By Dan Ramsey
“Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.”
Romans 12:2
“Let him replace childish thinking with mature truth!”
I Corinthians 13:11
The bottom line of these two scriptural passages is God wants your whole heart. He also wants your heart whole.
These biblical references and this heart statement came to me in a daily devotional that I read a few weeks ago. As I think about these words, I am reminded of several things that we fail to recognize when we try to do what God wants us to do.
In order for us to work as servant leaders, we must give God our whole heart. That means we must let him change the way we think and work as mature adults to heal a broken world. Only God can heal this broken world and we must give him our hearts whole with the love and grace that he provides for us.
In my last article, I spoke about Victor the homeless man who lives on the streets of Houston. He never uttered an unkind thing about anyone, and although homeless, Victor led a simple carefree life. All of his misfortunes would make you think Victor was a depressed and hateful individual. That was not true.
A local talk show host kept up with Victor and even went by and visited with him and provided some simple needs for Victor’s existence. Victor never asked for anything as he knew God would provide for his every need.
At the end of my article, I asked each of you to think about what happens to those in this world who need our help and support. It does not matter if they are homeless, your best friend, or a total stranger, we are called with our whole hearts and our hearts whole to provide a listening ear and a friendly smile.
God wants all of us to be his disciple in this hurting world.
I am sad to inform you that Victor was killed on the streets of this hurting world by an unknown assailant a few days ago.
Victor is now with a savior who welcomed him to a place with no more pain or hunger. He now sleeps in a mansion with streets paved with gold.
So what do we do? My daughter Staci has recently impressed on me one of the things that goes along with giving God our whole hearts and our hearts whole.
When we give God our whole heart, a gracious side effect is a positive attitude about everything. Staci has lived a difficult life as a college coach because the uncertainty of the future. She is relocating to another position in a college in another state.
That can be very trying for a single young woman forced to move away from her home in Texas. Yet she is devoted to daily devotions and a heart that knows God will take care of her. It is not always easy but staying positive and seeking God’s will, makes the difference.
Staci helped me change the way I think.
I send her a prayer everyday as I pray for her. God establishes mature truth in all of our hearts if only we allow Him to replace the old thinking.
It is extremely important that we listen, share, and be thankful for what God does in our lives. Being accountable to each other can be transformational if we let it!
Because He Lives!
Dan Ramsey, president
National Association of Conference Presidents