Think on These Things Thursday

Philippians 4:8--Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things.

I didn't really make any New Year's Resolutions this year. I have a couple of goals that I am working toward, but not necessarily tied to the New Year. I have been thinking a lot about the verse:

James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

This verse can be applied to almost every area of our life. So often we know what we are supposed to do, but don't. We often don't even think of it as wrong.

James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

This verse reminds us that life is short, we have very little time on this earth to lay up our treasures in heaven and to impact others for the Lord.

Some thoughts in light of the above verses:

Remember that there are many things that are not wrong, but if we do them INSTEAD of what we should be doing, then they are wrong. My pastor has this motto: We do what we ought before what we want!

Home--Make sure we are kind to our family members, keep our house clean, cook good meals. We also need to be careful how we spend our time and what we are watching, reading, etc. Also, if we know we should address a discipline issue with our kids and don't--it is wrong.

Church--We need to be a help to others and be active in our churches. If there isn't a place you can serve, you can be a huge help through prayer. Always be looking for a way to help out, even if it is picking up the trash outside. Be an encouragement to others. One of my goals is to send cards to people who haven't been to church in awhile to let them know I missed them.

Work--we need to make sure we are doing our best, not goofing off and letting someone else pick up the slack. Also, we need to make sure we are not taking more breaks than we should or showing up late (five minutes is 25 minutes a week, which means you will have robbed your boss of over 20 hours of work in a year). We should also be an encouragement and help others out when they need it.

Spiritual Walk--we know we need to read our Bible, pray, and attend church. When we don't it is wrong.

Waist line--You could even apply this to what we eat and lack of exercise. We know we should, so...

I am praying that God will bring this verse to mind in any of the above situations and many more I am sure I haven't even thought of!!!