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Think on These Things


Finally, brothers and sisters, 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. (Philippians 4:8)

          What do you do when you worry? Mr. Lucado talks about “What if?” That’s a big part of worrying. For me, the second part is repetition… the gerbil wheel. I’ve heard it said that dogs worry a bone. They chew on it. They may wander away, but they come right back and chew on it some more. Since I don’t chew bones, I liken it to chewing on my tongue or my lip. Tongues are handier because people might not notice. 
         So what do you do when you think about, or meditate on something? Don’t you examine it this way and that? You might take a break, but don’t you go back to it? The picture given for meditation is cows chewing grass, swallowing it, throwing it up into their mouths to chew on it again, and swallowing. (One, two, three, ew.) Sound familiar? 
          What today’s passage says is that we should repeatedly chew on thoughts, but instead of chewing on the what-ifs that darken our horizon, we should be chewing on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy. And what is more true, noble right, pure lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy than God?
          I’m reminded of a couple scenes from the Hunger Games books, in which Katniss repeats, “My name is Katniss Everdeen….” I don’t recall all of that she repeats as her mantra, but it is the truth that she can hold onto. I’ve also read that a person should be able to recite their mission statement if they are awakened in the middle of the night with a gun to their head. What difference would it make in your life if you had something like the following firmly locked into your thinking?
        My name is __________. I am a child of the King and coheir with Jesus Christ, my risen Lord. My mission is to love the Lord my God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, and with all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. 
          My name is ___________. I am a daughter of the  Lion of Judah. If you are looking for a tame tabby, that’s fine, but look elsewhere, Who shall separate me from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or anger or sword? … No, in all these things I am more than a conqueror through him who loved me. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35 & 37-39)

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