“In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable.”
I have been guilty of not being able to do this. My mind always finds its way into wrong judgment, lust, envy, jealousy, discontentment, worry, fear, shame, basically, things that are of complete contradiction to what is commanded. But it shouldn’t be like this. Obviously, it shouldn’t be.
But as what our sinful nature suggests, we fall into these cruel traps again and again. We give in to the desires of the flesh again and again. Aside our forgetfulness in nature (forgetting that God is with us), we fail to resist the Enemy because we fail to seek God. We fail to seek His power that will enable us to crush the Enemy’s harsh whispers. We forget that our God is the greatest of everything and that He has already overcome the world. The battle has already been won, my friends. We have complete authority over the Enemy through Christ and His blood that was shed for us.
So I prepared a few things I have learned about this verse through the Holy Spirit. This message also goes out to me for still, it is a continuous fight to live out what is said in the Scripture.
When we fill our minds of things that are good and that deserve praise, it becomes evident in our lives.
I believe that your thoughts make up who you are.
If you are the kind of person who always thinks about alcoholic drinks and parties, then you probably go and party and drink every weekend.
On the other hand, if you always think about your studies and schoolwork, then probably you’ll be studying and doing projects whenever you have the time.
If you always think about things that are of eternal value, like reading the Word of God, worshipping, fellowshipping, sharing Jesus to others, then probably you are doing just that every now and then.
So if you want to do good and to be known for being true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable, then you should start thinking of things that are.
We fill our minds of things that are good and that deserve praise not because we want to be praised by people, but because we want to please God.
When our thoughts become evident in our actions, people may admire us for the good that we do and the good that we are. And sometimes, we long for these praises from them to make us feel great about ourselves. But we must know that this shouldn’t be about us. A Christian must live for God alone. And to please God should be one’s ultimate goal in this passing earth.
People forget what you have done, and people die without remembering you. But God doesn’t forget. God doesn’t die. People can tell you that they care for you, yet you feel that they aren’t doing anything to show it at all; but God has His eyes fixed on you every second, watching your life roll in motion, waiting for you to call Him.
God is always present. It is us who become absent before Him. God is always with us, yet we search everywhere for people to impress, when in fact their opinions have no effect on our identity. We are the children of the God who made the universe, the God who made every living creature. And how much greater is the Creator than the creations!
We fill our minds with things that are good and that deserve praise because that is God’s will for our lives.
In a world full of distractions, God wants us to focus on the things that are of value – things that can bring us closer to Him. For God works for the good of the people who love Him, we can trust Him and His desires for our lives.
All these distractions lead us to destruction if we give in to them. But we are told to set our hearts on the things above and not on earthly things. And God didn’t leave us to do these on our own, for He knows that we will fail with our own capabilities. That is why He promised to be with us and to never forsake us.
We have Him as our Hope to get through the stumbling blocks to get to where He wants us to be. To grow into the person He made us to become.
When we fill our minds with things that are good and that deserve praise, we fill our minds with God.
We think of God more often than we know. When we fill our minds with love, peace, gratefulness, humility, compassion, we actually fill our minds with God and His character.
However, it is more important to fill our minds with GOD FIRST.
Fill your minds first with Him, for God is the source of every good thing. If you want to be great, think first of God’s greatness in your life, and see what it truly means to be great. If you want to help, think first of how God has helped you throughout your lifetime. If you want peace, think first of the rest He freely offers to those who are weary and tired.
Remember, He has always been the One to make the first move in our lives, the One who made the first move to reconcile the whole human race to Himself.
Remember, He loved us first.
And we are only able to do His will when we have Him by our side. How wonderful it is to know that He helps us achieve in giving things that are due to Him. How mysterious and great are His character! Truly, no one knows His ways and thoughts, but He alone.
May you always remember who He is and what He has done for you that your love for Him will simply overflow. May we take His presence as of high regard that will drive out any kind of temptation. May the joy that His presence brings cast out every guilt, doubt, and fear in us, in JESUS’ NAME.
It is my prayer to have encouraged you through this blog post that God has helped me write. May you learn to receive His unconditional love that looks past our flaws and mistakes, for He looks at His children with His Son’s righteousness.
