Randy Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "mindset"
Time To Cut the Grass
A voice says, “Call out.” Then he answered, “What shall I call out?” All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever [Isaiah 40:6-8].
What to do when I encounter a deluge of difficulties? Hmm. Now let me think... I guess I could throw a pity party and invite all the naysayers I know. That might be fun. Naw. I think I'll take a rain check on that one.
I got it! I'll go to bed, pull the covers over my head, and hope I never have to wake up. Ah, the old ostrich policy at its finest. That always works. Not! Toss that one on the rubbish heap too.
Dear me. What shall I do? I could stand on the street corner and strum my guitar, giving my best impersonation of Bob Dylan with some poetry set to music. I could sing all about how no one likes me and life isn't fair, and soar off into the nether world as I reminisce about the good old times back in the day. Yeah, but that's a dead horse I don't want to beat.
Okay. So what will I do in response to the doldrums of my existence? Well, thus far all my approaches were to gaze far and wide in all directions horizontally. What I failed to do was to take a gander vertically. The horizontal gaze fixes the eyes on man—or as Isaiah worded it, on "all flesh", both myself and other people.
And therein lies the crux of the matter, my dear friends. "All flesh" is like grass and its loveliness is no more than the flowers in the field. Have you noticed how long grass and flowers last? Let me tell you: not long!
The contrast to "all flesh" is to be found in the phrase "the word of our God ". So how long does the Word of God last? That would be "forever", and methinks "forever" is a wee bit longer than how long grass and flowers last.
That settles it. Isaiah's logic is irrefutable and irresistible. I'm going to handle my deluge of difficulties by hieing off to the prayer closet with my Bible, and spending time alone with the Lord Jesus. Why don't we all go and do likewise?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
What to do when I encounter a deluge of difficulties? Hmm. Now let me think... I guess I could throw a pity party and invite all the naysayers I know. That might be fun. Naw. I think I'll take a rain check on that one.
I got it! I'll go to bed, pull the covers over my head, and hope I never have to wake up. Ah, the old ostrich policy at its finest. That always works. Not! Toss that one on the rubbish heap too.
Dear me. What shall I do? I could stand on the street corner and strum my guitar, giving my best impersonation of Bob Dylan with some poetry set to music. I could sing all about how no one likes me and life isn't fair, and soar off into the nether world as I reminisce about the good old times back in the day. Yeah, but that's a dead horse I don't want to beat.
Okay. So what will I do in response to the doldrums of my existence? Well, thus far all my approaches were to gaze far and wide in all directions horizontally. What I failed to do was to take a gander vertically. The horizontal gaze fixes the eyes on man—or as Isaiah worded it, on "all flesh", both myself and other people.
And therein lies the crux of the matter, my dear friends. "All flesh" is like grass and its loveliness is no more than the flowers in the field. Have you noticed how long grass and flowers last? Let me tell you: not long!
The contrast to "all flesh" is to be found in the phrase "the word of our God ". So how long does the Word of God last? That would be "forever", and methinks "forever" is a wee bit longer than how long grass and flowers last.
That settles it. Isaiah's logic is irrefutable and irresistible. I'm going to handle my deluge of difficulties by hieing off to the prayer closet with my Bible, and spending time alone with the Lord Jesus. Why don't we all go and do likewise?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Naysayer Nancy
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 [Philippians 4:8].
I recollect this girlfriend of mine from many moons ago (I mean MANY moons ago). She was the definition of pessimism par excellence. Whenever her mouth opened, if she wasn’t eating she was complaining. Something was wrong with everyone, at least with everyone but herself. Don’t get me wrong. I liked her. She was my girlfriend. But truth be told she was a naysayer. For purposes of our study today, let’s name her Naysayer Nancy.
Anyway, it spoke volumes about me that I did like her. I found her negativity to be funny and real. Sadly, that last part—you know, the “real” part—was the pits. Her bad attitude rubbed off on me. It became my reality. Naysayer Nancy converted me into Pessimist Peter. Both of us fed off each other’s doldrums, until we both became card-carrying members of the Murphy’s Law Club.
