"Whatever"

"If anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."     Philippians 4:8 NIV

To instruct us about how to feed our minds, the apostle Paul writes: "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."  John Ortberg writes: "The striking word in that command is whatever.  Our minds are being shaped all the time, but we have great freedom to pursue minds that flourish.  As a bee that can find nectar in all kinds of flowers, we are now free--even commanded--to feed our mind on noble thoughts wherever we find them.  The Bible itself commands us to look beyond just the Bible to feed our minds.  Let us meditate for a moment in that phrase 'whatever is lovely.'  Think of something that is 'lovely' to you.  A sunset. A favorite novel...The face of someone you love. Music that makes you dance.  Let your mind dwell there for a moment.  Give it directed mental focus.  You just obeyed the Bible.  That 'counts.'  You just opened your mind a bit to the flow of the Holy Spirit...The Holy Spirit's goal is not to get you really good at suppressing angry behavior.  It is for you to have a mind characterized by an ever-increasing flow of Spirit-guided, truth-based, life-producing thoughts and feelings.  When we read about what is noble, when we see something praiseworthy, we experience what psychologist Jonathan Haidt called 'elevation.'  We actually feel a slight expansion in our chest; we feel lighter in our bodies.  Our emotions are inspired, and we want to become more excellent ourselves.  That counts as obedience to Scripture.  That is spiritual."

This message taken from: Daily Devotional - The Word For You Today