[A shout out to fathers before I begin my lesson. It’s Fathers Day and I am grateful to have a wonderful father and father in law. I’m blessed to be a father to my kids and thankful to my wife for making me a father twice. I’m especially thankful for our Heavenly Father who makes all things well and who blesses us beyond compare.]
“Finally, brothers and sisters, 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.” Philippians 4.8-9
The message of the Gospel and the principles found within Scripture are not complex. They are not rocket science. They are mostly common sense guidance about how to live a life worthy of God’s calling. They are intended to make us more like Jesus and help bring about his Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.
We find in this final chapter to the Philippians Paul offering instructions for living, for behaving and for thriving with God and one another. His words to the gathering of believers, to the brothers and sisters in the faith is seven-fold — nobility, righteousness, purity, love, admiration, excellence and praise. Paul says “think about these things.” Dwell on these concepts. Put into practice, Paul says, ”whatever you have learned or received or heard from me.” Paul was modeling godliness and is asking the church to do the same.
Now we tend to dwell on other things then what is good, pure and holy. We think about all kinds of evil, cruel and flesh-driven motives and desires. But Paul (through the influence and guidance of the Holy Spirit) says to turn our minds attention onto these seven principles. The practicality of the Gospel life is that we might, through our thoughts and beliefs, become like Christ. We are what we think. So why not dwell on such positive traits as draw us toward the cross and away from sin?
A good place to start is to memorize verse eight. Within it we can retrain our minds to dwell on holiness and thus become more like Jesus in all we do and say. Will you commit to memorizing this verse today?
“O Lord God, you are good. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for allowing me to be your hands and feet, to know your heart and listen to your voice. Help my mind be transformed by your powers and your principles. For you are good and your love endures forever.” Amen