- Joined
- Apr 25, 2006
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- 18,404
l Accentuate the positive!
‘Finally, brothers, whatever is true, .. noble...right... pure...lovely...admirable - if anything is excellent or praise-worthy - think about (these) things!’ Philippians 4:8
I guess this wonderfully practical advice was given with one eye on Euodia and Syntyche! Everyone of us though has to work at this. We all long for that ‘peace of God which transcends understanding’ to ‘guard our hearts and minds in Christ’; Today’s verse is another key to finding that peace for ourselves - and to spreading it to others.
If we’re struggling to fully forgive, to respect, or even perhaps to find anything to rejoice in, let’s start today by consciously trying to shut the door on negative thoughts and reminding ourselves of anything positive we can think of, however small. (We grow spiritually, closer to Christ through doing this.)
We’re told to ‘take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ’
(2 Cor.10:5). Practicing today’s verse is another way of doing that,- and also benefit others, ourselves, and Him. After all, Christ loved us enough to die for us - ‘while we were still sinners’.(Rom 5:8)
Way back in Genesis, God warned Cain, ‘Sin is crouching at the door’ (of your mind) ‘it desires to have you, but you must master it’. None of us are exempt. Given the chance, a crouching lion springs at it’s prey in an instant. If we open our minds to the opposite of today’s characteristics:- ‘whatever’s true’, ‘right’, ‘pure’, ‘admirable’ etc - we could be overpowered by their opposites:- whatever’s untrue, wrong, unclean, in-fact nothing ‘worthy of admiration’!
Prayer for today
Lord, help me to keep closing my mind to what’s negative, while opening it only to what’s positive. Amen.
‘Finally, brothers, whatever is true, .. noble...right... pure...lovely...admirable - if anything is excellent or praise-worthy - think about (these) things!’ Philippians 4:8
I guess this wonderfully practical advice was given with one eye on Euodia and Syntyche! Everyone of us though has to work at this. We all long for that ‘peace of God which transcends understanding’ to ‘guard our hearts and minds in Christ’; Today’s verse is another key to finding that peace for ourselves - and to spreading it to others.
If we’re struggling to fully forgive, to respect, or even perhaps to find anything to rejoice in, let’s start today by consciously trying to shut the door on negative thoughts and reminding ourselves of anything positive we can think of, however small. (We grow spiritually, closer to Christ through doing this.)
We’re told to ‘take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ’
(2 Cor.10:5). Practicing today’s verse is another way of doing that,- and also benefit others, ourselves, and Him. After all, Christ loved us enough to die for us - ‘while we were still sinners’.(Rom 5:8)
Way back in Genesis, God warned Cain, ‘Sin is crouching at the door’ (of your mind) ‘it desires to have you, but you must master it’. None of us are exempt. Given the chance, a crouching lion springs at it’s prey in an instant. If we open our minds to the opposite of today’s characteristics:- ‘whatever’s true’, ‘right’, ‘pure’, ‘admirable’ etc - we could be overpowered by their opposites:- whatever’s untrue, wrong, unclean, in-fact nothing ‘worthy of admiration’!
Prayer for today
Lord, help me to keep closing my mind to what’s negative, while opening it only to what’s positive. Amen.
