Reformation Report

Get out of the nest

Change is uncomfortable for many of us, so we frequently prefer to simply stay in our comfort zones. When a mother eagle is preparing her young for flight there are a number of things she has to do to encourage them to actually get out of the nest, because they are comfortable in the nest, its all they know of life and its safe. So our comfort zones can be likened to a baby eagle’s nest, and like the baby eagles, we get used to our surroundings, its what we’re familiar with, it’s what we know. That nest could also be a place we find ourselves in, with a limited perception of a situation and association where we function effectively without experiencing uneasiness or fear.

When we find ourselves in this situation its important to realize, that just like the baby eagle, where we are was good for that time, but its not where we were made to stay. So we need to break out of that cycle and venture outside of our familiar surroundings. We need to start doing things, getting involved and not just observing. At some point we need to stop just speaking about our need to change ourselves and get out there and do it. James 1:23 says that if anyone is a hearer and not a doer of the word, he is like a man who observes his natural face on a mirror, for he observes himself and goes away and at once forgets what he looks like”.

Do you find yourself saying, “I am just a clerk,” “I am a poor man,” “I am just a mother,” “I am just a woman”, or “I can’t lose weight.” If you do, you are probably comfortable where you are. Does that shock you? You see these comments do not reflect a real desire for change, but a rather weak excuse which we use to justify staying where we are. But the truth is, that God did not put limitations on what we can do. In fact the Bible says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” And that word ‘strengthens’ is the  Greek word, ‘dunamis’, translated ‘dynamite’ in English, so this strength is way beyond our individual limitations. (Philippians 4:13).

Lets examine ourselves and look for some of the comfort zones in our lives. (What psychological zone are you limiting your self to????) And how are you going to break out of this comfort zone?

Double-Mindedness

“I love God but I don’t like reading the Bible, or being a Christian” or “I want to be wealthy but I don’t like working.” Have you ever heard someone say that? The young people in my church like to call it the “Stop It, I Like It” Syndrome. In Psychology it’s called “Cognitive Dissonance.” The Bible calls it being double-minded. When we hold conflicting beliefs at the same time, we experience uncertainty and indecision. This is an unstable place to be, like standing on a river, with one foot in one canoe and one in another canoe. It reflects an inability to commit to one particular pathway or standpoint, which obviously cannot be productive. As it says in James 1:8, “A double-minded man is unsure in all his ways”. A person who is unstable when they walk needs help or they will fall over.  Because of this impairment they cannot accomplish all they would like to.

Double-mindedness is a form of bondage because we are prisoners in our own minds.  The only way to free ourselves is prescribed in the Bible, in the book of John chapter 8 verse 32, where Jesus says,  “You can know the truth and The truth will set you free”.

Only when we know the truth about a situation that we are facing, can we move forward with conviction. The truth is the word of God found in the Bible. If we find ourselves being unsure or undecided we need to ask ourselves this question - what does the word of God say about this?

Change the way you think, you change the way you act.

Within each of us, there lies the power to change our world. This power to change our circumstances lies in us changing our thoughts, because we act as we think.

Romans 12 says  “be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”.

We renew our minds as we change the pictures that we hold in our minds. What we watch, what we read and what we allow people to say to us, all influences our pattern of thought. We all think in terms of pictures or images. Our thoughts (pictures in our mind) are the stepping-stones to the words we speak, and the words we speak are the building blocks to the actions we take.

What are you thinking about? What are the images that we dwell on everyday in our minds? Remember all renewing of our minds starts with us changing the picture that’s in our minds – change your mind’s ‘desktop’, see yourself doing what you want to do, eliminate the old ‘photo albums’ cluttering up your mind-space, lets re-novate, re-new our minds.

Attitude

A few years ago I met a young girl from the remote areas of Zimbabwe. She was visiting the capital city of Harare and just happened to wander into our sanctuary at the church.  When I saw her standing there, in a torn and filthy dress with no shoes and the strap hanging down from her shoulder and noticed her lack of personal hygiene, I asked were she was from and she replied, “ I am rural”. I felt drawn to this youngster and decided to question her on many things, when I finally asked her whether she would like to stay in the City (Harare). My heart was broken as she said, “No, I am from the rural areas.” Her responses to every question I asked about her life, always referred back to the fact that she was from the rural area. Because she had a perception about her background, this young lady could not see her life in different circumstances.

Believe it or not, most of us have similar attitudes about some area of our life, whether it has to do with our work, relationships, family, or careers. We call these blockages “scotomas”, which is a Greek word for blind-spots. Blind-spots can and do have an impact on our attitudes. An attitude is a hypothetical construct that represents an individual's degree of like or dislike, for an item. Attitudes are generally positive or negative views of a person, place, thing, or event.  These are often referred to as, ‘the attitude objects’. We can also be conflicted or ambivalent toward an object, person, place or thing, meaning that we simultaneously possess both positive and negative attitudes toward the item in question. We can train ourselves to use this understanding as a powerful tool for personal development. We can make sure that we avoid being ambivalent towards things that should really matter in our lives. God, family, friends, church, work, etc. can be directed positively if we are willing to study our attitudes and the habits we have allowed to form and change them for the better.

Most attitudes are formed as a result of either direct experience or observational learning in a given environment. Psalm 37 verse 4 says, “Delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give you the desires of your heart.”  I believe this bible verse indicates that If we have a positive attitude we will tend to lean towards it, and in so doing  we raise our awareness. It opens us up to new ideas that  propel us towards who God intended us to be.

Beliefs

People all over the world hold to superstitious beliefs, which may be anything from a strong belief in a deity, to a belief that if they walk around with a rabbit foot in their pockets, it will bring them “Good luck”. I have met people who, if for some reason they find themselves without their lucky charm, their belief that something bad might happen to them is so strong that they will have to go home and get their charm in order to go about their business.

A belief is the mental state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true. It is an emotional acceptance of a proposition, statement, or doctrine. Our beliefs control everything; the way we act, the way we behave, the way our home looks, who we are.

Beliefs determine our reality. We do not act according to the truth as it really is, but we act according to the truth as we believe it to be. Our perception is our reality. Henry Ford once said, “Whether you believe you can do a thing or you believe you cannot, you are right.” If we are going to change our lives, we are going to have to change our belief systems. Your behavior follows your belief. We build our own beliefs by the thoughts we choose to put or allow into our minds.

If we are going to be an agent for reformation, we will need to study our beliefs and our systems of belief, both individually corporately. Nations, tribes, families and individuals hold beliefs that can hinder or enhance growth and development. It is important that we allow some of our beliefs to be challenged, especially if they have no solid basis in reality or truth. On the other hand, we must seek to find the foundation upon which we are going to build the structures that we have responsibility for, i.e. our personal lives, families, churches, businesses and communities. I have chosen to build using the word of God as my foundation.