Thursday June 9, 2011

Read Romans 12:1-3;  Deuteronomy 8

Picture 2 married couples. Both go through the exact experience (as close as practically possible).  Both husbands come home after a particularly hard day. All they want to do is relax, have a coffee and take it easy. As they walk in the door both are greeted by their respective wives. Both are in tears and fall in a heap. Both ask the husband to run down the shop, pick up a few things and to make some dinner because she’s had a harrowing day. The first husband grumbles and slams the door, revs the car exceedingly loudly and screeches down the street.  The other husband cuddles his wife, gives her a kiss and goes off to the shops to buy the few things and a bunch of flowers!

Why do we have such distinctly different reactions from the two men? It could be their personalities. It  could be the make up of the wives. It could be the way that each tends to react. But let me suggest that it’s more than likely the way that they were thinking at the time they got home.  Both were looking forward to a break at home. Both were tired. But I would suggest that one selfishly hoarded thoughts of himself and put himself and his needs at the centre of the universe. When those needs were not met, the volcano erupted and spewed out on everyone.  James 4:1-4 spells it out for us in detail if you want to have a look.

The other guy had the same desires and needs but thought about it differently. The lesson is obvious isn’t it? You can choose to think about things in positive ways or negative ways. You can choose how you assess and see each situation you are in.

God is telling us in Romans 12:1-3 to change the way that we think about the things of this world. He’s crying out to us to be renewed and changed by renewing our minds in Christ. What that entails is everything we’ve looked at this week but it goes a step further.

The foundation of renewing our minds in Christ starts with God’s mercy. The word ‘therefore’ in vs1 is a link to all that’s been said in chapters 1-11, which are all about God’s mercy to us. Because I have God’s mercy I am to be a living sacrifice to the Lord. I am to offer my body to the Lord in service each moment of each day. Throwing a hissy fit, slamming doors and screeching down the road are not loving sacrifice but self-centred determinism. It really is no different to a 3 year old lying on the supermarket floor throwing a huge tantrum. Adult tantrums are just more refined!

God is calling me to change the way that I see the world, the way that I assess the world and what’s happening around me and even the way that I interact with the world and the people around me. I need to change the way that I think about the world and the events around me. The guy who threw the hissy fit was probably thinking something like, ‘This is so unfair. That woman can’t do anything right. I work hard all day to support her.. I ... I ... I’. It’s all about me. That’s the way of the world that we need to be changed from. Jesus’ way is other centred. Jesus’ way is sacrificial and loving. Jesus’ way is the way of the cross not the crown but the crown will come. Be assured.

So how do I change or renew my mind? Here are some steps to help you.

1. Commit to spending time in the Word of God daily. Unless you know what to change and what to change to, you’ll never make any progress. Search the Scriptures to find the type of person God wants you to be and the type of things He wants you to fill your mind with.

2. Pray daily that God will change you. But remember this. If you pray that God would make you a servant, He won’t necessarily snap His fingers and make you servant hearted, He’ll give you opportunities to serve others!

3. Confess quickly the times that you have fallen into the ways of the world. Confess and ask God to purify you from this unrighteousness.

4. Set aside time to analyse sinful or wrong reactions in the past. What went wrong? Where was your thinking wrong? What made you blow up? How could you have seen it differently? How could you have acted differently? By thinking through the past, you are laying the foundation for the future.

Prayer:-

V Pray for the men’s ministry that they will be able to reach out to the men in the local community and that they will be able to encourage and support each other through the challenges facing them in day to day life.