Where's Your Head?

Good Morning,

Philippians 4:8 (NASB)
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Whenever a verse of Scripture comes across my "desk" more than once in a day or two, I believe that's a sure sign that it's to be placed before all of us; that it's my job to put it out there for all of us to read.

That's what has happened today. I received one e-mail yesterday that contained this verse and then the first one I opened this morning also contained this verse. So, I'm doing my job here, even though I know that we've spoken about this verse many times over the years of this ministry.

I would venture to say that this verse is more than extremely important to us...ALL of us. No matter what denomination we belong or what congregation we choose to worship in, these words speak loudly and clearly to every one of us. This verse begs the question, "Where is your mind today?" and also, "What have you been thinking of in the recent past?" God is speaking to us through this verse of Scripture and it is He who asks these questions of us. I wouldn't hesitate to say that when He asks us these kinds of questions, well, we need to take the time to examine ourselves and go directly to Him with our answers.

One of the messages I received which contained this verse concerned secular music. The question was asked if it was okay to listen to secular music and if it was the mind and heart of the writer of such music or the mind and heart of the listener that was more important. Sort of that chicken and the egg sort of thing. Of course, both are important, but in my mind it's the listener's mind and heart that is more on point of the questions we ask today. That's because we're told that we ought to be dwelling on, focusing on, thinking about, and meditating on (all of these words are from different translations of this verse) that which is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent and worthy of praise. If our minds and hearts are about these things, then we are being obedient to what God wants of us.

I'm not going to go into any specific music, films, television, radio, or any other media where our minds might wander or be focused on. I believe that we're all mature enough in our Christianity to understand what should and should not occupy our minds and time. What we're to do...today and every day...is to weigh what our hearts and minds dwell on and where our time is spent. Then, of course, we're to make adjustments in our lives in order for us to be obedient to what God is saying to us.

One last point. PAY ATTENTION!!! Often what we see, hear, and read...those places our minds sort of wander off to...are not purposeful on our part. Often what our minds go to is somewhat accidental because of where we might be at some particular point in time through no fault of our own. So, we must pay close attention to that which is going on around us. Then, if we find that there's something that we ought not to see, hear, or read we need to remove ourselves from that situation. Therefore, the PAY ATTENTION!!! admonition.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David