Philippians 4:8-9
"Finally brethren ,whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, meditate on these things."
We have begun a journey investigating our thought lives from a Biblical perspective. Along our journey so far we have visited true, noble, and just thoughts. Today we're going to take a look at pure thoughts.
Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines pure this way:
"Free from moral defilement; without spot; not sullied or tarnished; incorrupt; undebased by moral turpitude; holy."
Vine's Expository Dictionary defines the word from the Greek as "pure from defilement, not contaminated". It can also be translated chaste meaning "pure from every fault, immaculate".
One good picture of purity is newly fallen snow... have you ever awakened to a world of freshly fallen snow? It's one of the most amazing and beautiful visual experiences! Being a sunny California girl, it's a rare treat for me to see that. But it only took once to leave an indelible imprint on my mind... the hush, the crispness, the awe inspiring beauty of untouched, undisturbed snow. Oh how I wish my mind had the constant quality of freshly fallen snow - without spot, unsullied, pure white, faultless.
Unfortunately, my mind is battlefield where even if the "snow" falls pure, there is my enemy close at hand to sully that "snow" with dirty boots meant to contaminate the tranquility and purity. But this I know, that even with an enemy so fierce and determined, my God is greater and I am more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus my Lord.
Praise God that His word is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword; it pierces even to the division of joints and marrow, soul and spirit and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Heb. 4:12). The word of God is a purifier (Ps. 119:9), as I press into Him, read and memorize the Word of God - it cleanses my heart and mind convicting, correcting, instructing me (II Tim. 3:16-17).
My dear friends, pure thoughts can only come through the Word of God. As we find our thoughts becoming sullied or tarnished to any degree, we must put off those thoughts and put on the mind of Christ by replacing them with the Word of God. Find verses that speak to your struggle and write them down on a 3X5 card, place them where you can see them (mirror, steering wheel, inside of front door, etc). Keep it before your eyes because the Word of God is our sword. Let me encourage you to pick up your sword and slice through those impure thoughts. Then the victory will be sure time and time again.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
Just thinking...
"whatsoever things are just"
Was I just thinking or was I thinking just (ly) ???
Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines just this way:
"Conformed to truth; exact; proper; accurate; as just thoughts; just expressions; just images or representations; a just description; a just inference."
Accurate thoughts, thoughts that are not exaggerated one way or the other... is that the way I think? Well, if the truth be told, my thoughts can easily be influenced toward injustice.
Proverbs 18:13 tells us, "He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and a shame to him."
Unfortunately I can tell you from experience that this is true. I am not always careful to investigate things before I form an opinion. This careless habit has caused me much shame and regret. The beauty of this learning opportunity is that it can teach me to be more just in the future if I am willing to be taught by the experience.
How can I be more just in my thought life?
~Extend grace - give others the benefit of the doubt (The Lord knows we all need grace!)
~Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative - think in positive terms first as a regular habit
~Consider the facts objectively - step back and look at the situation with an open mind
~Seek God's insight - ask God for wisdom to see things His way
~Recognize my own sinfulness - I am not perfect and will fail, miserably at times, putting me "in their shoes" quite literally
~Be humble- admit I'm not God, I don't know all the facts much less the heart of the person or people involved, only God knows that
~Pray - be a part of the solution and take the person or situation to the throne of grace- Prayer is the key that unlocks all the other actions above.
Just thinking is
Unbiased,
Shaped by grace, and
Truthful
Was I just thinking or was I thinking just (ly) ???
Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines just this way:
"Conformed to truth; exact; proper; accurate; as just thoughts; just expressions; just images or representations; a just description; a just inference."
Accurate thoughts, thoughts that are not exaggerated one way or the other... is that the way I think? Well, if the truth be told, my thoughts can easily be influenced toward injustice.
Proverbs 18:13 tells us, "He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and a shame to him."
Unfortunately I can tell you from experience that this is true. I am not always careful to investigate things before I form an opinion. This careless habit has caused me much shame and regret. The beauty of this learning opportunity is that it can teach me to be more just in the future if I am willing to be taught by the experience.
How can I be more just in my thought life?
~Extend grace - give others the benefit of the doubt (The Lord knows we all need grace!)
~Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative - think in positive terms first as a regular habit
~Consider the facts objectively - step back and look at the situation with an open mind
~Seek God's insight - ask God for wisdom to see things His way
~Recognize my own sinfulness - I am not perfect and will fail, miserably at times, putting me "in their shoes" quite literally
~Be humble- admit I'm not God, I don't know all the facts much less the heart of the person or people involved, only God knows that
~Pray - be a part of the solution and take the person or situation to the throne of grace- Prayer is the key that unlocks all the other actions above.
Just thinking is
Unbiased,
Shaped by grace, and
Truthful
Monday, August 4, 2008
Noble Thinking
I thought it might be fun to work through each of the virtues we looked over in Philippians 4:8 one at a time.
Last time we talked about "whatever things are true". Today we'll turn our attention to "whatever things are noble".
In Greek noble looks like this: venerable, worthy of reverence.
Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines noble this way:
NO'BLE, a.
1. Great; elevated; dignified; being above every thing that can dishonor reputation; as a noble mind; a noble courage; noble deeds of valor; 8. Ingenuous; candid; of an excellent disposition; ready to receive truth.
I don't know about you but the word noble reminds me of knights and fair maidens... almost like a fairytale word... you know the knight rides up on his noble steed and saves the day! Let's have some fun with that word picture. Noble thoughts will be the knight, the damsel in distress will be our minds, and our ignoble thoughts will be the villain.
In a small village outside of a great kingdom, a villain (ignoble thoughts) takes a fair maiden
(mind) captive and hides her away in a lonely castle tower. The maiden cannot see how she will ever get free as she ponders the wickedness of the villain. These thoughts begin to cause her great distress draining her of any hope. In the distance there is the faint sound of hoof beats. At first she does not give thought to the sound, she continues to wrestle with her fearful thoughts. But soon the sound is much closer and coming very rapidly so she looks out the window to see what it might be. Lo and behold it is a knight on a beautiful horse coming to rescue her! Oh how her thoughts turn from hopelessness to hope, from fear to courage, from a focus on captivity to a focus on freedom. As she is rescued from her prison, the damsel (mind) is overcome with thankfulness and awe at the unexpected change in her situation that she could not dream of yet has experienced. The knight (noble thoughts) takes her to safety within the walls of the great kingdom.
The knight's appearing changed the maiden's perspective and chased away the fear, distress, and hopelessness she was drowning in. As we turn our thoughts to noble things, things worthy of reverence and worship, we will begin to have victory over thoughts that are fearful, hopeless, defeating, and distressing. Noble thoughts are those that are focused on our Redeemer, the One Who rescued us from our captivity and transferred us into His kingdom. Ride on to victory fair maidens!
Last time we talked about "whatever things are true". Today we'll turn our attention to "whatever things are noble".
In Greek noble looks like this: venerable, worthy of reverence.
Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines noble this way:
NO'BLE, a.
1. Great; elevated; dignified; being above every thing that can dishonor reputation; as a noble mind; a noble courage; noble deeds of valor; 8. Ingenuous; candid; of an excellent disposition; ready to receive truth.
I don't know about you but the word noble reminds me of knights and fair maidens... almost like a fairytale word... you know the knight rides up on his noble steed and saves the day! Let's have some fun with that word picture. Noble thoughts will be the knight, the damsel in distress will be our minds, and our ignoble thoughts will be the villain.
In a small village outside of a great kingdom, a villain (ignoble thoughts) takes a fair maiden
(mind) captive and hides her away in a lonely castle tower. The maiden cannot see how she will ever get free as she ponders the wickedness of the villain. These thoughts begin to cause her great distress draining her of any hope. In the distance there is the faint sound of hoof beats. At first she does not give thought to the sound, she continues to wrestle with her fearful thoughts. But soon the sound is much closer and coming very rapidly so she looks out the window to see what it might be. Lo and behold it is a knight on a beautiful horse coming to rescue her! Oh how her thoughts turn from hopelessness to hope, from fear to courage, from a focus on captivity to a focus on freedom. As she is rescued from her prison, the damsel (mind) is overcome with thankfulness and awe at the unexpected change in her situation that she could not dream of yet has experienced. The knight (noble thoughts) takes her to safety within the walls of the great kingdom.
The knight's appearing changed the maiden's perspective and chased away the fear, distress, and hopelessness she was drowning in. As we turn our thoughts to noble things, things worthy of reverence and worship, we will begin to have victory over thoughts that are fearful, hopeless, defeating, and distressing. Noble thoughts are those that are focused on our Redeemer, the One Who rescued us from our captivity and transferred us into His kingdom. Ride on to victory fair maidens!
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