Philippians 4:8 (NLT)
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
This verse in Philippians 4:8 promotes God’s standard for how we are to steward our hearts and minds; He tells us what they should contain. Consider for a few minutes why Heavenly Father would instruct us regarding our thought life. He’s a God of purpose, and He doesn’t say or do anything just for the sake of saying or doing it. Everything He does has necessity and purpose. So, we have no other choice but to know that if He took the time to instruct us on the matter of our thoughts, then our thought-life is important to Him. Our mind is where we create our reality. It’s where we dream and make things happen in life. Our thoughts influence everything we do, and they ultimately control our actions. So, considering the impact our thoughts have on our lives, it is no secret why it’s important to God that we put on the mind of Jesus Christ and think like him.
Thoughts are like seeds. Once you plant them, and water them through thinking them again and again, those seeds will produce a harvest. The mind is a powerful tool, and that’s why Heavenly Father tells us to think on whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and admirable. He wants the absolute best for us, and our acceptance of all the good things in life begins by thinking Godly thoughts.
Proverbs 23:7(NKJV) tells us, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” When we think the same thoughts repeatedly, and think them with emotion and feeling, this leaves an incredible imprint on our consciousness. These thoughts take on a form, and Proverbs 23:7 says that this form becomes a part of who we are. It becomes an actual part of our hearts, impacting our decisions and choices. And not only this, these same thoughts begin to create and draw circumstances and people that support them. If it’s negative thoughts, life will mirror back negativity. If they are positive thoughts, life will mirror the positive. In this way, we decide what comes back to us by the very nature of what we put into the atmosphere. And it is all rooted and gets its beginning from our thoughts.
God tells us through the Apostle Paul in 2Corinthians 10:5 to demolish the unprincipled, ungodly, and vain thinking that comes from the world. Those in the world believe themselves to outsmart everyone, but really they are caught up in a vicious negative cycle of vanity, darkness, and destruction. That’s not for God’s people. Through the powerful tools that God has provided, we are commanded by Him to tear down the lies that are started by the world in order to blind people from seeing the light of God’s truth. We start with ourselves by capturing every thought we think. We then must hold it up to examine whether it can be shaped and molded according to the mind of Christ. If it can’t, it’s outta here. Jesus Christ must always be on our minds, and when our thoughts line up with his, we will be a magnet for all the good things God wants us to have.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“What’s on Your Mind?”, written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2019. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.