Skip to main content

Just An Idea

             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)

            As happens too often of late, I have spent the best part of the day trying to figure out what to write about in this blog. It’s important not only as a gift to you but also as a gift to myself, but there are times when it’s a struggle. And what always happens is that I distract myself with other things, then come back to my computer and grind my teeth because I still haven’t come up with anything to write about. What a horrible person I am that I can’t come up with anything to say about how great God is, or how blessed I am.

            You’ve probably heard the idea of walking away when you get stuck, but while it sounds like that’s what I’m doing, the time spent away is still focused on the bog that I can’t seem to slog through. What I should have done is to find something true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy – to have mentally walked to those instead of kvetching about my lack. But the truth is that even if I’d considered this passage, I probably couldn’t have come up with anything that fit the description.

            That sounds terrible, but pick a moment when you’re frustrated and ask yourself, “What’s true, noble, right, etc.?” Come on, come on – hurry up. It’s like the advice I read about one’s mission statement. It was suggested that if someone woke you in the middle of the night with a gun to your head and asked you what your mission in life is, you should be able to provide it.

            But, if you had a notebook with a page dedicated to each of these,  you could list, sketch, paste photographs, or otherwise give yourself a cheat sheet for use when you are tested with stress and a lack of inspiration.

            Just an idea…

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...

Listen To Him

              The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him . (Deuteronomy 18:15)           Today, we switch from Jesus’ claims of “I am” to prophecies made about Him. My Bible platform is starting in Deuteronomy. I’d start in Genesis, where we would learn that the one who would save us would be a descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15), of Noah (by default), Abram and Sara(Genesis 12:1-3). Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 25:23), Judah (Genesis 29:8), and David (II Samuel 7:12-16). There were also references to a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-32). In addition, there were prophecies about when and where the prophet/Messiah would be born and what would happen to him.           Of course, naysayers will claim that Jesus’ life was retrofitted or reverse enginee...