The Telephone Game — Gossip vs. Gospel - Thursday
Today’s Verse
Philippians 4:8
“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.” (NIV)
In one of my favorite books, Anne of Green Gables, the main character Anne Shirley remarks, “Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day, with no mistakes in it yet?” While, of course, we do have to deal with the consequences of our past mistakes (which could bleed into tomorrow), there is some truth to the idea: We have a good, gracious, and merciful God who offers forgiveness. Psalm 103:11-12 says, “For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” Because of God’s mercy and grace, tomorrow is a new day in which we can live out the freedom Christ offers (that is, freedom from the bondage of sin!). Every new moment presents the opportunity to pursue Jesus with our hearts and lives.
As Christians, we are not only called to live our lives differently from those who are not believers (aka “the world”) but we are also given the opportunity to do so. Paul gives us some pretty great advice in Philippians 4:8, “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.” How many songs, books, movies, etc. outside of the Christian culture focus solely on these things? I can’t think of many. And yet, how many of us yearn to surround our hearts and minds with truth, noble action, righteousness, purity, loveliness, admirability, excellence, and praiseworthiness?
Our God created so many beautiful things as part of His general revelation to us. There’s a reason Daniel Boone said, “Heaven must be a Kentucky kind of place.” I’m still pretty new to the Bluegrass State, but I’ve loved getting to see the beautiful natural landscape every day. This is something “lovely” that I get to think about on my way to and from work each morning and evening!
REFLECTION
Today, I want to challenge you to pick three words from Paul’s list in Philippians 4:8 and seek out something in each category to dwell on. Let us fill our minds, hearts, and lives with the good things God offers—after all, what we say comes out as an overflow of what is in our hearts (Proverbs 4:23-24).
