[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Sunday, September 15, 2013

[Paul]

Hello and good Lord's Day to most of you, and a good early Monday morning to my readers in Australia and New Zealand.  I hope and pray that you had a wonderful time in church fellowship today, primarily with your Lord but also with church folks as well.

Have I a surprise for you today! Because of the positive feedback I received on Dr. Montanus' article about one's thought life, I decided to post the second and final installment of the same today.  If any of you saved Part 1 on your computer, feel free to pass it on to your pastor, as well as this part also.  It just might give him some food for thought for a sermon.  Anyway here is Part 2 of this article, and may God bless you for reading and pondering the spiritual nuggets contained therein.

Last month, we saw the progression of our thoughts which lead to feelings and feelings having their climax in what we do, which is our actions, and in what we say, which are our words.

The fact that God endowed us with a will so that we are able to choose makes each one of us a responsible entity.  Someone may say, "How may I control my thought life?" If you recall, last month, we ended by telling you that the Bible emphasizes the importance of our accentuating the positive and minimizing the negative.  We must cultivate this by an act of our will if we are to truly know how to control and govern our thought life.

Let us look for example at Philippians 4:8, where we read, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

Observe this verse, memorize it, scrutinize it, meditate upon it.  Do you find one negative thing in all of that verse? All of this is positive, and the verse ends by saying, "Think on these things." Why does the apostle Paul say that we should think in this positive realm? Because positive thinking always leads to positive feeling, and positive feeling will always lead to positive deeds and action.  Yes, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

Now, someone might say, "Why, if I did that, I would feel as if I am just acting a part." Well, my dear friend, if you don't act in this way, you are going to act just the opposite.  You are going to feel miserable, dwell on your feelings until you are simply depressed, which will be manifested in a grumpy, unhappy attitude.

Who likes to be around people who are always griping, complaining, or faultfinding? As someone once said, "Any old fool can find fault, criticize and complain, and most fools do!" But Christians are not to be fools.  They are to be wise.  They are to be obedient to the commands of their Lord, who said, "Be of good cheer." This is the day which He hath made.  Christians are to rejoice and be glad.  Think on these things found in Philippians 4:8.

If you must think of this as "putting on an act," I would say that I do not feel that to obey God should be looked upon in this way.  Yet, there are certain expressions in the Bible, such as "put on the new man." To "put on" means exactly what it says.  You can put on an ugly face, a mean face, or you can put on a smiling one, a happy look and a cheerful attitude.  Surely putting on the new man would be manifested by a happy, positive spirit.

Just take a look at this verse found in II Corinthians 10:5, where we read, "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." Do you think God would tell you to do this if you were incapable of doing so? By an act of your will-yes, by a sheer act of your will--you can so scrutinize your thought life that you can reject the ungodly, inconsistent, evil imaginations, and bring each and every thought into captivity so that it will be wholly obedient to Christ.

>From this very day, try it.  Try it throughout this entire week, for the rest of the month, really work on it until next Christmas.  I am sure by then you will say, "Praise the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me praise His holy name." For you shall find the secret of victory.  Yes, you will have become a happy, positive witness for Christ by simply putting into effect what the Lord bids you to do.

Let us look at still another verse found in Isaiah 26:3, where we read, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee:  because he trusteth in Thee." How delightful, how positive, how all-inclusive! I must have that magnificent concept of my God as my loving Heavenly Father.  My mind should ever be filled with with thought of His presence and dwell upon those things that He bids me dwell upon in His Word.  Then I must cultivate that moment-by-moment trust, and He promises that I shall have perfect peace.

In closing, may I ask you to dwell upon our Lord's favorite greeting which is found in a number of places throughout the New Testament.  The words were, "Be of good cheer." Notice the following verses:  Matthew 9:2, Mark 6:50, John 16:33, Acts 23:11, and Acts 27:22 and 25.  If we could not be of good cheer, Jesus would never tell us anything that would be impossible for us to practice each and every day.  Dear Christian, every day, be of good cheer.

And there you have the second of a two-part article.  Obviously the reference to "month" meant the next month in the Gospel Messenger magazine.  I hope and pray that Dr. Montanus' Spirit-directed words ministered to you today after all those years when he originally wrote them.

And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, in these last days in which we live.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul