Tuesday July 29, 2003

~ Whatever… ~

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, 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. 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 4:5-9 (NIV) —

The ideal christian mindset (as described by Paul):

Gentle…
guh, that is hard, for me anyway… currently lacking that particular fruit of the Spirit. :-/ And it’s not even about being gentle to just those you know and love, like your family, but evident to ALL. Am I known as a “gentle” person to everyone? Gotta aim for Christ-likeness.

Fearless…
“The Lord is near.” Whoa, Jesus is in the neighborhood… How would you act differently if you kept in mind that God is with us always… and within us? Would I be living the way that I do? What would I have to fear? Kinda like Lazarus… What would scare someone who’s already been dead and come back to talk about it? This is a guy who’s been dead for 4 days… not one of those near-death, out-of-body experiences.

Peace…
Anxiety, I think many of us can talk about our worries, our concerns, but how many of us react to this by prayer… by focusing on things that we are thankful for? Paul says that these two things combined will give you the peace of God. Can science measure peace? Is there any way to figure out this particular formula? To a mixture of anxiety, add prayer and thankfulness, gives peace of God for both heart and mind.

Goody-two-shoes
Ever heard of those who are always being helpful? You know them… their thoughts… their focus is always to do good, in everything. Teacher’s pet, momma’s boy, good samaritan… you get the idea. This way of thinking keeps your eyes upon God… the giver of all things good and perfect. It does not say that we do not acknowledge that there is evil, but we do not dwell upon it. We seek to do God’s will in everything regardless of what others’ will say… Can anyone give me ANY other logical reason to do good?

Put it into practice
True, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy… I need a good washing of the insides… A dirty mind is not pleasing to God. But then again, I’m sure there are many more things in my life that are not pleasing to God. But it does no good to talk about such things, I need to put this wisdom to work… faith-inspired good works.

Father, I have not been following very well lately. I’ve veered off the path and slide down the wide and easy path. God, help me to walk down the path of righteousness. Give me patience and love in dealing with my family. Show me your will in my dealings with church. I pray all this in my Redeemer’s name, Amen.