The only way I was ever able to escape from the doldrums was by a miracle from the Lord Jesus. He came along and snatched me out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock, the rock being Jesus Himself. Yes, dear friends, it is easy for sinners to sin. It is hard for sinners to live righteously. I am the poster child for such a scenario.
The Apostle Paul alluded to this in writing to the Christians in the city of Philippi in Macedonia (i.e., northern Greece). They were a right fine bunch, those Christians of Philippi. They weren’t like the Corinthian Christians, who competed with each other to prove who was the top dog in the junkyard, er, I mean in the church. They were a friendly group who loved the Lord, and they supported Paul in his outreach to convey the Gospel of Jesus Christ to new areas of the world.
But they were sinners saved by grace nonetheless. And sinners find it easy to sin and hard to live righteously. There were a couple of saints in the church who rubbed each other the wrong way. This only magnified the differences, leading to an increase of unfriendly competition. We don’t know the specifics involved, only that Paul exhorted them to stop bickering with each other and start appreciating each other.
Now that is a difficult thing to put into practice, if you catch my drift. The concept is easy enough to express idealistically, hard to implement practically. How to behave in a way so contrary to the sin nature which lives inside each and every son or daughter of Adam the First? That is the question.
The Holy Spirit through Paul gave a resounding answer in Philippians 4:2-9. We are not to be Naysayer Nancy or Pessimist Peter. We are to behave in the exact opposite manner, which begins with the things in which we invest our thoughts. According to Philippians 4:8 we are to think positively by focusing on things which are,
• true
• honorable
• right
• pure
• lovely
• of good repute
• excellent
• worthy of praise
Roll those eight items over your tongue a while and savor the flavor. I bet you didn’t taste even a soupçon of bitterness or insipidity in the whole kit and caboodle, did you? The old adage “what you eat is what you are” has a concomitant aphorism, “how you think is who you are”.
So do we want to be Naysayer Nancy and Pessimist Peter? If not, then let’s memorize Philippians 4:8 and meditate on it daily. Cultivate the habit of focusing on the good and shunning the bad. Make sure we see life as revolving around the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, not around the world and the hatred of man. To God be the glory, great things He has done!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
I recollect this girlfriend of mine from many moons ago (I mean MANY moons ago). She was the definition of pessimism par excellence. Whenever her mouth opened, if she wasn’t eating she was complaining. Something was wrong with everyone, at least with everyone but herself. Don’t get me wrong. I liked her. She was my girlfriend. But truth be told she was a naysayer. For purposes of our study today, let’s name her Naysayer Nancy.
Anyway, it spoke volumes about me that I did like her. I found her negativity to be funny and real. Sadly, that last part—you know, the “real” part—was the pits. Her bad attitude rubbed off on me. It became my reality. Naysayer Nancy converted me into Pessimist Peter. Both of us fed off each other’s doldrums, until we both became card-carrying members of the Murphy’s Law Club.
The only way I was ever able to escape from the doldrums was by a miracle from the Lord Jesus. He came along and snatched me out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock, the rock being Jesus Himself. Yes, dear friends, it is easy for sinners to sin. It is hard for sinners to live righteously. I am the poster child for such a scenario.
The Apostle Paul alluded to this in writing to the Christians in the city of Philippi in Macedonia (i.e., northern Greece). They were a right fine bunch, those Christians of Philippi. They weren’t like the Corinthian Christians, who competed with each other to prove who was the top dog in the junkyard, er, I mean in the church. They were a friendly group who loved the Lord, and they supported Paul in his outreach to convey the Gospel of Jesus Christ to new areas of the world.
