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?
