A new year. Time for a. C.S. Lewis quote.
“Faith, in the sense in which I am here using the word, is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods ... That is why Faith is such a necessary virtue: unless you teach your moods ‘where they get off,’ you can never be either a sound Christian or even a sound atheist.”
Things my reason has once accepted. In spite of changing moods. This is so fantastic, who doesn't have changing moods? Sometimes I get distracted by my moods. Sometimes that distraction can temporarily make me forget my previously accepted reasons.
However somtimes my moods may be informing me that my held reasonsings may need adjusting. For example, perhaps I struggle with bad moods caused from my always needing to be right. This becomes overwhelming and causes my relationships to suffer. Maybe I need to alter my reasoning.
This is how we grow.
But, as C.S.Lewis points out this does not carry over to faith in God or even in struggles with the Word. There are certain certainties that need to be established. You don't tamper with anchors or cornerstones. Certain weights are meant to weigh us down and that is a good thing.
Now having these weights are great, but Lewis also reminds us that moods need to be trained. We need to train ourselves to come back from changing moods, to not dwell on them, especially on matters of faith.
This is what renewing our minds is about, I have to renew my mind when it falls out of faith. Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Giving into my changing moods based on my rocky experiences is what the world does. Training our minds to respond to God's truth is what a disciple does, it is what a Christian does.
With a New Year here many of us are taking resolutions looking for fresh starts or hitting reset. This year I want to reset my thinking. I have been bogged down with what wasn't and what failed to come to pass.
I have to remember that:
“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
I need to reset and return to a time when my thinking was more innocent. A time when my thinking wasn't overwhelmed with the many ways one can feel disappointment in a year. I say overwhelmed and not informed because I would not want to lose the actual experiences. If I did then I would not be where I am today and I would not have grown. This is how we change.
It is very easy to stay where we are but I want to move forward into 2015 with new vision and new hope. A new vision of Christ draws us after him. So I want to remember this:
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14
As God determines our steps let's renew our minds and return to the innocence of trusting him. This should always take us back to our accepted reasons and if reasonable those things should hold in the face of our shifting emotions. So this year read your bible, find your anchors (It's Christ), and hold on for the storms that may come.
This is what renewing our minds is about, I have to renew my mind when it falls out of faith. Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Giving into my changing moods based on my rocky experiences is what the world does. Training our minds to respond to God's truth is what a disciple does, it is what a Christian does.
With a New Year here many of us are taking resolutions looking for fresh starts or hitting reset. This year I want to reset my thinking. I have been bogged down with what wasn't and what failed to come to pass.
I have to remember that:
“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
I need to reset and return to a time when my thinking was more innocent. A time when my thinking wasn't overwhelmed with the many ways one can feel disappointment in a year. I say overwhelmed and not informed because I would not want to lose the actual experiences. If I did then I would not be where I am today and I would not have grown. This is how we change.
It is very easy to stay where we are but I want to move forward into 2015 with new vision and new hope. A new vision of Christ draws us after him. So I want to remember this:
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14
As God determines our steps let's renew our minds and return to the innocence of trusting him. This should always take us back to our accepted reasons and if reasonable those things should hold in the face of our shifting emotions. So this year read your bible, find your anchors (It's Christ), and hold on for the storms that may come.
thanks
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