But they were sinners saved by grace nonetheless. And sinners find it easy to sin and hard to live righteously. There were a couple of saints in the church who rubbed each other the wrong way. This only magnified the differences, leading to an increase of unfriendly competition. We don’t know the specifics involved, only that Paul exhorted them to stop bickering with each other and start appreciating each other.
Now that is a difficult thing to put into practice, if you catch my drift. The concept is easy enough to express idealistically, hard to implement practically. How to behave in a way so contrary to the sin nature which lives inside each and every son or daughter of Adam the First? That is the question.
The Holy Spirit through Paul gave a resounding answer in Philippians 4:2-9. We are not to be Naysayer Nancy or Pessimist Peter. We are to behave in the exact opposite manner, which begins with the things in which we invest our thoughts. According to Philippians 4:8 we are to think positively by focusing on things which are,
• true
• honorable
• right
• pure
• lovely
• of good repute
• excellent
• worthy of praise
Roll those eight items over your tongue a while and savor the flavor. I bet you didn’t taste even a soupçon of bitterness or insipidity in the whole kit and caboodle, did you? The old adage “what you eat is what you are” has a concomitant aphorism, “how you think is who you are”.
So do we want to be Naysayer Nancy and Pessimist Peter? If not, then let’s memorize Philippians 4:8 and meditate on it daily. Cultivate the habit of focusing on the good and shunning the bad. Make sure we see life as revolving around the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, not around the world and the hatred of man. To God be the glory, great things He has done!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Time To Cut the Grass
A voice says, “Call out.” Then he answered, “What shall I call out?” All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever [Isaiah 40:6-8].
What to do when I encounter a deluge of difficulties? Hmm. Now let me think... I guess I could throw a pity party and invite all the naysayers I know. That might be fun. Naw. I think I'll take a rain check on that one.
I got it! I'll go to bed, pull the covers over my head, and hope I never have to wake up. Ah, the old ostrich policy at its finest. That always works. Not! Toss that one on the rubbish heap too.
Dear me. What shall I do? I could stand on the street corner and strum my guitar, giving my best impersonation of Bob Dylan with some poetry set to music. I could sing all about how no one likes me and life isn't fair, and soar off into the nether world as I reminisce about the good old times back in the day. Yeah, but that's a dead horse I don't want to beat.
Okay. So what will I do in response to the doldrums of my existence? Well, thus far all my approaches were to gaze far and wide in all directions horizontally. What I failed to do was to take a gander vertically. The horizontal gaze fixes the eyes on man—or as Isaiah worded it, on "all flesh", both myself and other people.
And therein lies the crux of the matter, my dear friends. "All flesh" is like grass and its loveliness is no more than the flowers in the field. Have you noticed how long grass and flowers last? Let me tell you: not long!
The contrast to "all flesh" is to be found in the phrase "the word of our God ". So how long does the Word of God last? That would be "forever", and methinks "forever" is a wee bit longer than how long grass and flowers last.
That settles it. Isaiah's logic is irrefutable and irresistible. I'm going to handle my deluge of difficulties by hieing off to the prayer closet with my Bible, and spending time alone with the Lord Jesus. Why don't we all go and do likewise?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
What to do when I encounter a deluge of difficulties? Hmm. Now let me think... I guess I could throw a pity party and invite all the naysayers I know. That might be fun. Naw. I think I'll take a rain check on that one.
I got it! I'll go to bed, pull the covers over my head, and hope I never have to wake up. Ah, the old ostrich policy at its finest. That always works. Not! Toss that one on the rubbish heap too.
Dear me. What shall I do? I could stand on the street corner and strum my guitar, giving my best impersonation of Bob Dylan with some poetry set to music. I could sing all about how no one likes me and life isn't fair, and soar off into the nether world as I reminisce about the good old times back in the day. Yeah, but that's a dead horse I don't want to beat.
Okay. So what will I do in response to the doldrums of my existence? Well, thus far all my approaches were to gaze far and wide in all directions horizontally. What I failed to do was to take a gander vertically. The horizontal gaze fixes the eyes on man—or as Isaiah worded it, on "all flesh", both myself and other people.
