New Years
Life is What You Make It
A happy New Year
starts in the Mind
Everything that
matters to you happens between your ears
Therefore take some
advice
Transform your mind
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and
approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2
The world has a lot
of problems
Beware of those
patterns in your thinking
This New Year what if
you renewed your mind to produce fruit like this
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance Galatians 5:22-23
Start checking the
patterns that cause you to think the way you do
Transform negative
thoughts for positive
Let love, truth,
honesty, purity, lovely, good reports be the virtues you think about
Life is what you make it
And it starts between
your ears
Happy New Year
Life is What You Make
It
I am sure you have heard the phrase…
“Life is what you make it.”
Probably no day of the year would empower
this phase more than New Year’s Day.
I can tell you what my life in
the New Year would be “IF”…
I had more money.
I had the strength of my youth.
Or, “IF” I had more years to live.
So I can’t make my life a lot of things.
So what can I make my life?
I can make my life a life of love.
I can make it full of peace.
I can make it bubbling with joy.
But that may be harder than buying a million dollar
water front property in Florida with a pool and
yacht and of course room enough for all of you.
So is life what we make it?
The first word we have to examine is “Make”…
To make means to bring into
being by forming, shaping, or altering.
You and I all have things we
can form, shape, or alter.
We have things, material items…
We have time.
But to form, shape, or alter these
things you need something God gave us all…
All, accept the scarecrow in the wizard of Oz
We all have a brain.
AKA “Also known as” the mind and heart.
The will and emotions that shape everything in our life.
So if “life is what we make it”…
We need to start with the brain.
Sadly, we all have picked up things
in our brains that hinder us.
We hang on to feelings that are
the real reason we don’t let go.
We have all seen the problems of the hoarder,
the person who can’t let go of things.
The old gets in the way of new.
It all happens in the brain, a larger area that is
where we logically process life and a
smaller area where we emotionally process life.
Our minds have been programed over time and
some of the programing is not helping your life.
So what is the answer?
The answer is the
word…
“Transformed”
Romans 12:2 tells us we develop patterns
in our minds from the world around us…
Do not conform any
longer to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able
to test and approve what God's will is —
his good, pleasing and
perfect will.
Romans 12: 2
Now it is obvious by watching the
News, the world has a lot of problems…
A lot of patterns that keep us
from the happy full life we desire.
If you are reading this and you do not
believe in God, think about it this way…
You need to test and prove your thinking.
There must be a standard or else you will change
your mind with everything that sounds good.
Or, you will find you
are believing
lies that keep you from the truth.
So if we allow our minds to be transformed to
what God’s will is, what would that look like?
To start…
God is Love (are we
good with that?)
God gives us only two commands.
From that point,
everything else God says
is a follow up on these two things…
Love the Lord with all
your heart, soul and mind
And
Love your neighbor as
yourself.
I think an atheist would agree if we all
did this, the world would be a better place.
So what if we start here with
the transformation process.
Everything that matters to
you happens between your ears.
If you don’t think about it, it does not matter.
The only problem is if you don’t think about
your electric bill, your lights will get shut off.
We all need to make choices because choices matter.
So transformation that makes life full
and abundant has to adjust our priorities.
Instead of thinks on the material
things that make us happy…
Let’s think on things that keep us happy even
when the world around us does not make us happy.
Finally, brothers,
whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable —
if anything is
excellent or praiseworthy —
think about such
things.
Philippians
4:8-9
You have a choice about what you think on.
A mother was telling me she was concerned
about her children because they seem to always
focus on the negative and they look depressed.
I told her the negativity of sickness and
suffering and death are real and
there is only one remedy… “HOPE”.
Without hope the mind and heart grow sick.
Hope deferred makes
the heart sick,
but a longing
fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs
13:12
Transforming the mind requires hope.
This is a big word.
We cannot settle for
wishful thinking…
We need hope that is real.
God promises us that real hope.
Hope that will not fail us even if
our life on earth fails and we die.
God teaches us to not only have hope
in this world, but in the world to come.
A good way to look at your
life is what you are producing.
It is not “he who has the most toys wins”.
It is he who has the most fruit…
But the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith, meekness, temperance:
Galatians
5:22-23
This New Year what if you renewed
your mind to produce fruit like this.
Start checking the patterns that
cause you to think the way you do.
Transform negative thoughts for positive.
Let love, truth, honesty, purity, lovely,
good reports be the virtues you think about.
Life is what you make it.
And it starts between your ears.
Happy New Year!
Scripture Reading
Romans 12:1-2 NIV
2 Do not conform any
longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good,
pleasing and perfect will.
Philippians 4:8-9 NIV
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable
— if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. 9
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me — put it
into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Galatians 5:22-23 NIV
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
Against such things there is no law.
