Last time we looked at the PRIORITY of the mind. We must set our minds on the eternal, the spiritual, thoughts that focus on our great and awesome God.
But we do live in this world. We must daily deal with the issues of this life, and the people in our lives. We want to put the PRIORITY of our thinking into practice on a regular basis. God’s Word gives us a PATTERN for our thinking that can drive all of our thoughts along a path that glorifies God.
Philippians 4:8--Finally, brethren, 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, let your mind dwell on these things.
John MacArthur says, “The phrase dwell on these things introduces an important truth: spiritual stability is a result of how a person thinks. The imperative form…makes it a command; proper thinking is not optional in the Christian life.”
My husband calls this verse a leash law for the mind. We have a puppy at our house, and he is now big enough to go on walks. Without a leash, he would constantly be sniffing all kinds of nasty stuff, and dangerously running into the street. He needs a leash to keep on the right course. So do we, a mental leash. When we set our minds on the qualities in this verse, then we set our course on a path that is pleasing to God.
This verse is not a suggestion, but a command. God wants our minds to dwell on these things. This verse also gives us a measuring stick, or a filter, to examine our thinking. Over the next several days we will look at these qualities one by one.
1 comment:
Mom! Your blogs are so encouraging! Thanks for reminding us how important it is for us to think on the right things. I'm looking forward to more of what we should be dwelling on!
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