And therein lies the crux of the matter, my dear friends. "All flesh" is like grass and its loveliness is no more than the flowers in the field. Have you noticed how long grass and flowers last? Let me tell you: not long!
The contrast to "all flesh" is to be found in the phrase "the word of our God ". So how long does the Word of God last? That would be "forever", and methinks "forever" is a wee bit longer than how long grass and flowers last.
That settles it. Isaiah's logic is irrefutable and irresistible. I'm going to handle my deluge of difficulties by hieing off to the prayer closet with my Bible, and spending time alone with the Lord Jesus. Why don't we all go and do likewise?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Naysayer Nancy
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 [Philippians 4:8].
I recollect this girlfriend of mine from many moons ago (I mean MANY moons ago). She was the definition of pessimism par excellence. Whenever her mouth opened, if she wasn’t eating she was complaining. Something was wrong with everyone, at least with everyone but herself. Don’t get me wrong. I liked her. She was my girlfriend. But truth be told she was a naysayer. For purposes of our study today, let’s name her Naysayer Nancy.
Anyway, it spoke volumes about me that I did like her. I found her negativity to be funny and real. Sadly, that last part—you know, the “real” part—was the pits. Her bad attitude rubbed off on me. It became my reality. Naysayer Nancy converted me into Pessimist Peter. Both of us fed off each other’s doldrums, until we both became card-carrying members of the Murphy’s Law Club.
The only way I was ever able to escape from the doldrums was by a miracle from the Lord Jesus. He came along and snatched me out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock, the rock being Jesus Himself. Yes, dear friends, it is easy for sinners to sin. It is hard for sinners to live righteously. I am the poster child for such a scenario.
The Apostle Paul alluded to this in writing to the Christians in the city of Philippi in Macedonia (i.e., northern Greece). They were a right fine bunch, those Christians of Philippi. They weren’t like the Corinthian Christians, who competed with each other to prove who was the top dog in the junkyard, er, I mean in the church. They were a friendly group who loved the Lord, and they supported Paul in his outreach to convey the Gospel of Jesus Christ to new areas of the world.
But they were sinners saved by grace nonetheless. And sinners find it easy to sin and hard to live righteously. There were a couple of saints in the church who rubbed each other the wrong way. This only magnified the differences, leading to an increase of unfriendly competition. We don’t know the specifics involved, only that Paul exhorted them to stop bickering with each other and start appreciating each other.
Now that is a difficult thing to put into practice, if you catch my drift. The concept is easy enough to express idealistically, hard to implement practically. How to behave in a way so contrary to the sin nature which lives inside each and every son or daughter of Adam the First? That is the question.
The Holy Spirit through Paul gave a resounding answer in Philippians 4:2-9. We are not to be Naysayer Nancy or Pessimist Peter. We are to behave in the exact opposite manner, which begins with the things in which we invest our thoughts. According to Philippians 4:8 we are to think positively by focusing on things which are,
• true
• honorable
• right
• pure
• lovely
• of good repute
• excellent
• worthy of praise
Roll those eight items over your tongue a while and savor the flavor. I bet you didn’t taste even a soupçon of bitterness or insipidity in the whole kit and caboodle, did you? The old adage “what you eat is what you are” has a concomitant aphorism, “how you think is who you are”.
So do we want to be Naysayer Nancy and Pessimist Peter? If not, then let’s memorize Philippians 4:8 and meditate on it daily. Cultivate the habit of focusing on the good and shunning the bad. Make sure we see life as revolving around the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, not around the world and the hatred of man. To God be the glory, great things He has done!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
I recollect this girlfriend of mine from many moons ago (I mean MANY moons ago). She was the definition of pessimism par excellence. Whenever her mouth opened, if she wasn’t eating she was complaining. Something was wrong with everyone, at least with everyone but herself. Don’t get me wrong. I liked her. She was my girlfriend. But truth be told she was a naysayer. For purposes of our study today, let’s name her Naysayer Nancy.
