SWORD OF THE SPIRIT                                                                                               1177

“Think it Over”

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. – Philippians 4:8

The word ‘muse’ means to think. When prefaced with the negative ‘a’ we get ‘amuse’ – not to think. The word ‘amuse’ carries the common meaning of entertaining as well as the meanings of deception and distraction.

God wants us to think. The enemy of our soul wants us to be amused, deceived, and distracted from what is truly important in life – our relationship with Jesus as Lord, and Savior.

For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, … lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power… and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. – 2 Timothy 3:2-7

We make time to be amused with our plethora of devices but have little or no time to interact with our children, neighbors, or spouse, let alone quiet time in daily prayer and reading of the Word of God.

We have become too comfortable being ‘bottle-fed’ our values and life principles. We accept being told what and how to think by the media, the government, and even some churches that water down the Truth of the Word of God.

For though by this time, you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. – Hebrews 5:12-14

God invites us to come to Him and reason together. He has sent His Holy Spirit to counsel and guide us in the Truth of His Word if we will take the time to shut out the amusement of the world and press into His Holy Presence to hear Him.

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. – Isaiah 1:18 – James 4:7-8

Do not let the world system think for you. Do not let the ‘woke counterculture’ redefine history to mold the present into their new and evil paradigms. Stand firm on the solid foundation of your relationship with Jesus Christ and carry the light of His presence and Truth to dispel the darkness of the world.

but test everything; hold fast what is good. – 1 Thessalonians 5:21