Nonconforming

 

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.

—Romands 12:2

Our society in the United States has become increasingly one that requires people to conform to norms dictated by those who believe they control everything—political leaders, social leaders, and cultural leaders. For the most part, this has become the exclusive domain of those elite individuals who think in so-called “progressive” ways. Of course, progressivism actually represents political, social, cultural, even spiritual contexts that move ever more deeply into a society, principally following the dictates of Karl Marx and his cohorts.

While few seem willing to declare it openly, through progressive teaching in our education system, including from pre-school through institutions of higher learning, young people get a strong push towards Communism and the unified state-control of all aspects of life. A majority of people, especially young people, miss the fact that this push destroys every aspect of the freedoms on which our national foundation rests. Instead of offering a “progressive”—that is, a forward, ever-improving direction—this philosophy will actually repressively doom our freedoms to obliteration.

In contrast to this political, social, cultural, and spiritual push within our society to conform, we find the Scripture verse quoted at the beginning of this blog post. This verse follows another very crucial instruction from the Apostle Paul that I will share in a later blog post this month. For now, let’s examine what this verse from Romans 12:2 instructs.

The teaching from the Apostle Paul seems quite clear:

• Stop doing what we have been doing!
  
  
• Do not conform to the pattern of this world.
  
  
• Become transformed by the renewing of our minds.
  
  
• As a result, we will be able to test and approve what God’s will is for our lives.
  
  
• Once we do this, we will discover that God’s will is good, pleasing, and perfect.
  
  

As you can clearly see, this teaching of the Apostle Paul completely destroys the direction toward which our current society has chosen to move. In place of every aspect of our lives controlled by a centralized effort of political, social, cultural, and spiritual elites, God intends for us to make full use of the freedoms that He has given us, and to make full use of our ability to surrender our selfish and flawed human wills to His divine and perfect will. He wants us to give ourselves wholeheartedly to Him.

As we begin a new day, let’s not lose sight of the fact that God has given us the freedom to choose this day whom we will serve. I have no idea what pathway you will choose. But, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, and Him only.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Careful Planning

 

“I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

—Jeremiah 29:11

The motivational speaker concluded his two-hour lecture on successful management with these words, quoting from self-help author, Napoleon Hill:

“Plan your work and work your plan!”

As he finished speaking, I looked at the three pages of notes that I had taken and thought that his summary offered a fair representation of what he had taught during that session.

From my study of the Mind Styles™ insights provided by Anthony F. Gregorc, Ph.D., I also knew that actually sitting down to analyze goals, enabling objectives, and strategies, and to then formulate a concrete plan would prove very difficult for individuals who had very little Concrete-Sequential in their array of Mind Styles.™ Those with a dominance of the Abstract-Random or the Concrete-Random Mind Style™ would much rather do anything other than disciplined planning. ¹

Part of the power of the Scripture verse at the beginning of this blog post rests in the fact that the Master Planner of the universe has stated that He has plans for His dearly loved children. The Prohet Jeremiah has recorded this declaration from God in a letter that Jeremiah sent to those from Israel who found themselves in exile in Babylon.

The entire letter contains very specific instruction as to what those in exile should do. To give them proper encouragement, God makes the declaration in this verse. He tells these ones in exile that He remains in control of every aspect of their existence. He has a plan for them. It is a plan that He has created and knows. He tells them that His plans for them will prosper them and given them hope for a future.

As I’ve stated in previous blog posts, some of my more liberal Christian friends sincerely believe that such a verse does not apply to us today. I heartily disagree. Just as God had Jeremiah send these words to those in exile in Babylon, as I read this verse, I sense how much it applies to us “Christ’s-ones” today.

We have been exiled from intimate fellowship with God by the sin curse that has befallen us since the Garden of Eden. Even in the United States of America—which wise men founded on straightforward Judeo-Christian principles—we have, in my lifetime, become more and more distant from God’s ideal way of living. In a sense, we have become exiled from the God who loves us.