Anyway, it spoke volumes about me that I did like her. I found her negativity to be funny and real. Sadly, that last part—you know, the “real” part—was the pits. Her bad attitude rubbed off on me. It became my reality. Naysayer Nancy converted me into Pessimist Peter. Both of us fed off each other’s doldrums, until we both became card-carrying members of the Murphy’s Law Club.
The only way I was ever able to escape from the doldrums was by a miracle from the Lord Jesus. He came along and snatched me out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock, the rock being Jesus Himself. Yes, dear friends, it is easy for sinners to sin. It is hard for sinners to live righteously. I am the poster child for such a scenario.
The Apostle Paul alluded to this in writing to the Christians in the city of Philippi in Macedonia (i.e., northern Greece). They were a right fine bunch, those Christians of Philippi. They weren’t like the Corinthian Christians, who competed with each other to prove who was the top dog in the junkyard, er, I mean in the church. They were a friendly group who loved the Lord, and they supported Paul in his outreach to convey the Gospel of Jesus Christ to new areas of the world.
But they were sinners saved by grace nonetheless. And sinners find it easy to sin and hard to live righteously. There were a couple of saints in the church who rubbed each other the wrong way. This only magnified the differences, leading to an increase of unfriendly competition. We don’t know the specifics involved, only that Paul exhorted them to stop bickering with each other and start appreciating each other.
Now that is a difficult thing to put into practice, if you catch my drift. The concept is easy enough to express idealistically, hard to implement practically. How to behave in a way so contrary to the sin nature which lives inside each and every son or daughter of Adam the First? That is the question.
The Holy Spirit through Paul gave a resounding answer in Philippians 4:2-9. We are not to be Naysayer Nancy or Pessimist Peter. We are to behave in the exact opposite manner, which begins with the things in which we invest our thoughts. According to Philippians 4:8 we are to think positively by focusing on things which are,
• true
• honorable
• right
• pure
• lovely
• of good repute
• excellent
• worthy of praise
Roll those eight items over your tongue a while and savor the flavor. I bet you didn’t taste even a soupçon of bitterness or insipidity in the whole kit and caboodle, did you? The old adage “what you eat is what you are” has a concomitant aphorism, “how you think is who you are”.
So do we want to be Naysayer Nancy and Pessimist Peter? If not, then let’s memorize Philippians 4:8 and meditate on it daily. Cultivate the habit of focusing on the good and shunning the bad. Make sure we see life as revolving around the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, not around the world and the hatred of man. To God be the glory, great things He has done!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Time To Cut the Grass
A voice says, “Call out.” Then he answered, “What shall I call out?” All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever [Isaiah 40:6-8].
What to do when I encounter a deluge of difficulties? Hmm. Now let me think... I guess I could throw a pity party and invite all the naysayers I know. That might be fun. Naw. I think I'll take a rain check on that one.
I got it! I'll go to bed, pull the covers over my head, and hope I never have to wake up. Ah, the old ostrich policy at its finest. That always works. Not! Toss that one on the rubbish heap too.
Dear me. What shall I do? I could stand on the street corner and strum my guitar, giving my best impersonation of Bob Dylan with some poetry set to music. I could sing all about how no one likes me and life isn't fair, and soar off into the nether world as I reminisce about the good old times back in the day. Yeah, but that's a dead horse I don't want to beat.
Okay. So what will I do in response to the doldrums of my existence? Well, thus far all my approaches were to gaze far and wide in all directions horizontally. What I failed to do was to take a gander vertically. The horizontal gaze fixes the eyes on man—or as Isaiah worded it, on "all flesh", both myself and other people.
And therein lies the crux of the matter, my dear friends. "All flesh" is like grass and its loveliness is no more than the flowers in the field. Have you noticed how long grass and flowers last? Let me tell you: not long!
