THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE
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.
Linda was sitting in a field stand at the very end of deer season. Any buck that was still out there had made it through this far by being careful. Chances of harvesting one goes down each day of season. Late in the afternoon a doe came busting out of the brush to Linda's left and stopped and looked behind her, before bolting off again. Linda got ready as there was a good chance she was being chased by a buck. Seconds later a good 10 point buck burst out into the field, runs about 40 yards and suddenly realized he had made a bad decision, stopping for just a second. That second was all it took for Linda to harvest him.
That good buck had made it through most of the season by doing what he knew was right and at the very end he made a bad choice and it cost him.. When I read these verses today I thought of where My thoughts take me day to day. While most of my day I know my hearts is right... There are times when I can confess that anger, jealousy, hurt feelings, envy and more drag my mind into places where my thoughts aren't all the good things listed above. I venture from what I know is safe and pure and then one stupid choice will cost me.
The only way to keep thinking, "on such things", is through continued prayer, scripture and relying on true friends for accountability. We need to surround ourselves with Christian brothers and sisters that love us and expect the best from us. Keep our eyes on God's word and our head down in prayer.
Then lastly search out the; true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy things in this world and keep your hearts on building your life around those things. Keep on the right side of These things and you will be blessed with peace and joy. It's when we step out beyond those things that we get ourselves in a place where we are in danger of trouble.
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