Whatever is Lovely

In Philippians there is an admonition to think about whatever is lovely. This is the only place in Scripture where this Greek word occurs. It means pleasing, acceptable, grateful, worthy of personal affection; hence, dearly prized, worth the effort to have and embrace. This call to focus our minds on what is lovely is part of a passage that begins with, “Rejoice in the Lord, and again I say rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4)

We are not told to try to rejoice or to try to focus our mind on things that are lovely. I believe this is because as 1 Peter 3:18 says we have been, “made alive in the spiritual realm.” On the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came a divine reinforcement took place. The gift of grace has been freely given, an invitation to have our heart bathed in joy, our minds washed by thoughts that are pleasing and acceptable. We have been invited to know a life that is blanketed by peace.

However, I know Christians who suffer from melancholy. Sometimes it’s a chemical imbalance sometimes it’s because of painful things they have experienced in their lives. Are they exempt from joy or a mind that is filled with lovely thoughts?  Are they doomed to have their minds flooded instead with gloomy, woeful, wretched thoughts? Are they destined to live joyless heavy- hearted lives?

Yesterday I heard a story that helped me understand the relationship between the gifts we’ve been given and the lives we live. The story was of a young man who received a gift from his mother. The gift was in a big box and at the time he received it he was very busy so he put it on the floor of his closet and forgot about it. The gift remained hidden in his closet for the remainder of the time he lived there. He never benefited from the gift because he never opened it. I think this is a picture of the relationship of the gifts God gives us and faith. It takes faith to live a life that is not based on what I see or feel but is instead based on the gifts and promises of God.

William Cowper was a man who suffered from melancholy. He fought to embrace what was lovely and to know the joy of the Lord. I do not fully understand the struggles that he had but I am grateful for the insight I have been given when he by faith could see the light shining in the darkness.

Light Shining in the Darkness

By William Cowper

God moves in a mysterious way               

  His wonders to perform;           

He plants his footsteps in the sea,           

  And rides upon the storm.        

Deep in unfathomable mines            

  Of never-failing skill,    

He treasures up his bright designs,         

  And works his sovereign will.   

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,     

  The clouds ye so much dread           

Are big with mercy, and shall break        

  In blessings on your head.        

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,      

  But trust him for his grace;        

Behind a frowning providence           

  He hides a smiling face.              

His purposes will ripen fast,        

  Unfolding every hour;

The bud may have a bitter taste,             

  But sweet will be the flower.            

Blind unbelief is sure to err,       

  And scan his work in vain;         

God is his own interpreter,         

  And he will make it plain.            

Whatever is Pure

They inhaled deeply the breath of life, the breath of God. They were innocent and pure and every evening they listened for His voice. In the cool of the day He would come to them and walk with them in the garden. Then one day He came but they hid.

Sin had entered the garden innocents was lost. In their defilement they could no longer look upon the Holy face of God. The sin of man became like a cataract obscuring his vision. Paradise was lost.

Like sheep they had gone astray and when they lost their way they lost their purity. But God provided a sacrificial lamb the symbol of purity.” But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.…”(Isaiah 53:5-8)

 “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” (John 1:29) With these words John proclaimed Jesus’ mission on earth. Our innocence and purity was lost by our sin but by the death of the Lamb of God we are once more invited to look upon the face of God and enjoy sweet fellowship. Through the sacrifice of the Lamb of God Paradise has been restored!

Lord Jesus, thank You for inviting me to think about whatever is pure so that I can enjoy the God of Peace. 

Whatever is Right

I simply felt wrong, somewhat like a derailed train. Since this is not the first time I have had this problem I used the same diagnostic tool I have used before. Just as I would go to the doctor to discover a physical illness I went to the Scriptures to reveal the source of my spiritual dis-ease.

I began by asking the Holy Spirit to show me truth in my inmost being. I went to the passage in Philippians that lists the things we are encouraged to think about and do with the promise that, “the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:9) I realized that I had begun to think obsessively about things that were bothering me. These negative thoughts left no room for right thinking.

Realizing what was wrong was the first step, fixing my thoughts on what is right was next. It’s more than just choosing what I’m going to think about it’s really a choice to trust the promises I find in God’s word. “You keep him in perfect peace those whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you.”(Isaiah 26:3)

When I choose to think on what is right my dis-eased thoughts are replaced by peace. My feelings of discomfort are are replaced by a quiet confidence. But that should not be surprising since Isaiah 33:17 says,” The result of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever.”

Lord Jesus, in You, “righteousness and peace kiss each other.” (Psalm 85:10) You offer me perfect peace when my mind is stayed on You. As I open my mind to You , You fill my heart with quiet confidence. When I look at You instead of my negative thoughts I find both healing and wholeness for my dis-eased spirit.

Whatever is Honorable

“Honey, why have you set the timer?” “When the timer rings it will be time for Mommy to come for me.” The grandmother’s eyes stung with tears, her heart stung with the knowledge that this precious child had been abandoned. Gently she explained his mother was not coming back. “Oh, you mean I am like Moses, adopted by a princess and raised in a palace?” The grandmother had cast a vision for her grandson teaching him that one day he would grow to be a mighty man of God. She had bound his broken heart with honor and taught him to see his life through the lens of God’s love.

There is a village in Paraguay called Cateura it is a town perched on top of a mountain of garbage. Everyday 1,500 tons of solid waste is dumped in a landfill in Cateura, where 2,500 families live. The children living among the piles of garage had little hope until one day Favio Chaves came. He looked beyond their dirty faces and the stigma of their filth. He taught the children how to recycle the garbage and make musical instruments. He recognized the beauty of their souls. He cast a vision for them and bound their broken lives with beauty. He said, “The world sends us garbage, and we send back music.”

