Do you ever feel discouraged? Philippians 4:8-9

Posted bySteven WalesPosted inThe Antidote to Pop-Culture and crippling, dark entertainment is the Word of God.Tags:, , , , ,

Sometimes we feel discouraged or depressed because of the stories of hopelessness and despair so common in today’s entertainment. God counsels us to fill our mind with good things. Are you putting good things in your mind or bad?

Consider Philippians 4:8-9:

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, THINK ON THESE THINGS. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you” Philippians 4:8-9.

Are you thinking on the good, the lovely, the true? Or have you opened your mind to the corrupt, the perverse, and the evil?

Is your entertainment filled with blood, death, sin, and perversion? Do the characters believe or speak lies about God, the devil, morality, and reality?

If you fill your mind with darkness, then darkness, despair, and hopelessness will fill your heart.

But if you fill your mind with stories about heroes, Godly people who OVERCOME, then you will be an overcomer also.

Finally, look again at verse 9 above. Paul writes “The things you have learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, practice these things and the God of peace will be with you.”

If you hope to have peace, follow Paul’s example. (Writing to my children, I’ll make it easier—follow my example. I’m flawed of course, but I try to read and study the Bible every morning. If you will do the same, then the God of Peace will be with you.)

There is no more powerful antidote to the poisons of pop culture than a few minutes in God’s Word.

God, teach us to protect our minds, to fill our minds and hearts with good things, to focus on things that are true, honorable, right, and pure. Fill us with a love for your word, and the hope that comes from reading it. Bring good examples into our lives, role models who love the Bible, and help us be like them. Help us to read the Word, love the Word, and memorize the Word. Fill us with your peace. And help us share that love with others. Make us role models too, showing other people the way to peace and hope.

ΑΩ

Published by Steven Wales

Dad's Daily Devotional began as text messages to my family. I wanted my teenagers to know their father was reading the Bible. But they were at school by then. Initially, I sent them a favorite verse or an insight based on what I read each day. That grew into drafting a devotional readng which I would send them via text. I work as an attorney and an adjunct professor, and recently wrote a book called HOW TO MAKE A'S.

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