Dwell on These Things

   tau/ta logi,zesqe. Dwell on these things. Think about these things. Meditate on these things. This is the apostolic command in Philippians 4:8: “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, dwell on these things.” We would be completely missing his point if we took this to mean “once in a while, maybe on Sunday morning, consider these things.” “Think on something nice and godly once in a while. You’ll feel warm and fuzzy, but otherwise, think like the world.” No, clearly, the Christian who desires the peace of God (notice the appearance of the phrase before, and after, this text) is to be (here’s a bad word, make sure children are not present!), disciplined in regularly seeking to control his or her thought life. This isn’t once in a while. It is descriptive of the Christian life as a whole. And for the person pursuing peace, it is the only God-ordained path.
   Whatever is true. God values truth. He has revealed truth, and promised that the Spirit of truth would be with us. Can you imagine how important truth must be to God when He applies the term as a description of His Spirit? We are to think on truth, ponder it, focus our attention upon it, value it as the precious gift it is. How many walk about each day in utter darkness and deception, while we walk in the light of the truth? Should this not cause us to rejoice in it, to never take it for granted, to desire to know it better every day? Look at how the world hates the clarity of God’s truth and does all it can to mock it, deride it, and obscure it. What the world hates we should love and honor and consider most precious. Yet is this the attitude we see in the church in general today? Do we see a concern for truth, a concern that we handle it aright, proclaim it clearly, without mixture or confusion, and pass it on as the precious heritage that it is? Think on the truth. Consider today some element of God’s truth and let its light shine upon your life. Think of the cross, the resurrection, the eternal nature of God. Pray that God will help you to fully appreciate its glory and its worth. And enjoy the peace of God that comes from realizing that there is nothing the world can do to take away from you His glorious truth.