So, when I read the words in this verse, I strongly sense the Holy Spirit applying them to our own circumstances, as modern day followers of Jesus. God knows the plans He has for us. Through the whole counsel of God, He declares that He has a plan to prosper us spirtually and not to harm us, to give us hope and a future. Truly, as we obediently follow the pathway God lays out before us, we can recognize that these words remain true for us, just as they proved true for those in exile in Babylon.

We must begin this day by praising God for His faithfulness to us. He loves us with His unfailing, undying love. He has our best interest at heart. He has a plan for us. Let us obediently stay on the pathway that He lays out before us. And, with hearts filled with humility and gratitude, let us cling to Him with all of our four human modalities: heart, soul, mind, and strength.

 

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1 Gregorc, Anthony F. An Adult’s Guide to Style. Maynard, MA: Gregorc Associates, 1982.

Please note that, in each case, whenever a citation of any Copyrighted material is made within a post on this blog, such a citation is made strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Straight Paths

 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

—Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust is a learned response. Some people seem to extend trust easily. Others have greater difficulty in giving another person their trust. Each one handles trust because of what the experiences in their lives have taught them. I assert once again: trust is a learned response.

With that in mind, we can examine the verse at the beginning of this blog post in light of what our life experiences have taught us. For example: almost everyone prefers to have the pathway of his or her life laid out in a straight direction, so it becomes possible to see where one is headed. In fact, if the pathway is straight enough, the traveler can see quite far into the future and develop confidence that if he or she stays on that straight path, the road ahead will have some predictability.

Of course, life really isn’t all that predictable. We never really know what perils may await us, hidden in the bushes alongside the straight pathway. Nevertheless, if we can see far enough ahead to take a deep breath and strike out in a forward direction, we can move on with at least some degree of confidence.

Thus, the Scripture verse at the beginning of this blog post has become the guiding principle for many followers of Jesus. Conceptually, if we trust in the Lord with all our being and determine to not lean on our own understanding—that is to say, resting solely on how we perceive life to be—and if we acknowledge God’s divine hand on our lives, then He will provide a straight pathway for us.

As a teenager, I was encouraged to find and adopt a verse of Scripture by which I would determine to guide my life. Along with any number of my peers, I chose this verse. I am so glad that I did. The truth of this Scripture verse has proven completely accurate over the course of my life. Whenever I have set aside my own understanding, trusted in God, and acknowledged His Presence as the guiding force in my life, He has laid out the pathway of my life in a straight direction.

Yes, I have had numerous perils along the way. In many cases, those perils arose from my own foolishness. In other cases, I had afflictions that came as the result of living in a sin-cursed world—the kind of perils that everyone faces in this life. Through every trial and difficulty, in the good times and in the bad times, God has always proven faithful to the words of this verse.

Without hesitation, I can commend this verse of Scripture to anyone who desires to bend their selfish human will to God’s divine and perfect will. I urge everyone who will read this blog post to do exactly what this verse says to do. I can guarantee that anyone who obediently follows the guidelines of this verse will never be disappointed.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Hold Fast

 

You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.

—Deuteronomy 13:4

Someone once described an extremely well-educated person as a person who knew more and more about less and less until they knew everything about nothing. I don’t exactly resonate with that sentiment. I happen to believe that education and skills-training has great value. In fact, I had the privilege during my time as the Director of Loss Prevention Training for a large insurance company to lead a team that completely revamped the training program, turning it into a skills-based certification program. So, make no mistake, I hold education and skills-training in high regard.

Nevertheless, I can somewhat understand what the person who coined that description of higher level education intended to describe. I have known individuals who had so immersed themselves in knowledge about a particular subject that they could hardly function in the broader world.

A bit of a practical example of that came to mind recently when I read a post on Facebook by someone who had completed seminary training at a liberal seminary, in order to become a pastor. This person argued that many Evangelical Christians pick and choose key passages from the Old Testament that surely do not apply in our modern age. This pastor insisted that the Evangelicals like to quote these Scripture passages even though, in the opinion of the individual writing the Facebook post, they quote the passages out of the context in which the passages originally applied. This liberal seminary-trained pastor asserted that the Old Testament no longer applies to today.

