Think on These Things
Saints,
We are citizens of the Kingdom of God, yet we live as ambassadors in the kingdom of our enemy the accuser. Here in the valley of the shadow of death, we face all sorts of difficulties, distractions, and delusions. These come from the fallen world with its corrupt systems and distorted mindset and from that snake who tripped up our forebears in Eden.
We hear of wars and rumors of wars. All manner of weather and geophysical anomalies cause stress, hurt, and loss. Often the rulers of nations do not engender devotion and trust. We suffer personal heartache, illness, and struggles with the flesh.
The evil around us presses in from every side. The worldly mindset of doing to be, doing to get, and doing to achieve, appeals to our senses and draws our minds away from the truth that is in Jesus.
As Father would have it, there is an answer in Christ. We find some excellent guidance in Philippians 4:4–8.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! (NASB 2020)
The passage begins by urging us to rejoice. That can seem impossible when we face life in the upside down kingdom ruled by the prince of darkness. The three words following “rejoice” are crucial. Our rejoicing is “in the Lord.” It is in the Lord that we have been given every spiritual blessing, according to Ephesians 1:3. In Jesus we live and move and exist, according to Acts 17:28. For these reasons and many more, we can rejoice in the Lord no matter our circumstances.
Our passage goes on in verse 5 saying, “Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near.”
Did you know that you have a gentle spirit? Given our often less than godly attitudes and actions, it can be easy to think otherwise. Yet scripture makes it clear that we do indeed have a gentle spirit. Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul assumes it here, and we also know that gentleness is an aspect of the fruit Holy Spirit is producing in each of us.
In this verse we are encouraged to let our gentle spirit be known to all people. It’s easy to let something happen. We let, or allow, something simply by failing to prevent it. It’s the opposite of working to achieve. It’s abstaining from working and simply allowing. It’s accomplished simply by yielding to that inner prompting that comes at the decision point where our actions and reactions are selected.
Let, allow, yield. The New Testament is full of these directions because they express the Life of Christ to others. They are peace, freedom, and love that come not from our feverish planning and frenetic activity, but from He who lives within us. Verse five closes with that thought. “The Lord is near.” You have joined yourself to the Lord and you are one Spirit with Him, according to 1 Corinthians 6:17.
Verses six and seven of Philippians 4 go on instructing us how our hearts and minds can be protected despite all that is taking place around us. They exhort us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (NASB 2020)
Much in the world seems designed to cause anxiety. When we are nervous, concerned, and worried, platitudes do not help us. Prayer and pleading with thanksgiving seem like small things to us amid great trouble.
Scripture makes it clear that prayer has great power. Jesus Himself prayed often and with a great deal of pleading on at least one occasion. Prayer is a conversation with Father. It is an opportunity to bear our souls to Him. We can come with all our emotions in a tangle. We can come blubbering like a toddler. We can come with anger, resentment, or a bad attitude. We can pour it all out to Him and turn our problems over to Him to solve. (Tip: He’s the only one who can.)
We can thank Him for His wonderful grace. We can remember that we have been forgiven, thank Him for it, and for how that makes us feel. We can thank Him that it is not our job to solve the problems of the world. We can turn our family members, friends, states, and countries over to Him recognizing that He is God and we are not.
Father has instructed us to do just that. In 1 Peter 5:6–7, Peter put it this way, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, having cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you. (NASB 2020)
It is humbling to recognize that we cannot control outcomes. It is humbling to admit we are powerless when power is exactly what is needed. When we acknowledge Him as our source, our Life, we return to let, allow, yield as our mode of living. Dependence upon Him protects our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Our spirits are already there. Giving Father our anxious thoughts, our worries, our fears simply renews our minds to that peace that surpasses all comprehension.
Colossians 3:1–3 says, “Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (NASB 2020)
Mindset. Our mindset is key to mind renewal, which yields transformation of our attitudes and actions. When we set our minds on things on the earth, our mindset is earthy. It’s sensual rather than spiritual. It is predisposed to living according to the flesh.
When in Colossians we read that we are best served to keep our mind set on things above, we may wonder how we go about this seemingly daunting task. Our passage in Philippians 4 goes on to provide welcome insight.
Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (NASB 2020)
Many teach that time spent reading the Bible, going to church, or on your knees in your “prayer closet” (I have two of those. –JUST KIDDING) is necessary to spiritual growth and maturity. Such teaching isn’t entirely wrong, but it misses the point.
Jesus told us He would give us rest for our souls. Religiously following rules, rites, and rituals is not restful for our mind, will, or emotions. Nevertheless, what we choose to think about, what we choose to put into our minds, is important. Colossians told us that setting our minds on things above was important. Philippians gives us insight into how we can do that.
Look at this list:
True
Honorable
Right
Pure
Lovely
Commendable
Excellent
Praiseworthy
When we face trouble, hear of disaster, see corruption, or feel hurt, it wears on us. These are earthy things, they are found in the valley of the shadow of death. We are physically in this place, but we are not OF this place. It is not our home. We are called to be ambassadors here, bringing the good news of Jesus and the light of the Kingdom of God. What we have is so much greater than what this world has.
Our King, and our Kingdom have a monopoly on all those things in the list of things on which we do well to focus. Every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of lights in whom there is no shadow. All these things we are enjoined to contemplate and fill our minds with are exemplified in the One who redeemed us.
Our lovely Lord Jesus is True, Honorable, Right, Pure, Lovely, Commendable, Excellent, and Praiseworthy. When we find things on earth that also fit these categories, we can know they are His fingerprints. When we make such things our mindset, we have our mind set on things above.
Mindset. Our mindset is key to mind renewal, which yields transformation of our attitudes and actions. When we set our minds on things above, our mindset is godly. It’s spiritual rather than sensual. It is predisposed to living according to the Spirit.
This is what our new self wants. The desire of our hearts is to be like Jesus. Our true self wants to live according to the Spirit. We know innately that when we do, we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16 tells us so.
Unlike what we may have heard, this does not require striving, hunkering down, and self-denial. Instead, it requires quiet trust. It requires dependence on Jesus in us. It requires rest in the sure knowledge that, as we read in Philippians 2:13, He is working in us to desire and do godly things.
Holy Spirit has made it abundantly clear that the grace of God does not stop at the cross. According to Titus 2:11-12, it reaches out to us where we are right now, teaching us to deny ungodliness and teaching us instead to live upright godly lives here and now in the valley of the shadow of death.
I encourage you to take note of what you let or allow into your mind. Pay attention to what you yield to. Then listen for that prompting within you at the decision points. Remember that “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4 (NASB 2020)
You can safely (and profitably) reject thoughts that come your way, but do not align with the character of Jesus. His character is reflected in the categories listed in our passage above. They can also be found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 where the characteristics of love are discussed, and in the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.
All of these things are in you, saint, because He is in you, and you are in Him. You have been born of God and you have inherited His traits. He is your source. He is your Life.
Make that your mindset and live from that.
