Error – Negative Input – Eject Immediately or Permanent Damage may Occur

Philippians 4:-7

Be full of joy in the Lord always.....be full of joy. Let everyone see that you are gentle and kind..... Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks. And God's peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

So.... we need to be full of joy and have a grateful heart, and not worry about anything?... always?WOW! Who here can do that? I can't.... at least not always. When there are no problems in life, I have no issues with being full of joy, grateful and with no worries. No problem! However, staying in that frame of mind is tough when not so nice things are happening around you. It takes a lot of self discipline to achieve that frame of mind when the kids are whining, the money is running out, the husband is grumbling, you've got the flu, the car won't start, you're grandmother died, the neighbour is complaining, the dog chewed up you're favourite slippers and now your feet are cold. Then Aunte Flow comes for her monthly visit just when you find some “alone” time to reconnect with you're spouse.

It's not so easy to be full of joy when these bad things in life come your way. Yet, God wishes us to be full of joy in the Lord, be grateful for everything, not to worry, but pray for everything you need. He is asking us, to take the first step towards trusting Him. If we can just trust Him in the midst of the trials in our lives... think of how strong we can be when life brings us blue skies and butterflies?

I've heard it said before, that God is a gentleman. He will not force Himself upon us. He wants us to take the first step toward Him. When He meets us ½ way, His peace, which surpasses all understanding, will be our blessing. We need to do some work for that peace though. We need to reach out and trust.

Philippians 4:8

Brothers and Sisters, think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honourable and right and pure and beautiful and respected.

God is asking us to concentrate on positive thoughts as opposed to negative ones. To re-train our minds to take a negative thought and turn it into a positive thought. We need to train our brains to look at things in a different light. We also need to be careful to what input comes into our minds....ie movies, people, T.V, Media, books... We need to choose wisely the things we download into our brains. The things we think about, focus on, and surround ourselves with will shape the people we become.

Proverbs 23:7

As he thinks in his heart, so is he.

We have the deciding vote as to who and what we allow to influence us. Positive software only please. Error – Negative Input – Eject Immediately or permanent damage can occur.

Our spirit is like a clogged drain when offence and bad thoughts enter. We need to clean out the pipes. Air fresheners don't help.

Joyce Meyers

1 Thessalonians 5:21-22

...but test everything. Keep what is good, and stay away from everything that is evil.

Lord, when the clouds and rain and storms come my way, don't let me forget about the Son. Amen

Well..... I'm off to get some Drano.... Cheers!