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“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4: 8-9 NLT)
Or expanded a bit further:
“Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart]. The things which you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things [in daily life], and the God [who is the source] of peace and well-being will be with you.” (Philippians 4: 8-9 AMP)
Our thought life governs our feelings and our actions.
So, what the Apostle Paul was teaching us is that we have to get rid of our ‘stinking thinking’.
Get rid of, and don’t dwell on, unwholesome things and images in our minds.
The impact of Philippians 4:8-9 is a guideline for continued growth and transformation in the life of a Christian.
Christians need to refuse to dwell on negativity and should instead train themselves to intentionally focus on the things of God, so as to allow peace of God to grow in their lives and ungodly thinking to become less and less.
To do this we must:
- Get Right – this includes confessing sin (Psalm 139:23-24, 1 John 1:5-10, Proverbs 28:13-14). Why? Because we are not going to be able to fulfil the commands of God if the Spirit is quenched because of sin!
- Think Right – This command includes memorizing and meditating on God’s Word – the Bible.
- Live Right – The essence of this command is about being a disciple a genuine follower of Jesus.
“Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Saviour.” (Philippians 3:17-20 NLT)
Because our thought life governs our feelings and our actions, we cannot possibly live life the way God wants us to without submitting our thought life to be under God’s control.
“So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you. Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; and purify your [unfaithful] hearts, you double-minded [people]. Be miserable and grieve and weep [over your sin]. Let your [foolish] laughter be turned to mourning and your [reckless] joy to gloom. Humble yourselves [with an attitude of repentance and insignificance] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up, He will give you purpose].” (James 4:7-10 AMP)
The Good News is that if we are willing to do all this, and change our thinking and therefore our living, we will walk in the victory of our resurrected Lord Jesus.
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