Page 59 - Living Light - A Message of Joy!

Wednesday February 7 - Look for the good...
If anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.
Philippians 4:8
I do love this letter from Paul, written from a prison cell to people who were just like you and me (mostly) – ordinary people trying to make sense of this life and to walk in the path God has purposed for us... and to grow in our faith and love for him.
Each of the eight things he speaks of are available to us all – right now! Whether, like Paul, we’re in a prison cell, at a workstation or by a kitchen sink, in a moment we can focus our minds on these eight things...
I wonder what excellent and praiseworthy things Paul was thinking about on the day he wrote this verse, from a cell in a dank dark prison. Like the other six things he has spoken of, somehow he must have found something excellent and praiseworthy to think about! Can you also do that today?
In some of the other world religions meditation is spoken of as ‘emptying the mind’. But here we are to fill our minds, and that’s important. It takes effort and discipline because the moment we start, distractions will come – thoughts contrary to those that Paul speaks of. God will help to guard our minds if we work hard to allow in only the good and pure and lovely things – and the excellent and praiseworthy too.
Father God, sometimes my mind gets cluttered; please help me to focus on you, in everything today. Amen.
Thursday February 8 - You are what you think ...think about such things. Philippians 4:8
Our thought patterns really can have a significant effect upon our brains – and our behaviour. Is it really that simple – that just to ‘think about such things’ makes such a difference?
‘You are what you eat’, in relation to our food intake, is something often spoken about. But what about ‘You are what you think’ in relation to our minds and thoughts (Proverbs 23:7)? Can those things that Paul has encouraged us to think about really make a difference?
A simple analogy is to picture a pathway through the woods; the more we walk along it the clearer and wider it becomes, and thus easier to walk along. But if we were to stop walking along the path it would become overgrown with weeds and be more difficult to find...
That’s what happens with our thought patterns and the neural pathways in our brains. The more we think about something repeatedly the more our neural connections get stronger, and such thoughts are easier to access. Toxic and negative thoughts make the ‘pathway’ wider and stronger. But stopping that pattern of thinking causes the ‘thought path’ to become overgrown and more difficult to access.
With the Holy Spirit’s help, replacing those negative thoughts with the positive ones we’ve concentrated on this week will gradually mean we’ll find ourselves walking a path that is transforming and renewing – not only to our minds but also to our lives!
Today, Lord, may I find that pathway and keep it clear as I think on you! Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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