Cold…

Cold….

A lot of the country is feeling the cold weather this week, south Louisiana included.  But, that’s not the type of cold I will be writing about this week.  I am talking about your heart being cold.

That may be a new concept to you, but it can happen without you even realizing it.  You can be cold to people around you, cold to new ideas, theologies, exercise programs, etc.  We can be cold to all sorts of different things, including our own thoughts and beliefs.

I was confronted with a challenge this week.  I had a choice as to be open to a theology about a somewhat controversial biblical truth.  It is something I believed in certain ways but in other ways completely disagreed with other parts of it.  It has been something I have struggled with for many years.  This week I was presented with the choice to stay home and avoid it or go and listen and learn and try to grow myself.

I chose to go to church, listen to the guest speaker and even had some great conversations with some family members about the topic.  I know I made the right choice in doing so.  While I am still figuring out my stance on the topic, I have some new perspective and have some new information to work with. 

My point in writing this was not specifically pertaining to my story that played out this weekend, it is about how we can grow cold to expanding our ability to grow and gain new information about all sorts of things in life.  We get entrenched in our beliefs, or patterns, or sometimes ruts.  We can falsely believe that is the only way and from that time on, be set in our ways for life. 

The past couple of years have shown me how cold I have been in many areas of my life.  I have let opportunities pass me by, played it safe, stayed to myself, remained quiet, and lived a life of passivity for the most part.  That time is over for me.  I still have times when I want to stay in my old ways, or not step into something new, but I have learned that no new growth will take place without willingly stepping out into discomfort. 

This week I encourage you to look at the areas that you could warm up and then go do it.  Nothing fancy or complicated, just be open to new ideas and challenge your old mindset.

2 Peter 1:20 (NLT)

Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding,