Fill Your Mind With Good Things
Paul asks us to fill our mind with good things in Philippians 4:8. Recently in our online Bible study class we were all asked to share something good to fill our mind with. This was for our Show and Tell section which has been a chance to get to know each other better and share a laugh or two!
We could share either a fact or something which touched our heart and brought a smile to our face. These were a few things shared. A whale is as long as 3 school buses, a giraffe has exactly the same number of bones in its neck as any human, 7 bones. Julie shared about the birth of her precious grand daughter and Ratna sang a song of praise. Bible verses, quotes and delightful photos were also shared.
It is a shameless appeal for celebration, writes Shauna Niequest of her book Orange Tangerines. I think that is exactly what we gear up for when we fill our minds with good things. What are we filling our minds with? Are we making it a priority to guard our thoughts and fill our minds with Paul’s list?
“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 4:8 NIV
The joy of the Lord is your strength in Nehemiah 8:10 is probably a fridge magnet special. But have you read the whole verse? Nehemiah said ‘Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength’
Living with the full and overflowing mindset is described well by Eugene Peterson in The message translation.
“A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.”
-John 10:10 The Message
Satan is active to steal our peace, kill our joy and destroy our assurance of calm delight. So we have to combat him by filling our minds with everything positive, encouraging and uplifting.
I consistently do 3 things to fill my mind with good things.
I delete all things negative and sad from my phone and save uplifting messages.
I surround myself with Bible verses and photos which are excellent and praiseworthy at home, in my workplace, in my car and in my bag.
I write down verses and quotes which encourage and uplift me in my journal. Often I go back to them to re-read.
This is one of the hymns I have recently written out in my journal. I sing it often. I have highlighted the phrase ‘unnumbered blessings give me voice’. These words have reminded me to count my blessings often and whole heartedly.
“Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord!
Unnumbered blessings give my spirit voice;
Tender to me the promise of His Word;
In God my Savior shall my heart rejoice.”
-Timothy Dudley-smith / Walter Greatorex
Author Elizabeth George says as women who want to live out God's plan and purpose for our lives we have to be careful what we think.
Let me share a few more entries from my journal over the past week.
Every day turn to God, tell him everything and trust him completely. (from an article I read online, I liked the 3 Ts: turn, tell and trust.(unfortunately I did not note down the author’s name.)
Lord, let me strive for love which comes from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith. Amen.
(A prayer I wrote based on 1 Timothy 1:5, a key verse from last week’s sermon at church.)
Together let us fill our minds with good things and also pass them around. By doing so may we invite God into our story and walk into our worlds in strength and grace.