What are you thinking about?
Sunday 16th September 2018
'If anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.' Philippians 4:8 NIV
What preoccupies our thoughts has a huge influence on the way we live. If we primarily think about worldly things, we'll have a worldly focus. Conversely, if we think primarily about God's ways, his ways will determine the way we live. It's easy to say, but not quite so easy to put into practice. So many things can determine how we think: our upbringing; our day-to-day activities; other people speaking into our lives; the enemy feeding us lies that we believe are truths. Once our thoughts are on anything other than godly things, we're in danger of our lives heading in the same way.
The Bible tells us: 'Keep your thoughts on whatever is right or deserves praise: things that are true, honourable, fair, pure, acceptable, or commendable' (Philippians 4:8 GWT). If our mind has been distracted from thinking about these good things, we can get it back on track. We can ask God to renew our minds. This takes dedication and effort.
We can test every thought we have against the truth of God's Word, by reading God's Word, the Bible. When we're sure of godly truths, we'll find it much easier to recognise worldly lies. And we'll be equipped to avoid being swayed by things other voices say, and instead be able to focus on God's voice.
So what now? Make a list of your loudest thoughts at the moment. If any of them don't match up to God's truth, ask him to help you remove them and replace them with his truth.
Sunday 16th September 2018
'If anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.' Philippians 4:8 NIV
What preoccupies our thoughts has a huge influence on the way we live. If we primarily think about worldly things, we'll have a worldly focus. Conversely, if we think primarily about God's ways, his ways will determine the way we live. It's easy to say, but not quite so easy to put into practice. So many things can determine how we think: our upbringing; our day-to-day activities; other people speaking into our lives; the enemy feeding us lies that we believe are truths. Once our thoughts are on anything other than godly things, we're in danger of our lives heading in the same way.
The Bible tells us: 'Keep your thoughts on whatever is right or deserves praise: things that are true, honourable, fair, pure, acceptable, or commendable' (Philippians 4:8 GWT). If our mind has been distracted from thinking about these good things, we can get it back on track. We can ask God to renew our minds. This takes dedication and effort.
We can test every thought we have against the truth of God's Word, by reading God's Word, the Bible. When we're sure of godly truths, we'll find it much easier to recognise worldly lies. And we'll be equipped to avoid being swayed by things other voices say, and instead be able to focus on God's voice.
So what now? Make a list of your loudest thoughts at the moment. If any of them don't match up to God's truth, ask him to help you remove them and replace them with his truth.