The contrast to "all flesh" is to be found in the phrase "the word of our God ". So how long does the Word of God last? That would be "forever", and methinks "forever" is a wee bit longer than how long grass and flowers last.
That settles it. Isaiah's logic is irrefutable and irresistible. I'm going to handle my deluge of difficulties by hieing off to the prayer closet with my Bible, and spending time alone with the Lord Jesus. Why don't we all go and do likewise?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
What to do when I encounter a deluge of difficulties? Hmm. Now let me think... I guess I could throw a pity party and invite all the naysayers I know. That might be fun. Naw. I think I'll take a rain check on that one.
I got it! I'll go to bed, pull the covers over my head, and hope I never have to wake up. Ah, the old ostrich policy at its finest. That always works. Not! Toss that one on the rubbish heap too.
Dear me. What shall I do? I could stand on the street corner and strum my guitar, giving my best impersonation of Bob Dylan with some poetry set to music. I could sing all about how no one likes me and life isn't fair, and soar off into the nether world as I reminisce about the good old times back in the day. Yeah, but that's a dead horse I don't want to beat.
Okay. So what will I do in response to the doldrums of my existence? Well, thus far all my approaches were to gaze far and wide in all directions horizontally. What I failed to do was to take a gander vertically. The horizontal gaze fixes the eyes on man—or as Isaiah worded it, on "all flesh", both myself and other people.
And therein lies the crux of the matter, my dear friends. "All flesh" is like grass and its loveliness is no more than the flowers in the field. Have you noticed how long grass and flowers last? Let me tell you: not long!
The contrast to "all flesh" is to be found in the phrase "the word of our God ". So how long does the Word of God last? That would be "forever", and methinks "forever" is a wee bit longer than how long grass and flowers last.
That settles it. Isaiah's logic is irrefutable and irresistible. I'm going to handle my deluge of difficulties by hieing off to the prayer closet with my Bible, and spending time alone with the Lord Jesus. Why don't we all go and do likewise?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Naysayer Nancy
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 [Philippians 4:8].
I recollect this girlfriend of mine from many moons ago (I mean MANY moons ago). She was the definition of pessimism par excellence. Whenever her mouth opened, if she wasn’t eating she was complaining. Something was wrong with everyone, at least with everyone but herself. Don’t get me wrong. I liked her. She was my girlfriend. But truth be told she was a naysayer. For purposes of our study today, let’s name her Naysayer Nancy.
Anyway, it spoke volumes about me that I did like her. I found her negativity to be funny and real. Sadly, that last part—you know, the “real” part—was the pits. Her bad attitude rubbed off on me. It became my reality. Naysayer Nancy converted me into Pessimist Pete. Both of us fed off each other’s doldrums, until we both became card-carrying members of the Murphy’s Law Club.
The only way I was ever able to escape from the doldrums was by a miracle from the Lord Jesus. He came along and snatched me out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock, the rock being Jesus Himself. Yes, dear friends, it is easy for sinners to sin. It is hard for sinners to live righteously. I am the poster child for such a scenario.
The Apostle Paul alluded to this in writing to the Christians in the city of Philippi in Macedonia (i.e., northern Greece). They were a right fine bunch, those Christians of Philippi. They weren’t like the Corinthian Christians, who competed with each other to prove who was the top dog in the junkyard, er, I mean in the church. They were a friendly group who loved the Lord, and they supported Paul in his outreach to convey the Gospel of Jesus Christ to new areas of the world.
But they were sinners saved by grace nonetheless. And sinners find it easy to sin and hard to live righteously. There were a couple of saints in the church who rubbed each other the wrong way. This only magnified the differences, leading to an increase of unfriendly competition. We don’t know the specifics involved, only that Paul exhorted them to stop bickering with each other and start appreciating one another.
Now that is a difficult thing to put into practice, if you catch my drift. The concept is easy enough to express idealistically, hard to implement practically. How to behave in a way so contrary to the sin nature which lives inside each and every son or daughter of Adam the First? That is the question.
