Change the Way You Think, Change Your Life
By Rick Warren
“Make no mistake about this: You can never make a fool out of God. Whatever you plant is what you’ll harvest.” Galatians 6:7 (GW)
You don’t plant apple seeds and get tomatoes.
In the same way, you don’t plant bitterness and get love. You don’t plant criticism and then get encouragement from other people.
Galatians 6:7 says, “Make no mistake about this: You can never make a fool out of God. Whatever you plant is what you’ll harvest” (GW).
Read that again: “Whatever you plant is what you’ll harvest.” If you plant in the soil of your sinful nature, you’ll harvest destruction. But if you plant in the soil of your spiritual nature, you’ll harvest everlasting life.
God has said for thousands of years that our sins can affect future generations. For instance, when you’re angry and you lose your temper with your kids, you’re setting them up to lose their temper with their kids. Sins get perpetuated in families, possibly for multiple generations. Not only does it work relationally and environmentally, but it also works physically. We now know your brain can actually be changed by repetitive behavior, for good or for bad.
Everyone used to think the brain was pretty much set in stone by the time you were an adolescent. Now we know about brain plasticity and how your brain can continue to be molded for the rest of your life.
That’s good to know! It means if your brain has been naturally molded toward depression or a quick temper or anxiety, it can change.
But you’ve got to change the way you think. The Bible refers to this as repentance or changing your mind. You can change your mind, and when you do, it changes the way you feel. And when you change the way you feel, it changes the way you act.
Then, you plant in your spiritual nature and watch what amazing fruit God will reap in your life.
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Unleash the Power of Gratitude in Your Life!
The Bible tells us to “rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 NIV). But it’s not always easy to feel grateful.
That’s why Pastor Rick put together a Bible study called The Power of Gratitude. In it he’ll show you how to stay in God’s will, defeat discouragement, reduce stress, and experience God’s blessings—as you develop the habit of expressing gratitude!
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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