Guest: Pastor Jesse from Grace Community Church in Auburn / Host of the brand-new Bonfire Podcast on Purposely.
In a special edition of Faith Filter, Pastor Jesse Bradley talks about his new book, “The Power of the Second Thought“. The concept of the second thought is about recognizing and rejecting negative first thoughts, and intentionally replacing them with positive ones. It can cultivate hope and renew the mind.
Click PLAY to dive a little deeper today!
Do you have a question about faith that you’d love Pastor Jesse and Erica to talk about on the radio? Connect with Erica at Mornings@SPIRIT1053.com!
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TRANSCRIPTION:
Erica:
Welcome to a special edition of Faith Filter with Pastor Jesse Bradley. We’re celebrating today because our friend has put a brand new book out into the world, something I dream of doing. Pastor Jesse, congratulations!
Pastor Jesse:
Thank you so much. It’s kind of a buzz and it’s just so fun connecting with people.
Erica:
That’s awesome. Okay, The Power of the Second Thought. That’s the title. What is the second thought, Pastor Jesse?
Pastor Jesse:
Great question. We all have a lot of first thoughts during the day. Thousands of them, but some of them are selfish or mean, impure, not helpful. Kind of a lie. Half truth. This is the key: to recognize your first thought, then reject it. If it’s not good, it’s not from God, it’s not true. And replace it intentionally with a second thought. And that is a victory in the mind. It’s practical. We can cultivate hope when we cultivate that habit and God encourages us and empowers us. And with the Bible, you might think of Philippians 4:8, whatever’s true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. Think about these things. And also the Bible says, take every thought captive to Christ. And it’s been said, either your thoughts will take you captive, or you take your thoughts captive. Bring them to Christ. And then God guiding our thoughts, renewing our mind. Scripture’s a powerful part of the second thought.
Erica:
Wow. How did you learn, how did you discover the power of the second thought in your own life?
Pastor Jesse:
Now, I describe it, I have a name for it, but actually it was raw. It was messy. I was in survival mode. I was fighting for my life for a year. Took 10 years to fully recover. And during that time, I had taken a medication to prevent malaria. The side effects included some anxiety, waves of depression, panic attacks. I didn’t know how to handle the flood and the storm of first thoughts that were coming in. And I was a professional goalkeeper, so I was paid to keep the ball out of the back of the net. And I kind of was in goalkeeper mode in a different way. Between my ears so that the first thought that comes, I don’t have to believe, harbor, or entertain. It doesn’t have to land, but instead I can say, NOT IN MY HOUSE. And those first thoughts can be kind of like hoax seeds. They want to come in and steal your peace and joy. And if a thief comes into your house, you don’t open up the front door and say, here, do you want to stay for the night? Here’s the guest bedroom. Do you want my credit card?
Erica:
Here’s the good towels.
Pastor Jesse:
Right? You don’t do that. You don’t make a nice meal for the thief. You say, not in my house. And when you recognize those hopes, these first thoughts, you say, not in my house. And like a goalkeeper, keep that thought from landing in the back of the net. And that is a habit. Listen, habits take time and persistent and consistent. At first, I didn’t even know that habit. It wasn’t even on my radar. And then I started to realize, I think there’s something I can do, but I wasn’t doing a good job and I was still pretty weighed down. Then I started to use it more. I memorized scripture, even one verse like, God’s love, perfect love drives out fear. Or do not be afraid for I am with you. Do not be dismayed. I am your God. And that became my second thought, the scripture, and it became natural.
Now, it’s something I do every day, and it again renews our mind. When our thinking is right, it flows into every part of our life, our heart, our relationships, our reactions. And there is a responsibility and an honor of guiding our minds. And in that way, God will meet you there. And his scripture is so good. When Jesus was tempted three times he quoted scripture. He said, It is written. And he did that as an example for us. And it’s a choosing an intentional thought. When temptation comes, God works through our minds and our hearts, and they’re connected.
Erica:
It is so true. If often the first thought can be a hope thief, I’m guessing that the second thought can be a hope seed. But all good things, they take time to cultivate. So, Pastor Jesse, how did you do that? How did you cultivate the power of the second thought in your life?
Pastor Jesse:
I would say I didn’t find hope until I lost it, and I had a desire for hope. I realized how much I lost. Kind of like on your dashboard, you see how much gas and oil you have. My dashboard for hope was low. The light was on. And what I discovered is there’s a hope greater than our challenges. We can grieve and have hope, but hope is available to everyone every day. And hope is both relational, that’s abiding with Jesus and it’s habitual. We cultivate habits, and our hope grows. And out of that, there’s an indestructible hope that God brings. No one can take away what’s most important in life; your relationship with God, your identity in Christ, your attitude, the love that he brings every day. No one can take away or change those things. You can pray every day and give God thanks. You can give him your burdens and hope. That’s indestructibles because Jesus overcame death and darkness. And in Jesus, this hope we have it so far surpasses the temporary troubles that we have. It keeps our troubles in perspective, and it’s like an anchor for the soul. Hope, defined, hope is a confident and joyful trust in someone or something. I’ll say that again. A confident and joyful trust in someone or something. But your hope is only as strong as the one in whom you trust.
Erica:
Wow.
Pastor Jesse:
And so, don’t put your hope in false places or shallow places. Our hope is in Jesus.
Erica:
Yeah. I just love the imagery that you’re painting there because I think so often people think like, hope floats. It’s a feathery thing. It’s a fragile thing. It’s made of wispy clouds, but you’re giving a completely different picture, and I love it.
Pastor Jesse:
Yeah. Hope is rugged. It’s not wimpy, it’s not fluffy. Some people have these kind of misperceptions about hope. It’s just a feeling that comes and goes. It’s random. It’s like no, hope is far more than just a feeling that comes and goes. Hope is the cure. Hope is based on the faithfulness and love of God, the promises of God. You can grow in hope, and the more you open your life up to God, the more he’s going to bring hope. Romans 15:13 says, the God of all hope, he gives us joy and peace as we trust in him, even an overflowing hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Alone, we can’t manufacture the hope. We can’t fake the hope, but God’s presence, the Holy Spirit brings a hope that’s overflowing. We’re all designed to receive and give hope every day. We need to do both. If you only receive it, you’re not giving it out to the world. But if you’re always given and never receiving, you dry up,
You burn out. And so we need both. And hope is inward, outward, and upward, all three ways. God works in us and through us and beyond us.
Erica:
Oh, I’m so thankful for that. Well, you’ve had the Costco sample now of this incredible new book, the Power of the Second Thought from Pastor Jesse. Thank you as always for hanging out with us. We so appreciate you.
Pastor Jesse:
Absolutely. And the website powerthought.org, you’ll see all the information about the book, and there’s videos, there’s discussion questions for small groups. It’s a unique book with all the content, some bonus gifts too, and it’s very practical. Again, powerthought.org.
Erica:
Thank you for the hope you share, pastor Jesse, God bless you.
Pastor Jesse:
You too, Erica. Thank you.
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