Well, it’s January 14th as I sit down to write this blog entry (Sorry it’s been so long), and I’m wondering how you are doing with your New Year’s resolution(s). I didn’t really make any resolutions for 2009, but I did think about something I heard a long time ago related to the importance of my thought life. Here it is: Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny. The biblical parallel to those words is found in Proverbs 23:7, As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. (KJV)
Here’s an undeniable truth. Our thoughts have a powerful impact on the direction of our lives. No one knows that better than God. That’s why He commands us to think great thoughts. Let me give you some examples. Romans 8:6 says, The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. (NIV) Colossians 3:2 says, Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (NIV) My favorite is Philippians 4:8, Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. (NIV)
In Romans 12:2, Paul tells us that we can be transformed by the renewing of your mind. But how do we do that? The simple answer is that we fill our mind with great thoughts. And there is no greater resource for great thoughts than God’s Word. So here’s my New Year’s resolution that’s two weeks late: Saturate my mind with God’s Word. It’s my resolution because even though I read my Bible a lot and I spend a great deal of time thinking about how to communicate it to others, saturating my mind with God’s Word is much more than just reading and dissecting. Saturating my mind with God’s Word is about absorbing it and letting it permeate my thoughts each and every day. It’s a matter of reading, memorizing, and meditating.
So I encourage you to join me in this resolution, because to paraphrase Proverbs 23:7, “You are what you think.”
Pastor Chris
Thursday, January 15, 2009
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- Mount Pleasant Christian Church
- 381 N. Bluff Rd. Greenwood IN, 46142
Our small group was just talking about guarding our thoughts! We have so many boundaries in our lives...speed limits, property lines, etc. but we often fail to put boundaries on our thoughts. We are deceived into thinking that if a thought enters our mind it is valid to entertain. What a silent playground satan has when we fail to place guardrails on our thoughts. Thanks for not only reminding us to guard our thoughts but to go further and replace the negative with God-centered thinking. Likely what is on our mind is also what we will speak of; let it be HIM.
ReplyDeleteCool. One of my goals this year is to memorize another book of the NT (I've done 2 so far). I got through a chapter and a half, and am stuck again! :( I need to set some concrete goals to keep on track. That's one thing that's helped in the past...
ReplyDeleteA few weeks ago, you said that not doing something right was as bad as doing something wrong. Then I read the following quote from James Martineau that hit home: "We are each of us responsible for the evil we may have prevented." How often do we see and allow the wrongs of this world to happen when we could have said "no" ?
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