The Holy Spirit through Paul gave a resounding answer in Philippians 4:2-9. We are not to be Naysayer Nancy or Pessimist Pete. We are to behave in the exact opposite manner, which begins with the things in which we invest our thoughts. According to Philippians 4:8 we are to think positively by focusing on things which are,
• true
• honorable
• right
• pure
• lovely
• of good repute
• excellent
• worthy of praise
Roll those eight items over your tongue a while and savor the flavor. I bet you didn’t taste even a soupçon of bitterness or insipidity in the whole kit and caboodle, did you? The old adage “what you eat is what you are” has a concomitant aphorism, “how you think is who you are”.
So do we want to be Naysayer Nancy and Pessimist Pete? If not, then let’s memorize Philippians 4:8 and meditate on it daily. Cultivate the habit of focusing on the good and shunning the bad. Make sure we see life as revolving around the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, not around the world and the hatred of man. To God be the glory, great things He has done!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
I recollect this girlfriend of mine from many moons ago (I mean MANY moons ago). She was the definition of pessimism par excellence. Whenever her mouth opened, if she wasn’t eating she was complaining. Something was wrong with everyone, at least with everyone but herself. Don’t get me wrong. I liked her. She was my girlfriend. But truth be told she was a naysayer. For purposes of our study today, let’s name her Naysayer Nancy.
Anyway, it spoke volumes about me that I did like her. I found her negativity to be funny and real. Sadly, that last part—you know, the “real” part—was the pits. Her bad attitude rubbed off on me. It became my reality. Naysayer Nancy converted me into Pessimist Pete. Both of us fed off each other’s doldrums, until we both became card-carrying members of the Murphy’s Law Club.
The only way I was ever able to escape from the doldrums was by a miracle from the Lord Jesus. He came along and snatched me out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock, the rock being Jesus Himself. Yes, dear friends, it is easy for sinners to sin. It is hard for sinners to live righteously. I am the poster child for such a scenario.
The Apostle Paul alluded to this in writing to the Christians in the city of Philippi in Macedonia (i.e., northern Greece). They were a right fine bunch, those Christians of Philippi. They weren’t like the Corinthian Christians, who competed with each other to prove who was the top dog in the junkyard, er, I mean in the church. They were a friendly group who loved the Lord, and they supported Paul in his outreach to convey the Gospel of Jesus Christ to new areas of the world.
But they were sinners saved by grace nonetheless. And sinners find it easy to sin and hard to live righteously. There were a couple of saints in the church who rubbed each other the wrong way. This only magnified the differences, leading to an increase of unfriendly competition. We don’t know the specifics involved, only that Paul exhorted them to stop bickering with each other and start appreciating one another.
Now that is a difficult thing to put into practice, if you catch my drift. The concept is easy enough to express idealistically, hard to implement practically. How to behave in a way so contrary to the sin nature which lives inside each and every son or daughter of Adam the First? That is the question.
The Holy Spirit through Paul gave a resounding answer in Philippians 4:2-9. We are not to be Naysayer Nancy or Pessimist Pete. We are to behave in the exact opposite manner, which begins with the things in which we invest our thoughts. According to Philippians 4:8 we are to think positively by focusing on things which are,
• true
• honorable
• right
• pure
• lovely
• of good repute
• excellent
• worthy of praise
Roll those eight items over your tongue a while and savor the flavor. I bet you didn’t taste even a soupçon of bitterness or insipidity in the whole kit and caboodle, did you? The old adage “what you eat is what you are” has a concomitant aphorism, “how you think is who you are”.
So do we want to be Naysayer Nancy and Pessimist Pete? If not, then let’s memorize Philippians 4:8 and meditate on it daily. Cultivate the habit of focusing on the good and shunning the bad. Make sure we see life as revolving around the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, not around the world and the hatred of man. To God be the glory, great things He has done!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
