I was raised in a bakery; that is, my dad owned a bakery for all the years I knew him. You might say I was raised in dough. In my teen years, I worked as a salesgirl in my dad’s bakery. My job was to display all the baked goods in the showcases, run the bread through the bread slicer, and wait on customers. My dad did all the baking, my mom was the cake decorator, I was the salesgirl, and my brother was the pan washer.
There was a different pan for each of the baked goods. Round and angel food cake pans for cakes, loaf pans for bread, doughnut cutters, cookie sheets and more. Each pan had a purpose; they were the mold for baked goods that came out of the oven. The molds determine the shape of the dough.
People are like the baked goods shaped by the mold that determines who we are. There is the mold of the world and the mold of Christ. Unlike the variety of bakery pans, and molds, people are afforded just two molds – worldly and godly. I heard it said, “The mold of the world is shaped by the schemes of the devil in order to deceive our minds away from the truths of God’s promises.” No matter what form Satan’s schemes playout, the end product is the same – our destruction.
The world has doctrines, as does the spiritual realm. The world’s doctrines can be labeled as humanism, relativism, and pluralism. Humanism rejects the supernatural and promotes the idea that human reasoning is sufficient. Humanism focuses on humanity. It places man’s interests, values and welfare at the core which promotes self above all else. Relativism’s doctrinal statement is that there is no truth whereas pluralism says, “What is true for you may not be true for me.” The worldly mold bakes chaos into our minds with its tolerance over truth philosophy. One worldly value excludes and denies there is God. The Bible says it like it is. “There is no God,” says the fool.” (Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1)
Abraham Lincoln said, “I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how a man could look up into the heavens and say, “There is no God!”
It is no wonder the Bible explicitly warns, “Do not be conformed to this world,” (Romans 12: 2). It goes on to say, “But be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” In other words, “Do not let the world squeeze you into its mold.”
The Bible warns as seen in Colossians 2:8, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”
Renewing our minds changes our perspective. What we think about God will absolutely change the way we live our lives. “In Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 13:1)
We are called to be holy. We are called to action. “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Be Alert. Be Aware. Protect your minds with the helmet of salvation and Guard your hearts with the breastplate of righteousness! Your eternal destiny is at stake. Therefore, put on the whole armor of God as listed in Ephesians 6:13-17.