If you’re like me, you want to change. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned about personal change it’s this: you’ve got to change the way you think first. Romans 12:2 “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” You don’t change by trying harder. The average New Year’s resolution lasts two weeks. That’s about how long will power works. You try real hard, then you get tired and you give up. The reality is, you change your life by changing the way that you think and by opening your mind to the possibility of God and His power. The possibility that God exists; opening your mind to the possibility that He loves you. Opening your mind to the possibility that He might know everything about our life, the good, the bad and the ugly, and still cares about you. That He knows the problems you’re going through and He can and will help you. Open your mind to the possibility that He has power that you don’t have, and you can tap into that power and make some changes that you haven’t been able to make on your own. In fact, believing that this power resides within you as a follower of Christ is vitally important. It starts by opening your mind to the possibility that God is real, He exists, He loves you, and wants to help you.
Many people think they are open-minded. But they are not. I have talked to thousands and thousands of people in my life. Most people think they are open-minded but they aren’t. In fact, you just mention God and watch them freeze up and their eyes glaze over. They’re talking to you about some problem they have in their life that’s kind of impossible – “I’ve got this relationship with my girlfriend (or husband or wife or kid) and it’s going south and I’m watching this relationship, this marriage fall apart before my eyes. I’m suffering physically, emotionally or financially. I’m helpless to do anything about it. I just can’t change it.” So you say something to them like, “Have you tried praying about it? Have you talked to God about it? Have you plugged in and seen if God could maybe help you with this?” They give you this blank stare like, “What planet did you get off of?” They say things like “Doesn’t the Bible say things like ‘God helps those who help themselves’?” No! Benjamin Franklin said that, not God. The Bible does not say, “God helps those who help themselves.” The Bible says God helps those who trust Him when they don’t know what to do. God helps those who quit trying to help themselves and trust Him enough to let Him work in their lives. It’s a matter of trust.
The Bible says, “Many are far away from the life of God. They have shut their minds against Him. They can’t understand His ways.” The reason so many don’t understand God is because they’ve closed their mind to Him. Until you open your mind to the possibility of God’s ability being extended to you, there’s not going to be any real lasting change in your life.
So to my church family, as we look with eyes of faith into that empty tomb, as we give pause to the enormous power that God exerted on His dead Son’s body to bring Him back to life, and as we think about the question God Himself asks in the Bible, “Is there anything too difficult for the Lord?” Open your mind, your eyes of faith and your heart of trust to the resurrected Jesus Christ. Look to Him to work within your life and bring change and transformation, not only to your circumstances, but also to you personally.
Roi Lene and I are praying for you and yours that the unchanging love of God will bring loving and lasting change into your lives.
Pastor Dan