Madison Street United Methodist Church

What are you focused on?  What would you say you spend the majority of your time thinking about? Be honest. What is your mind filled with?
 
Here’s the reason for these questions.  In so many ways what we think determines who we are.  The way we think impacts greatly our attitudes, our emotions, and eventually our behavior.  In other words, we are what we think.  I think perhaps that’s why the Apostle Paul said, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds.”  Paul reminds us that as followers of Christ we are not to be like the world; instead we are to be different, changed, transformed, and it begins with the changing of what we think—what we are putting in our minds.
 
Imagine you were training for the Olympics.  Do you think for a moment that as a part of your training you would go on a diet of chocolate and all the ice cream you could eat?  We live in a culture that has become very much aware of the fact that what we put in our bodies has a great impact on our physical health and determines our performance and well-being.  Unfortunately we so often neglect what goes into our mind, but what goes into our mind also impacts our well-being.  What we think impacts who we are.
 
Here’s the deal—our mind will think about what it is most exposed to.  What repeatedly enters our mind is what occupies our mind and is, therefore, what we think.  So what are we exposing our minds to?  What are we focused on?  The events we attend, what we read (or don’t read), what we listen to, the conversations we have (yes, what we talk about!) all shape our minds and ultimately our character and who we are.
 
So the question then is, are we putting Christ in our minds?  Are we focused on Him?  Do thoughts of Jesus and words of Jesus occupy us?
 
Are we filling our minds with Christ?
 
In Christ,
 
Cliff C. Wright, Jr.