This article is part of our monthly theme: renewing the mind. By covering this topic, we hope that God will work in you to bring you encouragement, understanding, and peace. If this topic resonates with you, we encourage you to check out our monthly gift offer which is a daily devotional focused on renewing the mind from a Biblical perspective.
“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).
Rethinking our thinking does not happen overnight. It requires reprogramming our mental computer – our brain! Like computers, sometimes our brains store bad data or even viruses. To cleanse the bad data, we need to first separate it from the good and quarantine it. One way to flush out the bad data in our brains is to immerse it with good. Thankfully, the Bible gives us a wealth of ways to rethink our thinking! The purpose of the Book of Proverbs, for example, is for its recipient to attain wisdom and discipline (Proverbs 1:2). Proverbs has 31 chapters which makes it an excellent choice for reading a chapter a day for a month! In Philippians 4:8, Paul tells us what to think about – that which is true, right, noble, admirable, pure, lovely, excellent, and praiseworthy. Dwelling on thoughts that align with these themes are intended to refresh our minds and draw us closer to the mind of Christ. Together, let’s explore how we can rethink our thinking with the themes Paul writes about in Philippians 4:8.
Whatever is true … whatever is right … Every word in the Bible was God-breathed for the purpose of knowing Him and making Him known. When we immerse our minds in God’s word, we can use it to help others (and ourselves) during times of need. We have an adversary that likes to plant seeds of doubt in our minds and he’s constantly looking to bring us down (Gen. 3:1). But when we know the truth and dwell on that which is right, we can distinguish it from the enemy’s lies and, with the power of the Holy Spirit, we can take up our shield of faith and extinguish his lies (Eph. 6:16). Many people develop simple and effective plans to read the Bible. If you’ve never read the Bible before, a good place to start is the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). The Gospels are filled with eyewitness accounts of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. Once you’ve settled on a book to read, it’s good to develop a reading plan. If you commit to reading a chapter a day, you’ll finish reading the entire Bible in about 3 years. It’ll take about 1 year to finish the Bible if you read 3 chapters a day! Whichever order you choose to read your Bible in, remember that you are filling your mind with the living word—the truth—which has the power to renew your mind!
Whatever is noble … whatever is admirable … One way to focus on these thoughts is by reading Bible stories of ‘overcomers.’ The Bible contains many remarkable stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things through God’s power. David defeating the giant Goliath using a sling and a stone; Queen Esther setting her own life aside to rescue her people; Job overcoming trial after trial; Daniel in the lion’s den; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walking through a fiery furnace; Ruth leaving everything by faith to go to an unknown land; Paul’s steadfast faith in the midst of torture … it’s not so much that these people are all noble and that we should admire their works. Rather, we should admire the noble work that God was doing in their lives. These standouts in the faith had faults just as we do, but God used their lives in mighty ways and He can use our ordinary lives in extraordinary ways too if we submit to His will. In other words, God can take an ordinary circumstance and turn it into something noble and admirable because He is that way.
Whatever is pure, whatever is lovely … For many, the most difficult thoughts to focus on are those which are pure and lovely. This is because our minds were polluted in the Garden of Eden and have been that way since. We are flooded by distractions, temptations, false ways of thinking, lies, and negativity. We need only to change the channel from TBN to see the values of the world. Social media is also a huge mind pollutant. This is one of the reasons why social media is important to TBN. What you take in is what you give out and we want to make sure that you are taking in scriptural truth and inspiration. Your spiritual growth is important to us because when you’re strong in Christ, we all are. It starts with our minds. When we focus on that which is pure and lovely, our minds are renewed in the peace and joy of Christ.
If anything is excellent or praiseworthy … Paul tells us that we need to also focus on that which is excellent and praiseworthy. There is so much negativity in the world. Day after day, we hear about catastrophes and tragedies happening in our world. Though trials and tribulations exist – and shouldn’t be ignored because that means ignoring people and their struggles – it’s important to train our minds to focus on the good! Our world is fallen. It’s not our home. Our permanent address is in Heaven. But while we’re here on earth, let’s make a difference! We can make a difference by inspiring others to look for the good in spite of the negativity that surrounds us. Stories of how God is moving in the lives of people are excellent and praiseworthy. How have you seen God move in your life?
When we focus on God, our minds become renewed. This process usually requires patience and a willingness on our part to want to dwell on thoughts that are noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. We are always a work in progress and so are our minds. Remember, rethinking our thinking does not happen overnight and you don’t have to go through this journey alone. God is always with you. And if you would like to be prayed for, we have Prayer Partners standing by who are ready to lift you up in faith. Remember, it’s through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can have the mind of Christ!