Last week we talked about what to do with the thoughts already in our mind:
- Take the thought captive.
- Test it against truth.
- Replace the lie with what God says.
This week we are asking:
- Where are these thoughts coming from?
- Who or what keeps planting the seeds?
If we do not intentionally choose what forms us, something else will.
1. Be Careful Where You Sit
Psalm 1 “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water…”
Notice the progression:
WALK → STAND → SIT
Influence normally happens slowly.
The people, voices, and messages we continually sit under will influence who we become.
Psalm 1 gives us an alternative to being slowly formed by the world:
Meditate on the Word of God.
Biblical meditation is not emptying our mind.
It is filling our mind with God’s Word:
- Thinking about it
- Repeating it
- Remembering it
- Returning to it
- Allowing it to sink deeper into us
2. Refuse to Conform
Romans 12:2“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Last week we focused on:
“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
This week:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world.”
Paul warns us not to simply blend into the patterns around us.
Don’t automatically:
- Think what everyone else thinks
- Believe what everyone else believes
- Value what everyone else values
Our phones and social media platforms are constantly learning our patterns and feeding us more of what keeps our attention.
Research shows many teenagers now use social media almost constantly, and many spend multiple hours a day being exposed to images, opinions, advertisements, influencers, trends, political messages, relationship advice, comparison, fear, and more.
- If something gets hours of access to our mind every day, it would be foolish to think it has no influence over us.
Satan's biggest tool in his shed is distraction, his UFO's (untruths, false narratives, overations). Satan wants to distract you into focusing on and “conforming to the world” so you don’t draw near to God and truth.
3. Be Intentional With Your Attention
Ephesians 5:15–16“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”
PAY ATTENTION TO HOW YOU LIVE.
Our life on earth is made up of something we never get back: TIME.
Everything is competing for our attention.
The question is not always: “Is this bad?”
The better questions may be: “Is this worth the amount of my life I am giving it?”
Where we give the majority of our attention will influence the majority of our thoughts.
Practical ways to become intentional:
- Unfollow or block unhealthy accounts
- Turn off unnecessary notifications
- Delete an app for a period of time
- Create phone-free spaces
- Try Scripture before social media
- Give God the first attention of your day
Luke 5:16“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”
Jesus had constant demands for His attention, yet He often withdrew to be with the Father.
When was the last time you were actually alone with God?
- Not God AND Spotify.
- Not God AND notifications.
- Not God AND the news / podcast.
- Just: YOU. GOD. HIS WORD. SILENCE.
Maybe our lives have become so loud that we have forgotten how to listen.
This Week
- Be careful where you sit.
- Refuse to conform.
- Be intentional with your attention.
And keep reflecting: Who is forming you?
