About six months ago Stacie and I were traveling home from Ethiopia. We had just spent 5 hours in Chicago O'Hare, prior to that 12 hours in Frankfurt. We were ready to be home. As we boarded the plane for the last leg of our flight we discovered that we were on the wrong plane. If we stayed on that plane we would have ended up somewhere in Kansas. To be honest I didn't want to end up in The Heartland. I wanted to go home! No matter how much I wanted to be in California, if I'd stayed on that plane I would have ended up at the wrong destination. Good intention. Wrong destination. Just like a plane has a destination, our thoughts have destinations.
The Apostle Paul says it like this…Romans 8:5, “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what that Spirit desires. The mind of the sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.”
When my mind is set on what God desires for my life, I will experience life and peace. When I let my flesh control my thoughts, the results will be destruction and the death of God’s best for my life. Part of the problem is that so few of us are aware of what we think about and meditate upon. It’s like someone trying to get control of their finances without knowing what they spend. You must do an analysis of your thoughts first.
This Sunday at South Bay I’m going to give a challenging message on getting control of your thoughts and experiencing rest in your mind. I hope that you’ll join us as we kick off our “Stress to Rest” series and start new service times at 9:00, 10:15, & 11:30a. Bring a friend and join us this Sunday.
