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by Bible League International,
Narrated by Artificial Intelligence – Andrew,
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Scripture,
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. – Philippians 4:8 ESV
Devotion,
We are usually less concerned with what we are thinking about than with what we are doing. No one really knows what we’re thinking about, but it’s a lot easier to find out what we’re doing. If our only concern is what people think of us, then taking care of what we do will usually do the job. We won’t have to trouble ourselves with cleaning up our thought life in order to keep up appearances.
In our verse of the day, the Apostle Paul wants to encourage us to live up to a higher standard. We should clean up not only our outward life, but our inward life as well. Those of us in Christ live by the Spirit and “those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit” (Romans 8:5). If we’re Christians who live by the Spirit, then our minds should reflect that fact. If our minds are fixed on things other than what’s on Paul’s list, then something may be amiss.
Sometimes all it takes to clean up our inward life is to simply become aware of what we’re thinking about. At those times becoming aware of any thoughts of hatred, jealousy, unforgiveness, bitterness, or lust. affords us the opportunity to deal with them quickly. We should always be sensitive to what we’re thinking about so that we can make a course correction in our thought life if necessary.
Sometimes it’s a lot more difficult to gain control of our thoughts. At those times we must turn to the Lord to repent, ask for forgiveness, and help. Our prayer should be the prayer David prayed after his exposure as an adulterer and murderer: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10 ESV).
Let’s not allow discouragement into our minds if things don’t progress as quickly as we would like. After all, discouragement is not one of the things on Paul’s list. Getting our minds right is a lifelong process.
Inspirational Image of the Day
