Randy Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "philippians-4"
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...
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...
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...
