In the New Testament no one understood this better than the Apostle Paul. In fact, in his letter to the Philippians, after alluding to guarding the heart Paul prescribed his personal program in one sublime sentence: “Finally, brothers, 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).
Each of Paul’s ingredients is explicitly positive. The true, the noble, the right, the pure, the lovely, the admirable all defy negative exposition. Each ingredient was, and is, a matter of personal choice — and our choices make all the difference in the world. We all can choose a thought program which will produce a Christian mind. Brothers, as Christians we are free to have a Christian mind. It is within our reach, and it is our duty. As we consider how Paul’s program should affect our minds, the sheer weight of its positives demands a determined rejection of negative input: “Finally, brothers, whatever is untrue, whatever is ignoble, whatever is wrong, whatever is impure, whatever is unlovely, whatever is unadmirable — if there is anything shoddy or unworthy of praise — do not think about these things.”
It was not that Paul was a naive Pollyanna. He knew the dark side of human experience. Romans 1 proves that. But he chose not to make such input a part of his mental programming. So we must lay down as fundamental to our Christianity this truth: a Christian mind demands conscious negation; a Christian mind is impossible without the discipline of refusal. The great athlete; Olympic champion Eliud Kipchofe while describing his journey, and what it entails, states that a human being who wants to achieve greatness, must take VITAMIN N, N standing fir “ NO”. In other words, one must say NO to certain things, if he/ she wants to achieve the set goals/ dreams.
LETS DO IT, WITH GOD’S HELP.
References:
The Living Bible
Discipline of a Godly Man( Book by Kent Hughes)
Evangelist Eric Musa:
(My message continuously: If you are not saved: Believe, accept, receive and confess Christ Jesus as your Lord and Saviour and be filled with the Holy Spirit, as it is written; “NOW is the acceptable time, TODAY is the day of SALVATION.- 2 Cor 6:2”. For prayers, devotion, and to support the ministry contact Evangelist on +254722157300 ( Email: EMEA.ericmusa@gmail.com). Remember, God Loves you and I unconditionally, perfectly and always: SHALOM
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