Ep. 40 | Filter your Thoughts | Philippians

Listen in as Pastor Eddie Blalock shares today’s daily devotional featuring Philippians 4:8. Let’s be Formed by The Word together!

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Formed by the Word, a podcast where we don't just read the Bible, we invite it to shape our lives. In each episode, Pastor Eddie Blaylock will provide daily devotionals seeking to connect real scripture to real life. We'll be starting with the book of Philippians. This incredible letter clearly reveals how life in Christ shapes a resilient faith and a joy that is not dependent on circumstances. So wherever you're listening, whether you're driving, working out, or just scrolling for something meaningful, lean in, open your heart, and let's be formed by the word together.

SPEAKER_01 0:38

You know, there are days that I wish I had never heard of a smartphone. Sometimes I feel like I just can't escape from it. But then at other times I think, wow, this is great. Maybe when I can snap a picture that I would never have been able to snap without my phone. Or what about this? I love the music that is available so readily on my phone. One of my great discoveries of life has been Spotify. I love my wide variety of playlists. I've got everything from contemporary Christian to Southern gospel, and from Billy Joel to Elton John, and from Elton John to Garth Brooks, and from the triumphant quartet to David Crowder. It's great, isn't it? Think about a playlist just a moment. What you listen to repeatedly shapes your mood. It influences your thoughts, your attitudes, and even your behavior. Now imagine your mind like a playlist, if you can. If you constantly play negativity, fear, comparison, and impurities, those things become the soundtrack of your life. But if you intentionally fill in it with truth and honor and things that honor God, your life starts to sound quite differently. Philippians chapter 4, verse 8 has long been a go-to passage of scripture for me. It's near the end of Paul's letter, but it seems to me that maybe he saved some of the best stuff and the best advice for here at the end. Here's what Paul told his friends in verse eight. He writes, Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any moral excellence, and if there's anything praiseworthy, dwell on these things. Norman Vincent Peel's classic book, The Power of Positive Thinking, was published in 1952 and greatly influenced by this particular verse. Peel's bestseller spoke to the core themes of faith, optimism, and the transformative power of the mind. In fact, one of Peel's most iconic lines emphasizes how our mindset shapes reality. Peel wrote these famous words. He said, Change your thoughts and you change your world. Wow, let me say that again. Change your thoughts and you change your world. Long before Vincent Peel pinned his blockbuster, the Apostle Paul understood the important role of the mind as we live out our faith. When Paul says, think on or dwell on these things, he's saying, guard what you think about these things. Engage your mind in the right way. The words dwell here or think about, and both can be, it's rendered both ways in various translations, but I think both are the same and both are good. The words dwell on or think about these things means to consider, to give careful attention to something. It's not just a passing thought, but it's the idea of a pattern of thinking. Paul is calling for intentional mental focus. Think on, dwell on these things, he says. I wonder sometimes if we realize that our minds are not really neutral. We can expect our minds to be filled, shaped, and informed by the things that we think on or we dwell on. Our thoughts influence everything else in our lives. You cannot have a chaotic mind and a peaceful life. Someone said a restless mind produces a restless life. Well, next Paul suggests six filters for your mind in the latter part of verse eight. He lays out six things that we should keep our minds focused on. I think it's worth us just walking through these six for a moment because they're so powerful. The six things he says are these. He says, think on whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and commendable. I'd like to pose those six filters in the form of a question. A question by which we might test our thoughts. Okay. So when I have a thought, according to what Paul's writing here, when I have a thought, maybe I need to ask myself these questions. A, first, is it true? That is, is it a reality as God defines it, not as someone else defines it? Not lies, not distortion, not made-up figures of thinking. Are my thoughts aligned with truth or fear? Second question, when I have a thought, is it honorable? Is it worthy of respect? Is it noble? Is it dignified? Do my thoughts elevate my thinking or do they cheapen it? When I have a thought, three, is it just? That's right. Is it right? Is it fair? Is it righteous? Or is my thinking consistent with God's standards? Is it pure? The thought I just had, fourth, ask the question: Is it pure? Are my thoughts morally clean and free from corruption? Or are they impure? Are they leading to corruption and to immoral thinking? What about this question? Is it lovely? Are my thoughts attractive in a godly way? Do my thoughts promote love and harmony, or do they draw me toward things that are mean and even dangerous? And finally, is it commendable? Are my thoughts praiseworthy? Would I recommend this particular thought or this particular idea to others? Man, those are six powerful things that lead to questions as Paul gives us this guideline to think through. And when I'm dwelling on these things, this playlist is going through my mind as my thoughts are reeling away. Am I dwelling on the things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and commendable? Then Paul concludes his thinking by adding these words. He said, If there's any excellence, anything worthy of praise, think on, dwell on these things. So before you dwell on something, ask yourself these questions. Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it God honoring? You're probably not going to remember Paul's entire list. So let's just stay with those three simple ones, right? Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it God honoring? Maybe for today we just start with those. And then later perhaps we can add more, but maybe just start there. Is it true? Are the thoughts that I'm having true? Is it in compliance with God's word? Is it in agreement with God's word? If not, then it's not true. Is it helpful? If it's not helpful, leave the thing alone. Is it God honoring? The takeaway for me today from this particular verse is this thought. If it doesn't pass the filter, it doesn't deserve my focus. If it doesn't pass Paul's filter here, given in verse 8, then it doesn't deserve my focus. One more thought from the great Norman Vincent Peale. He wrote these words also. He said, A positive thinker does not refuse to recognize the negative, he does refuse to dwell on it. Yeah. That's pretty good. I think worth reading one more time. A positive thinker does not refuse to recognize the negative, but he does refuse to dwell on it. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you again for a great reminder from your word. A reminder that our thoughts are important and our pattern of thinking is critical. Lord, I pray that we would build our playlist carefully, not just on Spotify, but the playlist of our minds, the playlist that goes through our minds over and over and over again. Lord, I pray that you would guide us to think about these things, those things that are true and honorable, things that are just and pure, lovely and commendable. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 8:40

Thanks for joining us today. We are so glad that you chose to spend a few moments with us in God's Word. If this episode has encouraged you, we ask that you leave us a review or maybe share this episode with a friend. Also, would you consider sending us a note to let us know what God is doing in your life? Pastor Eddie would love to hear from you. You can find this email in the show notes. Until next time, stay in the Scriptures, keep following Christ, and allow your life to be formed by the Word.