May 14, 2020
Good morning Friends,
There is a simple principle that says when you put garbage into your mind and life, garbage will come out. When you put good things into your mind and life, then good things will flow out. Your mind matters and what you put into your mind will ultimately make the difference between peace or distraction.
Finally, brothers, 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. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Phil 4:8-9 (NIV)
God’s promise to us in verse 9 is that when you think of these things, the “God of peace will be with you.”
People of peace are people who have learned, with God’s help, to control their mind. They regulate what goes in and peace prevails. Others choose to put garbage into their mind and garbage naturally comes out.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2 (NIV)
When scripture instructs us to no longer conform to the pattern of the world what does this mean?
Christians are called to a different lifestyle than what the world offers with its behavior and customs, which are usually selfish and often corrupt. Christians are to live as citizens of a future world. There will be pressure to conform, to continue living according to the script written by the world, but believers are admonished to not give in to that pressure.
But refusing to conform to this world’s values must go even deeper than the level of behavior and customs, it must go to the transforming of the way we think. Believers are to experience a complete transformation from the inside out. Our enemy makes it quite easy to put garbage into our mind. TV, the Internet, multimedia outlets, even the magazines and books we read are full of violence, sex, inappropriate language, negativity, and the list goes on. And this change must begin in the mind, where all thoughts and actions begin.
We begin the process of guarding our mind by censoring with we watch, listen to, read, and view. It is a deliberate action we as Christians take to keep our focus on Christ.
Push Negative Thoughts Out
One tactic that successfully positive people have is to ignore and reject negative thoughts that enter the mind. It takes about 30 seconds of dwelling on a thought for it to enter our deeper consciousness. You can train your brain to reject these thoughts, stopping them before they can take hold. Release those thoughts from your mind and do not allow them back in.
Make Time for Positivity
It is a given that if you surround yourself and your life with negativity, you will end up in a bad place. Make time in your free time to do things that build you up spiritually. This can be reading a good Christian book studying scripture, prayer. Anything that keeps our focus on God is a good distraction from negativity.
Your mind is a powerful source of help and positive energy. Give your mind and thoughts over to God’s power and you’ll begin to think the thoughts of our Lord and live with the peace from above. Let’s not waste your precious life with less than what God has to offer. Heed this advice from Him in Romans 12.
The grace of God be with you all.
Pastor Dennis