TRANSFORMED THINKING
by Kathy Pegram

Proverbs 23:7 tells us that “as a man thinks, so he is.” The Apostle Paul talked about a Christ-like mind in 1 Corinthians 2:16 and a sound mind in 2 Timothy 1:7. Paul knew the only way to cope with the pressures we face is to live a life with a transformed mind.

In Steve's newest book, he tells how there was once a British grandmother who applied this way of thinking in World War 2. During the London blitz, no matter how much her son urged her to leave her downtown flat, she refused to budge. Every day he tried to get her to move to his home which was a safer distance away. But each time, she would just say that she had to stay and help the injured and the homeless. They needed her, she replied. Besides, she trusted the words of her favorite plaque that hung on her wall: DON'T WORRY. IT MAY NEVER HAPPEN!

With each passing day, she constantly pointed it out to her son and his family and reassured them that all would be well. Then one day her apartment was hit by a bomb, leaving two-thirds of her building demolished. Her son's family rushed over as soon as they heard what had happened. When they arrived, they found her rocking in her favorite chair, singing her favorite hymn. In exasperation, her son shouted, "Now what do you think of your motto?! It didn't see you through this, did it?" "Oh my goodness", she exclaimed. "I forgot to turn it over". She then got up and flipped the plaque to the opposite side. There it said, "DON'T WORRY. YOU CAN TAKE IT!"

This my friend, is transformed thinking! The mind of Christ is our strength. Paul found this out in the storm that we read about in Acts 27. He could have grumbled, he could have complained. He could have said, "God, if this is the best you have for me, then I don't want to serve you." He could have given up. But he didn't. Paul knew that there is no gold without the fire of a refinery. No diamond without the sharpness of a cutter's tool. No statue without the hammer and chisel of a sculptor. And no faith without the fury of a storm!

"Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of a good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Philippians 4:8

Love and Prayers,
Kathy