From the Pastor’s Pen – August 2007

Pastor Lash’s sermon on Romans 12:1-2 is so important for us to remember as Christians. What an exhortation from Paul: “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. The writer of Proverbs teaches us that as a man thinks, so is he. We need to ask ourselves this question: “What do I think about when I get up in the morning, when I walk by the way, when I go to bed at night?” The reason this is so important is because what a man thinks about is a testimony to what he truly IS. How a man thinks about God, his life, his family, his friends and this world is a testimony to what he really is spiritually. As Paul says: “do not be conformed to this world”. We are not to think like the world thinks, we are not to be like the world. This past week I received information about a Youth Bible Conference and as I looked at the pictures I thought to myself: “these people do not look like Christian musicians, they look like worldly musicians.” Now they would seek to justify their looks by probably quoting I Cor. 9:19-23, “that I might by all means save some” but Scripture cannot contradict itself, therefore we are not to conform to this world to seek to save anyone. We are called to be light, salt, peculiar, separate, etc. for the sake of the gospel. We must not think like unbelievers. Those who are lost wake up each day thinking about things: work, family, health, money and problems. They worry about what the day has in store for them. They turn on the TV or radio to fill their minds or distract themselves from the worries. They think about what they want out of life and how the world should treat them better. All their thoughts are on earthly things. As Paul says in Ephesians 4:17b-18 “in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their hearts.” This is a lost persons thinking; focused on self, his desires, what satisfies his senses. It is not spiritual but sensual; it is greedy instead of gracious. “ME! ME! ME!” Such will lead to a life consumed with his own desires not God’s. Sadly this is how all men think before salvation. This is why we must be transformed by the renewing of our minds to the will of God, that which is good, acceptable, & perfect. As Christians we must be aware that the old man (nature) constantly seeks to conform us to this world. It is a real battle to keep from returning to the things we once held to. This is why we must wake up knowing that our Lord Jesus Christ still rules and think of His love for us and that He has a purpose for our life each day. We must pray that God would enable us to live a sacrificial life for His honor in this world and our thoughts must be on things above, not on things below. Remember, as a man thinks, so is he. We are to have the mind of Christ. Christian thinking is Christ centered. Thinking on His death tells us every day that we have forgiveness from our sins, what a glorious thought this is. His love moves us to love others as He did. His Word gives us the ability to face each day with hope and His promises give us strength to face tomorrow. Christ transforms our thinking which transforms our life.

Praying for your transformation, Pastor Thomas Winn