Pure and Lovely

     Feeling inspired yet? There are days I doubt I am doing anything for God. Seasons of life change us and Jesus works with us in ways we can’t imagine. Our suffering becomes a gift of compassion for others. Our weakness shows His strength. Our age (hopefully) brings more Godly wisdom. Our experiences draw us into a more intimate relationship with our Lord.

      As we fix our hearts and minds, our eyes and our thoughts on Christ, we can become more like Him in this world. Here is what He asks us to think about. These words are in sharp contrast to what we see happening around us in the world.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable, and right and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8

     Keeping our thoughts on what is pure and lovely, excellent and admirable, may mean turning off the nightly news and listening to a sermon, or reading through Scripture, or making time for a Bible study with friends. When our thoughts match up with the character of Christ, we begin to change. Some of my pure and lovely activities include watching Hallmark movies and eating chocolate! How about you?

     The peace of Christ can continually flow within us as we gain confidence in Jesus. Let’s take these words of Paul as a prayer for us as we venture out into the world.

I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation-the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ-for this will bring much praise and glory to God. Philippians 1:9-11

Amen!