Today's Devotional is written by Pastor Roy Summers
Slow Dynamite
Isn't it strange what we remember from our youth. There are certain sayings of my father which still come back to me, no doubt because he repeated them so often.
The one that comes to mind today was spoken in a variety of forms but the essence of them all was a fatherly rebuke. My dad was weary with how much time we spent listening to secular music and so he would say things like:
"You don't have any time to think your own thoughts."
"Don't let the world squeeze you into its mold."
"You're frightened of having one moment to think."
"Stop filling your mind with the world."
Words like that echo down the years and act like slow dynamite; I didn't particularly pay much attention to them in my youth but I see the value of them today and find I say similar things to my own sons.
Just as we are physically what we eat, so we are spiritually, precisely what we think.
Cultivating a Christian Mind
Our memory verse for today provides a guide to our thought life. Paul is near the end of his letter to the Philippians and he has a few more encouragements to pass on. This one is about what we think....
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." (Philippians 4:12)
Paul encourages us to guide and direct our thinking, not to allow it to aimlessly wander. So he gives us eight criteria by which to assess our thoughts. We notice that all of them are positive and all of them are objective. We could take every thought that tries to make its way into our minds and either continue them or expel them on the criteria Paul gives here.
Someone once said "You are what you think," by which they meant that what guides our daily lives, our words and our actions, is what we allow our minds to meditate on.
That surely must be true, although we could go down one step into the heart and say, more accurately, that what we think arises from what we love in our hearts. Heart is one step deeper than mind. Nevertheles, the heart can be taught through the mind - by what we allow ourselves to meditate on.
Dangers Today
Every past age thinks the new age more dangerous than the last. But there is a case for saying that with the advent of the internet our age is unparralelled in mental distractions. Many young people spend eight hours a day online over the weekend, as an example.
Besides the web there is Satan and the flesh. These three, Satan, flesh and world, all want a piece of our minds. And it will only be by disciplined Holy Spirit self-control that we shall be able to develop a Christian mind that ponders only those beautiful things Paul encourages of us.
Summing it All Up
For some Christians their minds could so easily run to fear or worry. For others it could be unforgiveness, for others greed or lust. Let us run all our thoughts against the standards Paul sets and discard thoughts that are not true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy.
A SONG FOR THE DAY
Our hymn for the day is an ancient hymn, probably around 500 years ago.
God be in my head,
and in my understanding;
God be in mine eyes,
and in my looking;
God be in my mouth,
and in my speaking;
God be in my heart,
and in my thinking;
God be at mine end,
and at my departing.
You can at least listen, HERE.
A PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Our holy Father in heaven,
We thank you for minds that can reason. We recognise that like all our faculties our minds must be nurtured and protected.
We thank you that you have not given us the spirit of fear but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Teach us to guide our thoughts. Help us to fill our precious minds with holy and pure thoughts so that our lives might glorify you.
We ask these things in Jesus' Name
Amen
Photo by David Olubaji on Unsplash
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