Our verse for the year at Emmanuel is Romans 12 verse 2 from The Message. In the New Living Translation, the section about renewing your mind says: ‘…but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think…’ This translation in the past has helped me to see that it’s not all down to me. I think I have been in danger of striving to renew my mind, striving to do the work of God for him. I like what it says here, it is down to God to transform us, but up to us to change the way we think. There are numerous bible verses about it.
Peter Tan wrote ‘The Spiritual World’ – from various visions and visitations he had from and with Jesus Christ. In it he challenged me to think loving and thankful thoughts for a whole year and see how that would change me. This way of thinking, is as he says a fractal attractor. I didn’t know what a fractal attractor was but when I found out I liked it a lot!
The Fractal Foundation website states, that: ‘A fractal is a never-ending pattern. Fractals are infinitely complex patterns that are self-similar across different scales. They are created by repeating a simple process over and over in an ongoing feedback loop. Driven by recursion, fractals are images of dynamic systems – ‘ Fractal patterns can be seen throughout nature such as in trees, rivers, sea-shell’s and so forth.
We may have learnt by experience or plain observation that the more we think about something bad the worse something becomes and a downward spiral is generated. This is the down-side of a fractal attractor. Conversely the more we think about good things we attract good to ourselves and those around us and the pattern expands ever outwards. Maybe something further to explore.
Some of you know me as the man who does the walks. I have found that sometimes I walk even in my dreams! I have been taking note of my dreams more recently as I don’t want to miss out on whatever Holy Spirit wants to speak to me about. As my words are limited I want to share a section of a relevant dream here.
I was walking down by a river and passed a man who was fishing with a long pole which had a net on the end of it. The man was dressed in tweed with the old type fishing hat on his head – like a trilby. In the net was a large dull lump. It didn’t seem right to be catching such a thing in the river!
As I meditated on this throughout the following days, I was asking what the lump was in the net. What came back was – grey substance! Another name for grey substance is grey matter which of course is to do with the mind or brain. It could well have been a brain in the net! There was some double imagery going on as the net I felt represented the network of neurones which he wants to rearrange too; that’s all connected! This all fits with renewing the mind!
The man looked very much like the old English squire from yester-year. The squire in the 17th to 20th century was Lord of the manor. Master was another thought. In the Bible, we read about Jesus being the master and Lord! The master-mind was washing my brain in the flow of the river, giving me a new mind and he was very intent and purposeful in doing it.
Furthermore, as I walked along the river in my dream I looked down upon the bank and saw that: ‘the bank was like a stone table, flagstones were built into the bank all of different sizes around one big rectangular one. It was if I was checking where I could fish from. I remember thinking this would be a good place’. As I woke up this scripture came to me. ‘Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1Pe 2:4-5 NKJV)
As I looked for this verse I came on another similar one. ‘Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.’ (Eph 2:19-22 NKJV)
Earlier in the dream I had set my rod up to fish and the line was drifting out to the right with no rig attached. A man from the opposite bank had called to me not to fish there. I moved back up the river to where the line had pointed, to see the master already at work. I had walked by him earlier in the dream and not realised who or what he was doing. This man as I have explained is Jesus. He is the one who is at work in us who believe. He goes before us leading us to freedom and life. He is renewing our minds as we work with him.
Meditating or chewing over verses of the Bible is a great way to renew your mind as it’s not your thoughts you are thinking!
Watch this space and the notice sheet further for details of the next Forest Church.