Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Attitude”
Our Bible verse for today: “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Let you mind be cleansed.”
The words of the Bible, under the power of the Holy Spirit, have a tremendous ability to cleanse our minds. In his book, “Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God”, Dallas Willard offers a wonderful illustration regarding the amazing way in which the Bible serves to cleanse our minds:
“Just think for a moment about what happens when you wash a dirty shirt: the water and laundry soap move through the fibers of the shirt material and carry out the dirt lodged within those fibers. When we come to God our minds and hearts are like that dirty shirt, cluttered with false beliefs and attitudes, deadly feelings, past deeds and misguided plans, hopes and fears. The word of God enters our mind and brings new life through faith. As we open our entire life to this new power and as those sent by God minister the word to us, the word moves into every part of our personality, just like the water and soap move through the shirt’s fibers. God’s word pushes out and replaces all that is false and opposed to God’s purposes.”
As a Pastor it concerns me greatly that so many professing Christians are essentially Biblically illiterate. They simply do not know the Bible very well at all. That’s because they don’t study it for themselves, and they spend little time listening to it being taught. That then means that their minds and hearts are very much like that dirty shirt Dallas Willard described, the filth and grime of the world is caked on and embedded into the very fibers of their being. The word of God is powerful, and it will break the dirt and grime free and wash it away, but it has to be applied.
So what’s your attitude about the Bible? Do you love it enough to actually read it, study it, and absorb its lessons? How much time do you spend each day applying it to your mind and heart?
I encourage you to get a translation of the Bible that you can easily read and then resolve to study it everyday. There are many good ways to study the Bible. You can just read it from start to finish like a chapter book. You can get study notes and do an in-depth study of small portions of it. You can do a character study of individual people in the Bible. You can study themes, or memorize passages.
The particular manner in which you are reading and studying the Bible at this time doesn’t matter, as long as you are reading and studying it everyday and applying its lessons to your life. The Holy Spirit will use God’s words to break free and wash away all the accumulated dirt and impurities in your mind and your heart. You will be cleansed and transformed as Paul wrote about in Romans 12:2. I encourage you to have a personal Bible study plan and stick to it. If you need help deciding on a plan that is right for you, email me and I will be happy to discuss it with you.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 