Don't miss this line.

Listen along here:  https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/19fd1ad7/dont-miss-this...

Sometimes, you can miss a sentence, perhaps just a very few words and consequently miss an essential truth - something you might need to know, something you might need to remember.

But first . . . I love hearing from readers and as it happens, the last Morning Briefing, ["This One's For You"  https://conta.cc/44hTpqi] hit its mark. How revealing -- to look in the mirror and realize we might ought change our tune if we are prone to complain or grumble, then realize that we do not have to be that person! Rather, we can control what comes out of our mouths, speaking words of life, pleasant to hear.

But consider these few words of Paul . . . we can be blameless, pure children of God by holding firm to the word of life,1 ingesting Scripture, digesting it for right living.

True confession:  sometimes, I am very disciplined about what I put into my body - that is, I consume food as fuel, nothing less and nothing more.  Other times, I am careless.  Sure, I can cite stress or fatigue or general distraction, but nonetheless, I am sometimes a good deal less careful.

Same thing with what I let into my mind, into my heart, into my soul.  Though some of us can watch horror movies, Dateline exposes, sexually-explicit Netflix series and supposedly be unaffected, I submit to you that we all ought be a little more aware, a lot more prudent about what we let pass through our own personal ports of entry - whether our eyes, ears, hearts or souls.

Here's why. You say...

I want to be a positive person . . . well sure, but there's more.

I want to be someone others want to be around - yeah, that's good, but still more

I want to be a force for good. . . an agent of change. Yeah, both of those.

I want to be a person who honors God, not pulled away by so many things, instead regularly looking for and listening to the One who holds the world in his hand.

How to be that person?

'we can be blameless, pure children of God by

holding firm to the Word of Life.'  Philippians 2.16

Look at this great take by Eugene Peterson: So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ,  act  like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides.  Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ-that's where the action is. See things from  his  perspective.2

In a few simple words,  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things .3

'But there is so much unrest in the world around us! Right here in America--Antisemitism, lies, evil and hatred!' Instantly and understandably, unsettling evil situations near and far, out of our control, can and will take us sideways.  There is a lot to be concerned about in the godlessness of this world. But, don't you see? ---->>That is when we hold firmly to the Word of God, standing on its truths,

God's plans and his promises. God has not changed his mind or forgotten--

He will never abandon us; indeed, he is always with us,

holds us in the palm of his hand and will fight 'the battle' for us

if we will turn it over to him.

Let's covenant to start our day in his Word, ingesting and digesting his truths before we go into our day where we will be given conflicting messages - then we will be ready.  Take five minutes and read all of Philippians 2, gleaning from Paul's powerful words, as impactful today as they were two thousand years ago: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+2&vers...

great Jeremy Camp song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrX2tGgADu0

What do you say ... are you with me?

Christine

PastorWoman.net

Philippians, #16

1 - Philippians 2.16

2 - Colossians 3.1-2, The Message

3 - Colossians 3.2, CSB