Verse of the Day 1/26

Philippians 4:8  Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.   English Standard Version (ESV)

I read today's verse in my devotions yesterday, but before I did, I read the following verse from the psalms.

"Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things!" Psalm 119:37

The two verses go together quite well.  All too often our minds, our attention is  drawn to "worthless things".  These may come in the form of TV shows, the internet, books or any number of  mindless, "worthless" things that sap away our attention and devotion to God.  All to many of us, myself included spend way too much time focusing attention on TV and things that really don't matter, let alone being  honorable, true or just. 

John Piper writes that television is our greatest "life waster" when he writes,  "Television is one of the greatest life-wasters of the modern age. And, of course, the Internet is running to catch up, and may have caught up. You can be more selective on the Internet, but you can also select worse things with only the Judge of the universe watching. TV still reigns as the great life-waster. The main problem with TV is not how much smut is available, though that is a problem. Just the ads are enough to sow fertile seeds of greed and lust, no matter what program you're watching. The greater problem is banality. A mind fed daily on TV diminishes. Your mind was made to know and love God. Its facility for this great calling is ruined by excessive TV. The content is so trivial and so shallow that the capacity of the mind to think worthy thoughts withers, and the capacity of the heart to feel deep emotions shrivels. (John Piper, "Don't Waste Your Life" 2003) 

The Message (below), sums it up this way, by challenging us to focus on "the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise,   not things to curse.  The best way to start is something from His Word.  Read it, digest it, and apply it in our lives.  May it help us and  guide us, steer us and keep us clear from the "worthless things" today.    In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Philippians 4:6-9The Message (MSG)

^6-7 Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

^8-9 Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious— Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.