[ Taste And See ]
Smiles & Victory at Every Turn!Keeping a Positive Mind
2007-02-12
Php 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."
There are lots of positive self help books on the market but the most positive book in the world is the Bible. Some may disagree with this by saying, "But it speaks about hell, and death." In God, there is no contradiction. There are consequences for sin. Else, Jesus would never had to die on a cross because sin had no consequence. But sin has a consequence, Paul by the Holy Ghost said in the letter to the Romans, "the wages of sin is death." The ultimate outcome of sin is eternal separation from God. God and sin can not dwell together but God made a covering for sin and that covering in the Blood of Jesus Christ His Son.
Positive. God is positive. There is a lot of negative influence in our world. That is why it is so important to surround ourselves with every bit of positive influence we can. That is why God instructs us by His Word to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Heb 10:25) He said to exhort one another, to urge, advise, caution one another. People get down through out the day, let alone the week. We need to be around others who are like minded to be urged to continue, advised on how to approach something, and cautioned when heading in the wrong direction. People need direction and fellowship with the right crowd to succeed.
God is positive.
Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
1Jn 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
Everything good comes from Him. He's absolute light and there is no bad thing in Him. He is the absolute positive.
Paul admonished the Philippians to keep their mind on certain things. One of the biggest tools of the enemy is distraction. Getting your mind on something that it ought not to be on. The devil is in the business of getting people to worry, fear, doubt, and second guess God. But Paul said, "Think on these." and he listed them. Let's take a look at them.
Whatsoever things are true: What is truth? Pilot when examining Jesus said, "What is truth?" Saddly, he did not recognize that he was looking at the Absolute Truth, Jesus. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life" Jesus is truth. There are a lot of things that claim to be true but there isn't much you can believe. I've heard it and probably read it and you have probably heard it: you can't believe half of what you see and only a percentage of what you read. Why? Because it's from man and man is falible, failable. God never fails, Jesus never fails. Why? Because He's perfect, absolutely perfect. When we are seeking for the truth the first place to turn is Jesus. Asking Him, "What is the truth in this matter?" Reading the Bible and praying are the key to knowing the truth.
Whatsoever things are honest: Sincere, honorable, genuine, uprightness, fairness, respectable. We've probably all been asked something along these lines, "if you received $100 too much from the bank teller would you return it?" Most folks would answer yes. Thinking about things that are sincere. That word sincere is from the latin sincērus which means "without wax" The merchants would cover blemishes in garments with wax. When an item was shown to be solid, clear and of good craftsmanship they would place the word "sincērus" over it. "Without Wax" It's real, not fake, no problems with it. There's a lot of fakes in the world, expecially the church world but Jesus is real. When you get Jesus you get the real thing.
Whatsoever things are just: guided by truth, reason, justice and fairness. Equitable. The lady justice has in one hand a scale. The scale is a tool for measuring weight. On one side the item to be weighed would be placed and on the other the precision weights would be placed. In the old testament God spoke of how He hated an unjust weight (Prov 11:1) and how He established just weights (Prov 16:11) God is justice, God is equitable in all that He does. God doesn't dish out too much or too little but He's always right on the mark.
Whatsoever things are pure: Latin hagnos from the word hagios meaning Holy, sactified, clean, separated for God's use. There are many references to holiness regarding the temple and priesthood. The priests were separated, they wore special clothing that identified them as such, there were perfumes that were specifically for worship and anyone who used something the same or similar were cast out of the congregation and disfellowshipped. These things were holy. It's the same word used in regard to being a saint. A saint isn't someone who get's a special title by the church, it's someone who has been separated by God for His use. Everyone who get's saved is a saint. Numerous times the Bible refers to the saints, to the holy ones, the separated ones.
Whatsoever things are lovely: This is better defined as a close friendship. The Bible says there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother (Prov 18:24). That friend is Jesus. He promised that He would never leave you nor forsake you (Heb 13:5, Duet 4:31). When he physically left the disciples he told them that He would send them a Comforter, the Holy Ghost. Jesus is the most intimate friend you can have. Jesus will not let you down, He will not fail you, He will not run when things are going bad with you but He will stick close you and be right by your side.
Whatsoever be of a good report: A good saying, fame. A different word is used for the message of Jesus Christ called the gospel this means good message. There's a song I like to listen to and a couple lines go like this, "no news is good news when you're reading your newspaper, no news is good news when you're watching your tv, the only news worth hearing you can find right in the Bible, it's the good news of the man who came and died for you and me." While at work a coworker in the break room was watching the news and the only two stories I got to hear of was of a man breaking into a house and raping a woman and the other was of a man's barn burning down. You are not going to find a good report on the evening (or morning noon or night) news. The good news is in Jesus Christ. The news that Jesus loves you and wants you to repent and be changed. That's good news!
If there be any virtue: Manliness, strength, valor. Contrary to weakness, effeminate, cowardice. Girting up your loins as a man. Being strong and facing the opposition. The devil will fight and he loves wet noodles. If you notice in all the armor that God provides in Ephesians 6:11-18 there is nothing provided for the back. God said that if a man turn away from looking straight forward he was not fit for the Kingdom of Heaven. When leaving Samaria for Jerusalem to face this crucifixion the Bible said that His face was as a flint. He was locked in and going forward into the fire. When the three Hebrew boys were given another chance to bow before the king's image in the book of Daniel they said, "We are not careful to answer thee in this matter" There is a story of an event in early Christian history where there were a certain amount of Christians forced into fridged freezing water to die. As one of the soldiers who guarded watched on he noticed crowns decending upon their heads, one for each Christian in the water. One of the men waivered and ran screaming out of the water and quit. When the soldier saw this, he took off his clothes and quickly joined the dieing saints to receive that crown that he saw. Valor, strength, manliness.
If there be any praise: laudable, for a commendable thing. Deserving praise. I've heard them shout at the game when someone makes a touchdown (or even a first down). They all rise and raise their hands shouting for their team. The same people sit in church sanctimonious. Who deserves the praise? Who has done the thing most worthy of our attention and love? We hear of the stories of people who have sacrificed their life for their fellow man. Joh 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Jesus is worthy of all of our praise and worship and love.
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