As I read this Facebook post, I did a bit of a double-take at this last assertion. I did so because the entirety of Scripture—Old Testament and New Testament—provides us with what scholars call “The Whole Counsel of God.”

Of course, certain rules and regulations contained within the Mosaic Law no longer apply to us because—when God sent His Son, Jesus, to earth—a New Covenant was established. At the same time, as Romans 11 clearly states, God has grated us Gentile believers into the vine of His chosen people, the Jews. We remain Gentiles. But, God has chosen us, just as surely as He chose the people of Israel to be His special ones.

The point I am leading to lies in the fact that as “Christ’s-ones,” we have much to learn from, and to cling to, the truth contained in the pages of the Old Testament. A case in point is the Scripture verse at the beginning of this blog post. This verse from the Mosaic Law found in the Book of Deuteronomy—the last Book of the Torah—gives us instruction that certainly applies to our walk with God today.

Notice the elements of this verse:

• Walk after the Lord your God
  
  
• Fear Him
  
  
• Keep His commandments
  
  
• Obey His voice
  
  
• Serve Him and hold fast to Him
  
  

As we begin our walk with God each day, these five precepts certainly have great power to guide our lives. As enabled by the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us, we can move through the events of each day following a pathway that is marked by obedience: in our walk, in our reverence to God, in our obedience to His commandments, in listening for Him speaking to the depths of our innermost being, in serving Him and holding fast to Him. Most surely, those marching orders give us a wise way to live.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

No Other Savior

 

“I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior. I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and I am God.”

—Isaiah 43:11-12

As a teenager, I had the privilege of spending time at two Christian summer camps. One camp, Camp Findley of the Evangelical United Brethren Church, was located on the lovely Findley Lake in western New York State, just 45 minutes from my current residence. I met my wife of 58 years there when I was just 15 years old.

The second Christian summer camp, Odosagih Bible Conference, was located on the western shore of Lime Lake in Machias, New York—in central western New York State, southeast of Buffalo, NY—just about two hours from my current residence. The significant impact of these two Christian camps on the spiritual formation during my teenage years cannot be denied. I had the privilege of hearing many encouraging and motivating Bible teachers.

On particular Bible teacher at Odosagih Bible Conference was Marlin C. “Butch” Hardman, at that time the Director of Youth for Christ International in Washington, DC. Butch Hardman began one teaching session with these words:

“In this life, if you cannot be smart, handsome, or cool, at least be unique.”

I have thought about that potent phrase many times over the years. The fact that Butch Hardman was smart, handsome, and very cool also made him quite unique among the people that I knew in those younger days of my life. Nevertheless, his suggestion that a person develop those characteristics that make one unique has always had the ring of truth to me.

In the Scripture verse at the beginning of this blog post, God declares that He is unique. He states that He alone is the one and only savior. He alone is the one true God. He alone is the only one with the power to create. And, He alone is the only one with the power to save.

As we begin another day, let’s remember that the One who has chosen us to belong to Himself is the only one who can save us from the penalty of our sins. That is the very reason why God sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to die in our place. God has saved us. He has called us to Himself. He sustains us. He delivers us from the powers of sin, death, and Satan. Our God is totally and completely and absolutely unique. He is no strange god. He is our God!

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Trapped in the Desert

 

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

—Psalm 63:1

Think for a moment with me, if you will: “What was the time in your life when you felt the most thirsty you have ever felt?” You wanted a drink of water so badly that you could hardly stand it. Your mouth was chokingly dry. You couldn’t produce any saliva if you tried. Or, maybe, you have never had such a circumstance. Maybe you’ve never felt the need for a drink of water to that extent.

In the Scripture verse at the beginning of this blog post, the Psalmist David built an entire Psalm on the theme of intense thirst. In this case, King David likened the need for a drink of water to quench a thirst in his very soul. Just as an extremely thirsty person seeks for that soothing drink of water, so King David declares that his soul thirst for God. David declares that he earnestly seeks God because God is the only refreshment that can meet the need of the entirety of David’s being.

Have you every felt such a need? Has there ever been a time in your life when you so greatly longed for God that knowing He was present soothed your soul like the coolest drink of water soothes the thirst of a person trapped in the hottest desert? I have had such an experience on a number of occasions in my life.

