Last week, Pastor Matt continued his sermon series “Let’s Get R.E.A.L.” with the letter ‘E’. He talked about our engagements - or how we spend our time. He used examples like watching too much TV, smoking, drinking and other habits that have the potential to hinder our relationship with Christ. As he closed and led us into a time of communion, the Holy Spirit revealed to me that my largest stumbling block is, my thoughts! I often get caught up thinking about worst case scenarios or become easily consumed by negative thoughts. No, this may not seem like my “engagements” in life, but it is!
A lot of my time is spent at home with my kids. It is often loud (3 boys) and many demands are aimed my way, almost constantly. It is a blessing to be home raising my boys, but am I honoring God in this? Or do I spend too much time in negative thoughts about life and even negative thoughts toward them? No, I am not speaking these thoughts out loud, but I notice how it affects my attitude! My attitude toward life. My attitude toward the everyday mundane. My attitude toward my sweet boys, and even my attitude toward Christ! As tears began to well up in my eyes during communion last Sunday, God reminded me of a Scripture that a sweet mentor gave to me when I was just 19.
“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” - 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NIV
I must “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” I have always struggled with my thoughts and have allowed them to overwhelm me which has led to much anxiety. I am thankful for the kindness of Jesus to bring me back to this place and remind me that my thoughts, not just my engagements, must be obedient to Him! Thoughts affect our attitude more than we know. This leads perfectly into the next letter in this sermon series: A is for Attitude!
This will be a challenging sermon for me to hear; but, oh how I desperately need to hear this! Jesus, prepare our hearts for this weeks message. May we be ready to receive what You have for us this week. Open our eyes, soften our hearts, consume our thoughts and be evident in our attitude!
In Him,
Katie Karlson
Yorumlar