Setting Our Hearts and Minds on the Right Things

Have you ever tried to pay attention to something wonderful, but gotten distracted by the noisy environment around you? In the world, there are plenty of things Christians can hear, but not all of them are beneficial. Hearing the wrong thing leads us in the wrong direction; hearing the right thing increases our faith in the truth. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

Whatever we spend our time reading and thinking about will be the thing that stays in our minds and gets down into our hearts. If we spend our time meditating on what God says instead of on the junk we see and hear in the world, our lives will be profoundly affected. In the Old Testament, Joshua reminded the people to meditate on the law day and night, so that they could make their way prosperous and have good success. This still holds true today when we continually keep the Gospel of Grace on our minds.

Studying the Word and applying it to our lives changes our hearts and minds, keeps our peace and joy intact, and protects us from the world’s negativity. We have a choice as to what we give our attention to; God’s directions to us are crystal clear in this area. Whatsoever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and virtuous are the things we must think about. Hearing this directive preached, seeing it modeled in other believers, and subsequently doing it, allows the God of peace to be with us and in us.

God wants only the best for us; He has amazing plans for our lives. The thoughts He thinks toward us are thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give us a future and a hope. Agreeing with Him gives Him consent to start putting those plans in place. There’s absolutely no down side to contemplating this.

Prayer:

Lord, Your Word empowers us to fight the world’s negative influence and be victorious over it. We’re thankful that we can rise above what’s going on around us when we focus on what You say to us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Romans 10:17

Joshua 1:8

Philippians 4:8, 9

Jeremiah 29:11, NKJV