![](https://djejflde2khrv.cloudfront.net/website/images/default-source/may/ad20-045-1207093069-thm.jpg?sfvrsn=9ebf2780_2)
Ghost forest
![](https://djejflde2khrv.cloudfront.net/website/images/default-source/ads/ad21-052-973419132-thm.jpg?sfvrsn=88c72080_2)
"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."Romans 12:2
There are more varieties of trees in North Carolina than in any other state. During the three months of fall, over 5 million people provide a billion dollars of income to the state as they come to enjoy the kaleidoscope of color in the trees. But in 2011 Hurricane Irene sent saltwater deeper inland than ever before, killing over 21,000 acres of trees, creating a ghost forest. Like that saltwater, a secular culture can poison the “roots” – the foundation – of a nation, church, or life. And when the foundation is destroyed, nothing stands.
How can we protect ourselves from the “saltwater” of secular culture? According to our verse, we pull out our “transformers” – our Bibles – and spend time daily renewing our minds. This exercise will not only keep us from conforming to culture, it will also equip us to “reverse the flow” and penetrate culture with the pure and living water of Jesus Christ.
![Signature](https://djejflde2khrv.cloudfront.net/website/default-album/dr-young-signature_57e8a1b4-0bdf-46d0-bec4-13108e387b8c.png?sfvrsn=d1f25e80_5)