Think about such things...


I read this quote the other day, and it has stuck with me:

St. John Cassian recalls a striking illustration that a wise old abbot named Moses taught him. "Your mind is like a flour mill; it keeps grinding all the time, but you are responsible for deciding what it grinds."

Hmmm. My wife Jackie often says I'm guilty of overthinking things. She's right, as usual.

What occupies our minds? I'm pretty sure what consumes our thoughts bleeds out into our actions, which should make us all be more on guard, right?

Maybe Paul's words in Philippians can help us:

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

-Philippians 4:4-8 ESV

Let's think about what is good and noble today!

Pastor Ben

Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My eye is not on the density of the fog but on the living God...

Image
Too good not to share this! “ I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me .” (Acts 27:25.) I WENT to America some years ago with the captain of a steamer, who was a very devoted Christian. When off the coast of Newfoundland he said to me, “The last time I crossed here, five weeks ago, something happened which revolutionized the whole of my Christian life. We had George Mueller of Bristol on board. I had been on the bridge twenty-four hours and never left it. George Mueller came to me, and said, “Captain, I have come to tell you that I must be in Quebec Saturday afternoon.” “It is impossible,” I said. “Very well, if your ship cannot take me, God will find some other way. I have never broken an engagement for fifty-seven years. Let us go down into the chart-room and pray.” I looked at that man of God, and thought to myself, what lunatic asylum can that man have come from? I never heard of such a thing as this. “Mr. Mueller,” I said, “do you know how dense this fog is?” “No,” h...
Read more

Signs...

Image
There is a sign in our kitchen at home that says "Gather" right above our oven cabinets. Since we love to eat with friends and family often, it is a fitting reminder of some of the things that bring us life. Do you have a sign somewhere at home? Maybe your sign is a decal on your car or a poster on the wall. I'm sure if you have one, it has special significance to you. Signs can guide us and provide meaning and direction. Signs can warn us of danger and lead us home. In Matthew 16 (echoing chapter 12), Jesus is asked by the Jewish religious leaders for a sign. He declines to do so likely because He knew no sign would convince them He was the Messiah. He tells them to ponder the sign of Jonah and then walks away. Many of those religious leaders had already seen and or heard of His powerful miracles yet they still missed the reality that those signs revealed the Kingdom of God. I hope we don't miss any of the signs God may still send us in our lives of faith. May we be ...
Read more

Of Feasts and Eastertides...

Image
(wikipedia photo of a sculpture of St George by Donatello) It's Monday today, and, on the Christian liturgical calendar, it's the feast of St. George in the second week of Eastertide. I realized that I don't actually know who this George person was nor do I know what Eastertide means, so, I did some homework to find out. You are so welcome... St. George is, according to Britannica, the patron saint of England. Apparently, this George was a Christian Roman soldier in the third century who was killed by the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian. Sad story really... Now to Eastertide which is simply the time from Easter Sunday through to the celebration of Pentecost - a span of 50 days. Its the extended celebration of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. So, in continuing in resurrection mode, how is Christ's resurrection remaking you today? Maybe we can pray together, "Lord Jesus Christ, continue to transform and remake us into your likeness more and ...
Read more