Randy Wray’s Blog

I’ve decided, for the time being, to write my own small group Bible study material. I wanted to take a simple approach to some important aspects of Bible teaching. The aim is to encourage our group members to put into practice simple Bible truths. Rather than study something just to increase our knowledge, I wanted us to study to increase our effectiveness as those trying to live for Christ. Here is the lesson / devotional I wrote for our session last night.

Something To Think About (Part 1)

As a child I can remember spending hours thinking about fishing. I thought about preparing to go fishing. I thought about where we would be fishing. I thought about the fish we would be catching. I thought about fishing quite a bit. These thoughts, for me, were good thoughts.

As an adult I can still spend hours thinking about fishing. If I’d only known about being a professional pescatologist when I was young! Thoughts of fishing, for me, are still good thoughts.

There are other thoughts that run through my mind. I’ll have off-the-wall, crazy, wacky thoughts streak through my mind. I’ll have sinister, dark, sinful thoughts slither through my mind. “Where in the world did that thought come from?” I will wonder. Or, “Why on earth am I thinking that?” is sometimes a follow up thought.

There are thoughts we have that are good, we like thinking about these things. There are also thoughts we have that concern us, that cause great unrest. What are we to do with our thoughts?

There is a familiar proverb which basically says you are whatever you think about. Here’s the actual quote:

For as he thinks within himself, so he is. (Proverbs 23:7 NASB)

The context of this proverb, as a side note, is rather interesting. The lesson this proverb is teaching is that you should not eat with a selfish, stingy person.

A selfish person will say to you “order whatever you want” but in their heart they are saying “as long as it is $1.99 or cheaper!” A stingy person will offer you something to eat in full hope that you will refuse. They have no desire to share with you – they just want to look good for making the offer. Thus a person who thinks selfishly is a selfish person.

I wonder if it is that simple? Is a person with stingy thoughts stingy? Is a person with selfish thoughts selfish? Is a person with evil thoughts evil? Is a person with crazy thoughts crazy? Are there exceptions?

I see a difference between having a selfish, evil, stingy, crazy thought and acting in a selfish, evil, stingy, crazy manner. But then again, I may just be trying to rationalize my selfish, evil, stingy, crazy behavior.

Thoughts are powerful and so very important. Our thoughts guide our actions. The more we think about something the more likely we are to do something. This is perhaps why some of you grew up hearing another saying: “What’s down in the well comes up in the bucket”

Jesus knew the power of thoughts — power for good and power for evil. Jesus also taught us that what is down in your well will come up in the bucket. He said:

A good tree does not produce bad fruit, nor does a bad tree produce good fruit. Each tree is known by its own fruit. People don’t gather figs from thornbushes, and they don’t get grapes from bushes. Good people bring good things out of the good they stored in their hearts. But evil people bring evil things out of the evil they stored in their hearts. People speak the things that are in their hearts. (Luke 6:43-45 NCV)

Let’s work on our thoughts to be the people we need to be in heart and mind and action. Here’s the passage of scripture for our attention this week.

Brothers and Sisters, think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. (Philipians 4:8a NCV)

Here are some questions to encourage your own application of this teaching.

• What are thoughts that are good?
• What are thoughts that are worthy of praise?
• How do I think like this for someone I care about, someone I like?
• How do I think like this for someone who may not care about me, someone I may not like?

Your challenge this week is to think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. This will involve something differerent, perhaps, for all of us. Certainly it will be easy in some setting and difficult in others.

Before we go out and start thinking good things we should deal with the reality of those wayward thoughts. What are we to do with those thoughts that infiltrate our defenses?

We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5b)

If you want to think about, dwell upon, thoughts that are good and worthy of praise you must capture every thought and cause it to yield to Christ.

You take control of your thoughts. You are not a helpless victim. You have the power and strength to accept or reject thoughts that come to you as potential residents of your mind. So take control. If you are consistently having thoughts which do not yield to Christ you may need to evaluate what you are reading, watching, or digesting as music.

This week, think about those things that are good. Think about those things that are worthy of praise.