|| thinking BIBLICAL ||

i desire to have good, godly, biblical thinking. the WORD even tells us what to think about.

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.

[philippians 4:8]

We all know however that unless there is much preperation, much work, and much reliance, it's right next to impossible to think biblically. I have so much growing to do in this area and it's really a journey that i've started months ago, i'm just here to share some things that have been helping me along the way!

|| 5 ways to have a God-focused thought life ||

I. ASK God for help

Do you really think that God doesn't want you to think on Him and His Word? If you do you're absolutely WRONG! He wants us to bring our thoughts captive and control them!

2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

II. LISTEN to good media

Most people always have some sort of background noise...so why not choose something that will draw your attention to the Saviour? Listen to music that sings His praise and exalts Him.

Psalms 45:11 So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.

Psalms 69:30 I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.

Why not turn on a sermon? Everyone has access to the internet these days and Sermon Audio is a great place to turn for good preaching. Personally I like to listen to a sermon before I go to bed at night, or when I'm doing housework. It's so easy to look one up on your laptop and for those of you with a smart phone or some sort of ipod or mp3 player it's even easier! All I have to do is open my app and I already have messages that I've chosen to download. Podcasts are a great place to find good sermons too! Taking walks and long car rides are a great time to turn on some good media too!

{for those of you wondering who to look up on SA try out a few of these names: Jerry Ross, John Van Gelderen, Rand Hummel, or Dr. David Gibbs II. That should at least get you started!}

III. MEMORIZE Scripture

Scripture memorization is something I've gotten pretty serious about over the past year and have no regrets about the time I've given to it! When you're trying to memorize something more than likely you will meditate on it- you'll mull it over in your mind again and again. How much more Biblical can your thinking get than thinking on the Bible? Set a goal for yourself and work at it. For me keeping the verse I'm working on somewhere where I'll see it helps. A tip I just got from a good friend was to read over your verse at the start of the day. Make it the first thing you do after you turn off your alarm clock! I am so thankful for this tip. It has helped me tremendously, because from the start of my day I've got something to grasp hold of and recite all throughout the day.

Psalms 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Psalms 119:97 MEM. O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.

IV. PRAY throughout the day

God wants us to pray!

1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.

Not only that, but did you know that you can't pray without thinking of the Father? I believe in time spent in prayer where you confess to the Lord, praise the Lord, thank the Lord, and lift your supplication to the Lord; but I also believe that aside from your prayer time, you should remain in a spirit of prayer. Some call it popcorn prayer. Just little requests offered up to the Lord as you think about people and things. Some people put requests on 3X5 cards above their desks, or just focus on one request a day. Something new I've tried is plastering the mirror on my closet door with sticky notes. On each sticky note is a different name of a relative or friend and under their name I have their requests listed. For me I knew I'd see them fairly often because once I open my closet door in the morning it stays open all day. I have also tried to target one person each day and really earnestly pray for them throughout the day. Checking in with them about requests and really spending the day praying for them. I know there are a lot of creative ideas out there...what works for you? Talking to the Father means thinking about the Father!

V. SURROUND yourself with the Bible

When your eyes are constantly running across a verse or portion of Scripture every time you walk in to a room, it is a great way to draw your mind back from it's wandering. Not only is it great to have Scripture displayed throughout your house, but putting it as your desktop wallpaper or phone lock screen is a great place to display it too! Put verses up where you know you'll often look...maybe it's the bathroom mirror, above the kitchen sink, on the door, the fridge, in your lunch box, on your locker, or wherever your eyes frequent!

Psalms 77:12 I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.

Right now in my life right now I have placed at least 5 signs to draw my attention back the the Lord and back to the goal. A chalk drawing rests on my desk that displays Philippians 4:8, a picture on my mirror displays Philippians 4:8, my lock screen on my iphone displays Philippians 4:8, my picture frame has a 3x5 card with Proverbs 31:26 written on it, a sticky note on my laptop screen has Psalm 50:23 on it, and another chalk drawing hangs above my head that simply says “glorify God.” I know, I know three of the six things I mentioned are all the same, but when my eyes meet those words and my mind reads them I am immediately reminded to draw my thoughts back to Christ!

I hope this may help someone or encourage you. We are daily becoming what we think about! There are plenty of others ways to keep a right focus, these are just a few that I often use. What about you? What helps you think biblically?