A Thoughtful Resolution

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 minds 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