Think About Such Things

You may have heard it said that, when it comes to our struggle with sin, the battlefield is in the mind. And for the most part, I would agree. That is why we are taught to fill our mind with things that are true and noble; things that are pure and right. When we do, and if we do it often, we’ll be able to train our mind to focus on what is helpful to our walk and beneficial to our spirit. Because what we put in our mind will ultimately filter into our heart. And the Bible tells us that whatever our heart is full of will ultimately come out in our words and deeds. Paul exhorts the Philippians with these words in Philippians, chapter 4, verse 8:

“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.” 

Matthew 12:34 reminds us that the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. So, we know what will happen if we allow our mind to think on evil things, and allow our eyes and ears to let in what is evil. We know what happens if we surround ourselves with things that are sinful and friends that are spiritually rebellious and disobedient. It affects the way we think, which in turn affects our heart. And ultimately, our heart will reveal the evil in it through our words and deeds. If this is true, then wouldn’t it make sense that if we fill our mind with things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy, that it would filter into our hearts and would also reveal itself in our words and deeds? I would challenge you to consider how important it is for us to guard our minds and our hearts. That is why Proverbs 4:23 tells us to “guard our hearts because everything we do flows from it”. And one way to guard our heart is by constantly thinking on that which is good.

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What we allow into our thoughts matter, because over time, it can affect our heart which can ultimately affect our words and actions. Much like if we fill our bodies with junk food and harmful drugs we will be negatively affected physically, if we allow sinful and harmful thoughts into our minds, we will be negatively affected spiritually. That is why Paul exhorts the Philippians to think on heavenly things; things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. And I’m sure if you give it a little thought, you’ll be able to come up with other good and holy things to add to the list. The goal is to guard our hearts by guarding our minds. If it is true that the battlefield is in the mind, we now have a plan that will help us prepare for every battle.

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From One Man

There is absolutely no place for racism within the body of Christ. Even new believers understand that the Bible, the Christian faith and the character of God are in direct conflict with the culture of racism. We were all made in God’s image. Jesus died for the entire world. And we are commanded to love our neighbor just as much as we love ourselves. In fact, in the parable of the “good Samaritan”, Jesus purposefully chose a Samaritan to challenge the Jews because Samaritans were thought of as “unclean”and “less than”. So in subtext of the parable, Jesus was saying that even a Samaritan can be a good neighbor. And in Acts, we learn that it doesn’t matter who you are, what skin color you have, or where you were born we all the same because all of us came from one man. It says in Acts, chapter 17, verse 26: 

“From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.” 

From this we learn that there is only one race; the human race. From one man God made every nation of men. So if you claim to be a believer I want to challenge you to examine your prejudice. Is there anyone you might consider “less than” because of their race, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, age, weight, education, or any other variable? Remember, we were all made in God’s image and Jesus died for everyone. And in Acts we are reminded that from one man God made every nation of men. If you think about it, being prejudice really doesn’t make any logical sense, because it is only by God’s hand that any of us were born where we were. We didn’t choose our parents, our skin color, or our neighborhood. God did. So I would encourage you to remember that we are all equal in God’s eyes. And if that is true, and we are to take on the likeness of Christ, then we should also agree with this concept as well.

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Some biases that were ingrained in us a child are difficult to change. You may have been taught that Ford makes better cars that Chevrolet. I may have been raised to believe that the Detroit Lions are better than the Chicago Bears. Though these biases are not harmful, there are some that are. Prejudice can not only hurt those who are being discriminated upon, it can also hurt those who are doing the discriminating. It can hurt our relationship with God, because it is a form of sin, and it could hurt our relationship with our fellow man of whom we are taught to love. So if you harbor any form of prejudice in your heart, I would encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to eradicate it. Allow him to show you where you pre-judge others. And remember, the Bible teaches us that we are all equal, God loves us all, and we all came from one man.

Return to Him

I’m not sure if we, as believers, can truly understand just how loving, forgiving and merciful our God is. For him, these attributes go far beyond what any human can muster, and I would argue even far beyond what we can comprehend. Like the story of the prodigal son, God is waiting with open arms for the sinner who is returning to him. He is able to wipe away all of our offenses and remember them no more. He is able to give us a clean slate no matter what we’ve done. I don’t know of any human that can claim to have a heart like that. When the Israelites began to chase after other gods, it was like a stab in the heart of the Lord. It was a betrayal similar to that of a wife committing adultery on her husband magnified by 10,000. Many of us would consider that an unforgivable sin. But God is forgiving. He said through the prophet Isaiah in chapter 44, verse 22:   

“I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like a morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.” 

