WATCHWORD:
2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. 3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Romans 12:2-3
Meditation:
Stinkin’ Thinkin’
Stinkin’ thinkin’. You know what that is, it’s those nasty, negative thoughts that creep into our minds and often rule our mood, and affect the decisions that we make in our lives. It seems the world we’re living in is all bundled up in false facts, destructive rhetoric, mean speak, and false arguments that causes us to doubt our own good sense and maybe our own resolve.
How much of our lives has been affected by fear and doubt that has affected our decisions, that sought another avenue around a reality that carried risk. I vividly recall one Christmas season, facing a forecasted heavy snow and ice storm, I made the decision to head home early on the eve of my great-grandson’s birth. I would not see that bright and smart young man until five years later. Family years lost. Sad.
Family reunion, Beach House, Oxnard, CA. As was our tradition, one evening was spent enjoying skits planned by each family group. One daughter and her husband did ‘Green Eggs and Ham’, and had us all laughing until tears came. Another daughter and her husband’s skit was on “Worst Case Scenario”, that had us laughing, but also thinking.
Do we always expect the “worst case”? We hear the doctor say, ‘only one in a hundred are not helped by this procedure’, and where do our thoughts go? Right, we are that ‘one’, we are the worst case scenario.
I can’t help but wonder how many big things we missed in our life journey because of negative thinking, corrosive fears that caused us not to reach out, not to visit, to pass by on the other side, and failed to ‘go and do likewise’. Did we miss out on the Call of God? Yes, stinkin’ thinkin’ can lead us astray if we don’t tackle it head-on and turn it around and lay it at the foot of the Cross, before the Lord.
Romans 12:2 assures us when we invite God to transform our minds and change how we think, He’ll do exactly that: “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
When our thoughts are positive, our hearts will be also, and obedience will flow more naturally. God is there, God is love, and you are His child. So be it.
The ‘What if’s’ of Jericho Road:
A snip from Chapter 13, The Inn on Jericho Road: As he made his way back to the dining room, he thought again about what was said about that teacher, that carpenter. What if it were true? No! Get that out of your mind, he told himself. Feeding a crowd from what? Nothing, nothing at all. I couldn’t believe something like that unless I saw it with my very own eyes and ate some of that food. Phooey! They are all just made-up stories, interesting, but still tales. Available November 12,2024. — Stan Escott
Closing Prayer:
Lord, forgive me for letting negative thinking, fears and doubts get in the way of my obedience. Give me the strength and desire to step out in faith and trust that I am equipped and capable in Your strength. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