In each of those times when my soul needed refreshment, God was always present. He was the One—the only One—who could satisfy the need of my soul.

Lanny Wolfe has written a song that illustrates this truth with a truly moving melody that supports these words: ¹

The world will try to satisfy
That longing in your soul.
You may search the wide world o’er
But you’ll be just as before!
You’ll never find true satisfaction
Until you’ve found the Lord,
For only Jesus can satisfy your soul.

Chorus:
Only Jesus can satisfy your soul,
And only He can change your heart and make you whole.
He’ll give you peace you never knew,
Sweet, love and joy and heaven too,
For only Jesus can satisfy your soul!

If you could have the fame and fortune,
All the wealth you could obtain.
Yet you have not Christ within,
Your living here would be in vain.
There’ll come a time when death shall call you
Riches cannot help you then,
So come to Jesus for only He can satisfy.

Chorus:
Only Jesus can satisfy your soul,
And only He can change your heart and make you whole.
He’ll give you peace you never knew,
(Sweet), love and joy and heaven too,
For only Jesus can satisfy your soul!

 

______________________

1 Wolfe, Lanny. “Only Jesus Can Satisfy Your Soul.” Sugar Land, TX: Lanny Wolfe Music, 1971.

Please note that in each case, whenever a citation of any Copyrighted material is made within a post on this blog, such a citation is made strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

The Everlasting Rock

 

Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

—Isaiah 26:4

We learned in Elementary School science class how the flowing water of a river or stream will bear against the rocks in the river bed or stream bed and, over a long period of time, wear the surface of the rock until it becomes very smooth. Such water-smoothed rocks become quite valuable to builders who use these smooth rocks for fill in certain construction applications.

Imagine for a moment that there might exist a rock that water cannot affect. Such a rock has such hardness, such permanence, that no matter to what that rock may become subjected, it retains its original shape and substance. We know that no such rock exists on this earth. If we look at some great feat of nature, such as the Grand Canyon, we have all the proof of this reality that we need. Even the dense rocks of the mighty walls of that canyon cannot stand against the flow of water during hundreds, even thousands, of years.

But, a rock does exist that fits the definition of the rock that never changes. The Scripture verse at the beginning of this blog post talks about just such a rock. And, God is that everlasting rock. Nothing can change Him. God tells us, in Revelation 1:8:

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

As a result of this unyielding permanence of God, we can do exactly what the verse at the beginning of this blog post tells us to do. We can trust in the Lord. We can trust in Him because he never changes. No matter how fluid the circumstances of our lives may seem, God remains the same. He is the everlasting rock.

Each day, as we move out into the world of our lives, we can trust in the Lord to lead and guide us. He never changes. He will always give us all we need to live for Him and serve Him.

Back in the early 1970s, Ronald S. Harris and Stormie Omartian wrote a song that celebrates the very essence of this truth: ¹

Life is moving faster than it ever has before.
What tomorrow brings us, isn’t certain anymore.
So many paths from which to choose,
Don’t know which way to run.
But every road leads nowhere except for one.

Praise the Lord, He never changes.
I talk to Him, He’s always there.
He comforts me on every level,
Takes the burden that I bear.
Praise the Lord, He never changes.
He’s never any other way.
And He’ll be the same tomorrow,
As He was and is today.

Friends and faces come and go like ashes in the wind.
Attitudes arise that I just don’t fully understand.
The things that you can count upon, grow fewer every day.
But when that number gets to one,
That One will show the way.

Praise the Lord, He never changes.
I talk to Him, He’s always there.
He comforts me on every level,
Takes the burden that I bear.
Praise the Lord, He never changes.
He’s never any other way.
And He’ll be the same tomorrow,
As He was and is today.

The Heritage Singers have recorded this delightful song. I urge you to listen to the music in this video:

 

 

 

______________________

1 Harris, Ronald S. and Omartian, Stormie. “Praise the Lord, He Never Changes.” Nashville, TN: Word Music, 1975.

Please note that in each case, whenever a citation of any Copyrighted material is made within a post on this blog, such a citation is made strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}