And earlier in chapter 43, verse 25 it says:   

“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgression, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” 

Our God is like no human. His love is great. He will forgive the most grievous of sins. The number one commandment given to Moses when he received the 10 Commandments was “you shall have no other gods before me.” Even Jesus said the greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength”. Yet, the Israelites sinned knowing full well what they were doing. They broke the greatest commandment, and yet God was willing to forgive them; he was willing to sweep away all of their offenses like a cloud, like a morning mist. He told them to return to him for he has redeemed them. If he could forgive them for breaking the greatest of all commandments, then whatever you have done, he is willing to forgive you if you would only return to him.

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If you are away from God, I would implore you to return to him today. It doesn’t matter if you have been away from him for a few weeks or several years, his arms are open wide. Like he did for the Israelites of old, he will do for you. He will blots out your transgression, for his sake, and remembers your sins no more. How do I know? Because this is the character of God. We see his pattern of forgiveness strewn throughout the Bible. God is not like us. He is slow to anger and abounding in love. Return to him today. Allow him to swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like a morning mist. Return to him today, and he will forgive you.

Within The Womb

The topic of abortion has been a hotbed issue in America ever since Row v Wade. Today, the liberal culture not only values abortion, but it celebrates it, spinning what is clearly evil into the guise of women’s healthcare and women’s rights. It is viewed as progressive and victimless resting on the idea that the unborn are un-alive. As our nation continues to play God, claiming the authority to end pregnancies, believers need to remember what the Bible says about life within the womb. The most common biblical argument supporting God’s sovereignty and the notion that life begins in the womb comes from Psalm 139, verse 13 which says: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” But I wanted to highlight a couple of verses in Luke that are just as compelling. Concerning God’s sovereignty when it comes to the unborn, it says this concerning John the Baptist in Luke, chapter 1, verse 15:

“…for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.” 

God had a plan for John even before he was born, and I believe he has a plan for ever unborn child. And with every abortion, his sovereign plan is subverted. As to biblical evidence of life beginning within the womb, it goes on to say in verse 41:

“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” 

So, even before being born John the Baptist was alive and active within the womb. Through the Holy Spirit he was able to sense Mary who was pregnant with Jesus. It says he “leaped in her womb”. Dead tissue cannot do that. Even today, women feel the baby moving, kicking and reacting to outside stimulus within the womb. To claim that the unborn is not living, should not be protected and doesn’t have rights is not ignorance, it is selfishness. Because I would argue that it is impossible, with all of the scientific evidence we have, to believe that the unborn is not alive.

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There is biblical evidence supporting the truth that the unborn is not only living, but worth protecting. And I believe that the scientific evidence we’ve gained over the years is even more compelling. Yet, our culture still seems to ignore the facts. We seem to want to take on the role of God and decide that only those children who are wanted should be born, and those who are not wanted should be aborted. This is the pinnacle of selfishness. Jesus said that “greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” If this is the greatest display of love, then how should we define one who is willing to lay down the life of a child so that their life will not be disrupted?

Examine The Scriptures

There is so much we can learn from the early church of the Bible. Though many were new converts to the Christian faith, for many things, they instinctively knew what to do. For many things, the Holy Spirit helped them discern what is right. One example of this is when Paul preached to the Bereans. Even though they accepted Paul, and the message he brought with him, they were diligent in examining the word for themselves to see if what Paul was saying was, indeed, accurate. It says in Acts, chapter 17, verse 11: 

“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” 

If you are an American believer, there is a good chance that you own a copy of the Bible. Many of us own several copies of the Bible. We may even own several versions of the Bible along with a variety of commentaries to help us to better understand them. Today, we can even read the Bible on our phones, or have it read to us through an app. However, even with such access to the Holy Scriptures, how many of us are reading the Bible for ourselves? How many of us are checking the scriptures to make sure that what we hear in church, or what we’ve been taught by our parents, lines up with scripture? The Bereans had the right idea. Acts says that they examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. They didn’t just take his word for it. We shouldn’t blindly accept the words of our pastors either, because we have the Bible and we have the Holy Spirit to discern if what we are being taught is true. So I would encourage you to familiarized yourself with the entire Bible. Because hearing a good word from your pastor is only as good as how true and accurate those words are.

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I’m not sure if Americans revere the Bible as much as we should. If we are able to truly understand that it is the inspired word of God, we may begin reverence it as much as the underground Chinese churches do. I used to be an area representative for “Voice of the Martyrs” and I remember seeing a video smuggled out of one of the underground Chinese churches showing several Chinese believers receiving their very own copy of the Bible. When each person received their copy, they held it close to their chest and began weeping silently because they will now be able to read the word of God for themselves. I challenge you to test what is being taught; to revere the word of God, and to read the scriptures for yourself. Being fed the scriptures by our pastors is of some value, but I would argue that it is even more important for us to feed ourselves.