Birchwood Community Church

They’re everywhere. Sneaking up on us when we don’t expect it. Never giving up or taking a rest. They are out to control our thinking and if they can do this they will control our behaviour.

I’m talking of the mass media and advertisements. They wield enormous influence on us as individuals and society in general. Our view of the world, of celebrities, of what we need to buy, what we should watch on television are all shaped by what we read and watch. And then when we are on line – how many “pop-ups” appear on our PC screens?

The apostle Paul wrote that we should not let the world around us “squeeze us into it’s own mould.” Easier said then done today when we live in such a connected, real-time and visual world. Not for nothing do we live in what is sometimes called the Information Age; but there are distinctions between data, information, knowledge and wisdom. Too much data, an information overload – when what we really need is wisdom and knowledge.

The Bible talks a lot in the book of Proverbs about wisdom – seeing wood for trees, identifying what really matters in life. And what really matters is God’s perspective – His view of us and our world – and especially the people with whom we rub shoulders. It’s His world after all.

And that it is why we need to make sure we hear from Him as the world around us will seek to drown Him out. Regular daily time to listen and learn from God is essential. Read your Bible and if you want study notes to help you, please ask Dan or see http://www.gethsemanebooks.co.uk/

And keep praying for those people whose names you have written on our Covenant verse for the year (1 Cor 15 v 57, 58). Every time you pray for them you are chipping away at how they perceive the world. And they need to have God break in on them, so that they too will see what really matters. Be encouraged and keep on praying!