become as old and tiresome as a dead walnut tree. But ideas no matter how fast we think or apprehend them are only as good as what control them. Water always takes the path of least resistance. If ideas are allowed to do the same we become winding crooked people. I’ve discovered that whenever I pursue my ideas and do not submit them to the authority and leadership of the Holy Spirit they are counterproductive. Just as a year and a half of ideas could not make my junior high years fruitful so a lifetime of ideas cannot bring lasting fulfillment without the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The start of a new year is a natural time to reflect upon goals and ideas. Samuel, the Old Testament prophet gave his people, the Israelites, spiritual advice that is idea-worthy!

#1. Return to the Lord wholeheartedly. If God is not first in our lives, what does that say about what our brains spin out?

#2. Thoughts that distract us from following God are vain! The Ashtoreth was a goddess of love, fertility and war worshiped by many people in the ancient Near East. When the Jews bowed before idols God withheld His blessing and the nation got its tail whipped by the Philistines. Our ideas matter—but to whom?

#3. Serve God only! He is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5). That may sound bad, but think about it! He wants our undivided love because He undividedly loves us!

Self-serving ideas uninspired by the Holy Spirit if pursued enslave us to our own conceptions. God-serving ideas inspired by the Holy Spirit if pursued liberate us to divine living! Are you full of ideas! Great! Then ask, “what shall I do Lord?” When He answers you’ll have your direction and the joy that comes with inspiration!