Philippians 4:4-9 The Message
4-5 Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!
6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
8-9 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
The Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning; is now and ever shall be; world without end. Amen, Amen.
Many of us begin the day with anxious thoughts.
The “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7) never seems to reach us in the middle of the night or when we first open our eyes.
Instead, as the morning comes we say to ourselves,
“There is so much to think about. So much is happening. So many things are dancing around in my mind and I never learned how to dance. I’ve got so many challenges.”
Thoughts such as these so easily produce anxiety and stultify our commitment to prayer.
Apostle Paul helps us to overcome these draining, even crippling feelings by directing our gaze toward those virtues which will truly liberate our thinking.
A mind that is filled with the content described in Philippians 4:8 will have little space for anxiety-producing, peace-disrupting, joy-destroying notions.
What Paul was encouraging his readers to adopt is a distinctly Christian way of thinking.
A Christian mind, he taught, is not a mind that is trained to think only about “Christian topics” but one that has learned to think about everything from a Christian perspective.
Ultimately, we are what we think about.
It is in our minds that our affections are stirred, and it is through our minds that our wills are directed.
It is in the mind that we conceive of and produce every action.
It is therefore imperative that we learn to think about what is right and godly.
The Bible is not concerned with mere mental reflection for its own sake.
The Christian is not called to sit on a high hill and think blessed thoughts in abstraction, removed from the routines of everyday existence.
Rather, Paul provides us with a list that will establish us in our motives, our manners, and our morals.
Each of and every one of us is called to live in the realm of the real, not the phony; the serious, not the frivolous; the right, not the convenient; the clean, not the dirty; the loving, not the discordant; and the helpful, not the critical.
In short, we are called to think like Jesus.
Paul is not simply calling you to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, though.
This is not a rallying cry to try your best to perform the list.
Sanctification by self-effort is not God’s agenda.
The multifaceted virtue Paul speaks of is the fruit which grows on the tree of salvation.
This fruit is brought forth by those whose roots are embedded in grace.
So, let your heart be gripped by God’s grace, and train your mind to think on that which is truly praiseworthy.
When those influences converge, your life will be one that brings glory to God.
Practice aiming your thoughts towards the throne room of God to make His grace, this fruit, the first thing you think about when you wake up tomorrow.
Think about good things for personal victory in any situation
It’s easy to dwell on the negative when life is hard, disappointing, or painful.
That’s why it’s so important to follow this passage of instructions; it’s here to help us through the inevitable tough times and appreciate the great moments.
When Satan wants to get to you, he’ll often start with lies and condemnation whispered into your mind until you (maybe not even realizing Satan was doing so) start to believe them and then react with anxieties, despair, sadness, anger, fears or any other thing ultimately seeking to separate us from the love of God.
But with this passage of text, Paul gave a way to combat Satan’s efforts.
We are to feed our minds with blessings from God and the good things we can find in our lives or situations.
We are to think about what is true through the living word of God rather than the lies Satan would hardcore teach us, ram down our throats and have us believe.
We are to steadfastly and diligently dwell on what the word of God teaches us is noble and right and truthful so our words and actions will follow our thoughts.
We are to feed our minds with whatever God reveals and teaches us is pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy—all the things that help us stay centered upon, laser focused on God’s love for us and Christ’s sacrifice for us.
This thoroughly radical way of filling our minds with truth and all good things is an enormous spiritual challenge, especially during these most trying times.
But as we actively practice this, even in the most difficult moments, we can fight painful situations, trials, and all the difficult things we face.
It’s a way to rebuild, rebound, reclaim, restore and live out our lives with love, hope, faith, and gratefulness in the full blessings and love of God our Father.
As Christians, by our baptism we have a been brought into a family relationship with God through our union with Christ – by faith.
But we are also expected to take full responsibility for walking in spirit and truth, living as unto the Lord, fully trusting in the truth of the Word of God, depending on our Heavenly Father, submitting to the Holy Spirit, abiding in Christ, and appropriating all that is ours in Him – by faith.
This can only be done as we diligently practice to focus the eyes of our heart upon our Savior Christ alone and so throughout Scripture, we are directed to pray, seek God’s face and take control of our thoughts and our imaginations.
We are told to take every thought captive to the Lord, to let the mind of Christ dwell in us richly, and not to allow the thoughts of our heart to control us.
Paul puts it this way: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
Righteous living depends on right teaching and right thinking, and God has promised to keep in perfect peace the one whose MIND is stayed on Him.
What about Parents Raising the Coming Generations?
Psalm 119:9-16 The Message
9-16 How can a young person live a clean life?
By carefully reading the map of your Word.
I’m single-minded in pursuit of you;
don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted.
I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart
so I won’t sin myself bankrupt.
Be blessed, God;
train me in your ways of wise living.
I’ll transfer to my lips
all the counsel that comes from your mouth;
I delight far more in what you tell me about living
than in gathering a pile of riches.
I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you,
I attentively watch how you’ve done it.
I relish everything you’ve told me of life,
I won’t forget a word of it.
This is very important to teach our children as we raise them, as we model Christ for them as they grow and mature in their thinking: He promised to garrison our heart, our minds, our emotions, our innermost thoughts, as we practice centering our prayers, praises upon Him alone – with thanksgiving!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 19:11-14 The Message
11-14 There’s more: God’s Word warns us of danger
and directs us to hidden treasure.
Otherwise how will we find our way?
Or know when we play the fool?
Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!
Keep me from stupid sins,
from thinking I can take over your work;
Then I can start this day sun-washed,
scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.
These are the words in my mouth;
these are what I chew on and pray.
Accept them when I place them
on the morning altar,
O God, my Altar-Rock,
God, Priest-of-My-Altar.
Heavenly Father, keep me, I pray, from anxious thoughts. Help me to garrison my thought life on all that is commendable and good, and help me to keep the eyes of my heart fixed on Jesus. May I make a conscious choice to dwell on those things that are worthy of praise, knowing that the light of Christ and the darkness of all that is evil, cannot abide together. This I ask in Jesus’ name, Alleluia, Alleluia, AMEN.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning; is now and ever shall be; world without end. Amen, Amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 