Dust Covered Gold

And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. (Mark 4:16, 17)

In our small Life Group, we’ve been hearing about the truth that what we think determines what we feel, say and do. Our feelings are not defined by our circumstances but by what we think about those circumstances. This means that we theoretically have the power to control our feelings by how we think. Yet, many of us hand that power over to others by handing them the ability to make us angry, sad or happy. But, we don’t have to. By the power of God’s Spirit living in us, we can take our thoughts captive and change our thought habits.

This news is incredibly good news. It’s true and it’s vitally important. Yet, it is so tempting to throw it aside when faced with difficulties, pain or selfish personalities. If we lack the “roots” that sink down into the God’s life then the good news quickly withers in the heat of our trials and tribulations. If only we recognized the power of God’s truth to change us, then we might take to heart Psalms 1. “his delight is in the law[b] of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.

Meditating on God’s Word will change how we think about life. The Holy Spirit does give us power to change our thought patterns. We can get out of the negative cycles of thoughts, feelings, words and actions which result in consequences that bring more negative thoughts. If we could see the wonderful difference of our life soaked in God’s Truth versus a worldly life, we would recognize the reality of the incredible value of His Word. Let’s ask ourselves, “Where is my gold?” Is it gathering dust in some forgotten corner of a bookcase?

Project:

* Let’s ask God to make us into a Psalms 1 tree.
* Pick some piece of God’s truth to meditate on today and tonight.

A couple of possibilities:

* Psalms 1
* Isaiah 32:8 - But the noble man devises noble plans; And by noble plans he stands.
* Phil 4:8 - Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.