What do you spend the most time thinking about?
This morning I had a few minutes and wanted to pose a question to those willing to respond. Lately I have attempted to monitor what I find myself thinking on. Man was I SHOCKED to see where my brain went regularly, and how subtly it tracked off course. Can anyone else relate? It is a constant put-off (bad thinking) and put-on (right-thinking) battle, that often times goes unchecked! And we cannot win the battle alone. We need the Holy Spirit to direct our thinking. Too many times, we try and just stop the bad action(put-off) and we never replace it with the Godly (righteous) put-on. So shed the stinking thinking, and enact the put-on below.
In the book of Philippians we find some encouragement….
8Finally, 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
This Scripture helps me to see those things which I am to focus on. The world we live in is constantly attempting us to focus on all the opposite things relating to that verse… WOW… Food for thought..
What do you spend time thinking about? Is it healthy? Is it profitable? Or even more important, is it Godly?
-Jason (Thinking from an Eternal Perspective)
From The Hearts of Those Involved 
I to the other day found myself tired of letting foreign thoughts influence my soul. I am trying now to make my heart softer and my head harder. When things get weird I am comforted in the fact that my Lord is a perfect warrior spirit, but yet gentle to. I like that verse you wrote as well. It’s all done by the spirit!
*by the Holy Spirit that is. And I constantly remind myself that in order to be great, my faith must be like that of a child. Meek, and unrestrained in the heart.
I also think about why I should fear the Lord. And I strive for the things to add to my faith in 2 Peter 1:5-7
Oswald Chambers said it takes a crisis to keep us in close relationship with God because unfortunatly, we don’t pay attention to His gentle nudgings. I would offer up that if you know just one person who does not know the Lord, this is enough of a crisis to have you thank Him many times daily that you know Him, and ask constantly how you can shine for Him, so that others will want to know Him. Having someone in my own family that does not know the Lord, as heartbreaking as it is, keeps me in constant prayer, asking for wisdom, patience and guidance. It gives me the opportunity to ask others to intercede for my family, to keep my eyes wide open and be aware of when He moves instead of missing it because it may have been such a small thing, and to praise Him openly and often, because he is moving in the world.
So, are you having a hard time with the Pilippians 4:8 criteria of thought? Start thinking and praying for every lost soul you know (or don’t know). You won’t have much time left for “stinkin thinkin”.
Jason, I would echo that we try to “put off” without the “put on” it doesn’t work!!!
Tyler, I also have recently started seeing my thought life as a primary ground for spiritual warfare. Being cognizant of what we are allowing to rattle around between our ears is the first step in taking our thoughts captive. Then, we can identify which ones are lies from the pit and replace those with what The Word/God has to say about it. Some of my wandering thoughts are not harmful, just not productive either. But, the ones that are venomous need to be dealt with swiftly.
Denise, check out the prayer that Paul shares with “the saints at Ephesus” in Eph 1, esp vv. 17-18. I know in context that Paul is speaking to believers, but I often pray this over unbelievers as well (as we all were at one time) for “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him” be loosed and that “the eyes of [your/their] understanding [be/ing] enlightened…that [you/they] may know what is the hope of his calling…”.
And, I agree, the more you spend time in prayer, the more you WANT and feel compelled to do so, leaving less time for “junk” between the ears!
Thanks, all, for challenging my thinking today.