June 24: Insight Post by Rusty Coram
Wednesday Insight Post
by Rusty Coram
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:2 (NLT) My in-laws thought I was a tech genius. Whenever they had trouble with their TV, phone, or internet, I was usually able to “fix it,” and often it boiled down to unplugging and restarting the device. No amount of explaining changed their opinion! What works for our electronic devices also works for us in our spiritual lives. For instance, we regularly receive program updates to fix “bugs” and improve performance. This is what Bible study does when we are humble and truly learning. As we read and learn, we discover that we have ideas, habits, and beliefs that need to be changed or eliminated to align with God’s truth and wisdom. If we don’t regularly do this, we will find that the errors in our thinking derail us from being close to and honoring God.
Solitude - time alone with God - is like rebooting ourselves as we unplug from outside distractions and solely focus on our God. Most of the time, when we learn and discover truth from the Bible, it requires deliberate time to “reboot” in order to build the insights into our lives, just like with our phone, computer, and TV.
We are much more valuable than our electronic devices, and our choice to align with God and His Word carries a weight of higher magnitude. God is eager for us to grow and mature in our faith and impact. Deliberate and focused solitude is part of His training.
Rusty Coram
Senior Pastor
New Hope Church
Lorton, Virginia
www.newhope.org