Perhaps we need an alter call.  Maybe it is time to change and make some alterations. 

* Alter the way you think.  Most people never think much about their thought choices.  They tend to just go with whatever thoughts come to their mind — impulses, whims, text messages, song lyrics, conversations they hear, words from a TV show or commercial.  The problem is that many of the thoughts that present themselves to our mind are not good for us.  They create anxiety, fear, guilt, worry, frustration, depression, and other negative emotions.  Perhaps you can improve your thinking and thus improve the quality of your life.

* Alter how you live.  Our choices of what we say and do through out the day also have a great impact on our quality of life.  Much human pain is self-inflected by our making harmful lifestyle choices.  Perhaps you can make an effort to choose words and behaviors that make your life better rather than those that make your life worse.

* Alter how you do church.  Church has become rather weak in our culture.  Church has been called “the opium of the people” — something to make people passive.  However, the original church described in the New Testament book of Acts was a ball of fire!  They were called the people “who turned the world upside down.”  Perhaps being a passive spectator is not the best way to do church.  Perhaps we should obey the one Bible verse that actually tells us how to have church — I Corinthians 14:26. 

Need some help responding to this alter call.  Come visit a place where you are invited to be an important participant, not just an observer — The Salvation Army Berry Street Worship Center, 225 Berry St., Nashville, 37207, Sundays at 10:45 am.