Tuesday September 7, 2010

Speaker: Dave Nelson

Theme: Transformers

Weekend Music links on iTunes: All Over the World - Matt Redman, Let the Praises Ring - Lincoln Brewster, Happy Day - Tim Hughes

Read: Romans 3:22-24; Romans 12:2 

Think: This Sunday, we learned that “Transformation begins with renewed thinking.” Dave Nelson taught us that transformation is not something we do but what God does in us, our task is to give the best environment in our lives for Him to work.

A few years ago I was offered a position teaching, which for some reason still unknown to me I accepted. As a born introvert it hadn’t occurred to me while preparing that at some point I would be standing in front of a class of people who all were listening to what I was saying. As my first day with students drew closer I found myself more and more nervous so I spoke to my husband about it. He is one whose advice often goes along the lines of “well, just decide not to be nervous”….simple enough if you can do it I thought and didn’t mention it to him again. When the morning arrived I walked into my classroom and saw 25 nervous adult faces looking back at me. Taking a deep breath I decided to pretend I wasn’t nervous and act confident. Each lesson I would talk to myself in the office about how confident I felt and remind myself that God was with me. With each lesson it took less time than the previous one to get myself mentally ready. One day I realized I hadn’t stopped in my office at all but was walking to the class smiling. It wasn’t that I was a better teacher, or that the students were less demanding but that I had managed to change my way of thinking about standing in front of them. Now I was eager to share with them what I had learned and worried less about being in their gazes for hours on end.

To change the way I felt walking into the classroom I had to focus my mind and emotions somewhere that felt unnatural for me but was where I wanted to be. Dave said “we become what we think about”. Where are you spending your time and thoughts? Often the things that occupy our heads are not worth our time; perhaps TV, music or sports have more of our time than they should. We need to do the things that bring us in line with God’s views and values, such as reading His Word, fellowship with other believers, worshipping Him and avoiding those things we know He says are bad for us.

In the same way that farmers who wish for good crops prepare the ground to be the best it can be, we need to prepare our hearts and minds to allow God to grow us into better people. We can’t do it ourselves for as we see in Romans 3; 22-24 we ‘ALL fall short’ but God has made a way for us to be transformed and reclaim our identity as children of God. 

Do: Take a few minutes to think about a place where your feelings are not yet what God would want for your life. Make a small change today to bring your heart and mind closer to God’s will for you. Make a beginning today to prepare the ground of your heart for the good crops God wants to grow in your life.

Pray: Lord we thank You that You have made a way for us to be Your children even though we all fall short. Thank you that You have a plan for good in our lives and long to make it happen. Lord please give us the strength and wisdom to see what needs to change and then begin to change it so that we can be ready for whatever you have planned for our lives.

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.

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