Do you think well?  Romans 12.2

Yes, I know that there is practically a whole chapter awaiting our attention, beginning with verse three of Romans 12!  Yes, I know that Paul has quite a lot more to say to the church at Rome, but . . . I have chosen to ‘camp’ on verses one and two because God emphatically told us to ‘not be conformed to this world, but be transformed, and to do so through the renewing of our minds.’  Yet so many of us are held captive by our thinking.  We have within these most incredible God-given brains, the capacity to think well, dream big, and grow far beyond the mediocrity for which most of us settle.

Are you a good thinker, or better put, do you think well?  Weak thinking leaves us vulnerable and makes us easily influenced by external pressures.  How about you?  Are you easily influenced?   If so, toward the good and holy?   Or by the world and its priorities?  Hmmm. . . requires a little thought, doesn't it?  What do you and I give priority to in our minds?  Do we manage our thoughts, or do they manage us?

If you are to experience personal victory in your life, an interview with self may be in order to help you see clearly. What sorts of thoughts are yours?  About what would you say you spend most of your time thinking? ______________________________________________________

What thoughts do you have that are pleasing to God? ___________________________

Which thoughts are not?__________________________________________________

Paul said, "Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that . . . (fill in the rest from Romans 12.2)________________________

Do your thoughts control you, or do you control your thoughts? Is it even possible to 'rein in' thoughts of worry or fear or lust, or secondary thoughts like prejudice, jealousy, or envy? I believe it is.  In 2 Corinthians 10.5, Paul says "we are taking every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ . . ." well then, it must be possible! Ask God to renew your mind, to make it like new … to clean and refresh it.  Then dwell on God’s Word; you will find that verses you have read and studied will run through your mind, just when you need them!  It might be you who needs a lifeline, then again, it could be your daughter’s teammate, or your colleague on the east coast . . . and the inspiration of a particular Scripture rings in your mind to lend encouragement . . .  sweet.

Even so, some thoughts are difficult to banish, so I find it much more productive to replace them. Picture your mind like the shelves in a pantry, lined with red and white Campbell soup labels--take down the can of 'Cream of Fear' and replace it with 'Trust in God'. Perfect love casts out fear, my friends.  Replace the thought, "I can never do anything right—why am I so stupid?" with "the Lord takes great delight in you!" Zephaniah 3.17.  Grab other ‘cans’ of thinking—defeated thinking—intended by the evil one to derail you, and replace them with, ‘You are fearfully and wonderfully made…I formed you in your mother’s womb,’ from Psalm 139. Train your minds to think about those things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely admirable . . . yes, think on such things! Philippians 4.8.   Do you find yourself looking at your spouse or teenagers with a critical eye and thought?  How about replacing the ‘Can of Criticism’ for ‘love believes all things, bears all things, and gives the benefit of the doubt,’ 1 Corinthians 13.

‘Okay, okay,’ you say, ‘negative thinking is not really my problem…. I just don’t think I am growing too much as an individual. Since I left college, I don’t find ways to stretch my mind.  Well then, besides getting yourself into God’s Word, and letting it get into you, you might consider a couple more things:  >learn to ask questions.  Instead of just seeing everything from your limited perspective, you will begin to see life from the eyes of others.  [Perhaps it is the reason James wrote, ‘be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger,’ James 1.19]   Asking questions gives you a valuable portal for understanding.  For instance, the other day, I was standing out on the sideline of Dylan’s soccer game, chatting with a spectator dad whose son had graduated, and wasn’t even on the field!  Instead of just sticking to ‘safe’ conversation, he said something that gave me an opening, and I took it … ‘so are you a man of faith?’  And from there, this fellow imparted his thinking on Jesus being God’s Son, and hoping that would seal his eternal fate.  However, from his vantage point, he just hasn’t seen that prayer changes things.  ‘My response?  Well, when you ask questions, your conversant will usually turn and query you as well … affording you a great opportunity to share why your faith is so vital.  Funny thing, as we walked off the field, he remarked how stimulating the conversation had been.  Hmmm.  My response?  Oh well, of course, I told him why I absolutely believe prayer changes things—---because he asked me.

More tomorrow...

Christine