She was in the attic when she found the notebook. The notebook contained the pictures of the Jewish children Nicholas Winton had rescued from the Nazis during World War ll. Winton found homes for 669 children, many of whose parents perished in Auschwitz. It all began just before Christmas 1938 when Winton chose to cancel his skiing trip to Switzerland and go to Prague, Czechoslovakia, to help a friend who was involved in Jewish rescue work.  He was honor bound to look beyond his comfort and recognize the value of a child’s soul.

It is a different way of seeing things. To look at others through the lens of honor, to recognize what is noble in the outcast. To look past the packages that have been torn and broken by the world and be filled with awe at the majesty of the soul that is within. I am filled with a since of wonder that I too can cast a vision for the broken hearted and bind their wounds with honor.

Father, You have taught me that I am to fill my mind with “whatever is honorable.” Please show me how to look at those around me through this noble lens. 

Whatever is True

A child is frightened by an angry adult. "Did you do this!" The child stands there in sheer terror until suddenly there is way of escape. The thought comes, "You know you don't have to tell the truth." The lie is spoken, anger is defused, and the child escapes. A valuable lesson has been learned, you can find asylum in a lie. But the child cannot see the delicate, transparent strands that begin to entangle her.

He always felt awkward, not quite good enough. He was afraid if anyone really knew who he was they wouldn't want to be around him but he found a solution. He began when he was a child on the playground wanting friends; he made up stories about himself that he thought would make him more appealing. It became a habit but he didn't consider it a bad habit he considered it a social lubricant, just something he used to make him feel more comfortable in social settings. The silken web wound round and round him an unseen prison bound him.

Fear whispered in the night and she awoke with a smothering since of panic.  In her terror she sought solace. He came as an angle of light with arms wide open offering refuge. But the comfort offered was a lie and spider silk, the gossamer threads, wrapped round, and round, and round, and she became imprisoned, bound.

The child, the man the woman imprisoned by lies have heard the lullaby that Satan sings. He offers asylum, a shelter, protection from danger but anyone lured by his songs finds the asylum he truly offers is imprisonment. The Father of lies now injects his helpless victims with the venom of hopelessness.

"If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free...If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:34-36) The one who puts his faith in the Truth and chooses then to keep his mind on whatever is true knows what life is like when the God of peace abides with you.

Luminaries

There is a mansion on a hill in the small town I live in. During the Christmas Season the pathway that leads to the mansion is lit by luminaries. These luminaries are simple paper bags weighed down with sand. A candle placed inside the bag gives light and illumines the path.

When I awoke in the night my soul felt smothered. Oppressed by dark thoughts I blanketed myself and went outside. The moon light was so bright that it cast moon shadows. I stood staring up into the night sky. The light from the celestial bodies were luminaries. The darkness that had oppressed me was lifted.

"Sharpen my sight, Lord, so I can see the beauty inside of the people I know. Blind me to their faults and imperfections and let me see the good that You have put in them! Let me see the hurts that I might console and encourage. Please let this kind of sight grow sharper even as my physical sight diminishes." This is the prayer of a woman who became blind, however, in her blindness she became a luminary.

I have found the pathway that leads me to God lit with guiding lights. Sometimes the light in the night's sky is bright enough to cast moon shadows. Other times it is like the light of a candle in a simple paper bag weighed down with sand that shows me the way to go. The lights that lead me home all have the same source.

Father, thank you for the luminaries you have placed in my life. Please let Your light shine brightly in my life and may I become one who lights the path home for others.

Choosing a Life Based on Mystery

"By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen has been made from the things that are not visible."(Hebrews 11:3) There is mystery. I belong to a world that I can experience with my five senses but I also belong to another world. One world I see with my physical eye the other is not visible except by faith.

In the physical world Able's voice was silenced when he was murdered by his brother Cain. Yet, because he saw beyond the temporal to the eternal he offered his sacrifice to God and he was approved as a righteous man.  Even though he is dead he still speaks because God approved his gift of faith.

The warning came, to see not with physical eyes but with eyes of faith. He responded with reverence. He acted on not what he saw but what he believed. Noah built an ark to deliver his family. "By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith."(Hebrews 11:7)

He was called and he responded. He didn't know where he was going but he trusted the One who was leading him. He stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, he stayed there by faith. "He was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God." (Hebrew 11:10)

I choose to live my life based on this mystery. By faith I understand that the world I see was spoken into being by the breath of the Spirit of God. I ,like Able, by faith recognize a lamb was sacrificed for my righteousness. Like Noah I too have heard the warning. By faith I understand the promise given to Abraham that though he was in the world he was not of the world. By faith I choose to to not throw away my confidence in the things I can't see because I hear the voice of God saying, "For in yet a very little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he draws back, My soul has no pleasure in Him."(Hebrews 10-38)

Sanctuary

Life was loud when I was a child. In my childhood home there were eleven people living under one roof I was one of sixty pupils in my class. But there was a place where I experienced a quiet that penetrate deep into my soul. Once a week I would walk through the doors and find a holy hush a place where my soul could find rest.

This was a place were I began to learn the otherness of God. In this room a candle was kept burning. I was taught as a child that the light was there to remind me of God's holy presence. It wasn't that God was confined to this place but that this place, this time, had been set apart. It was set apart from the rush of daily life so that I could enter into to God's sacred silence and listen for His voice.

I was trained by my Father's example to genuflect before I took my seat. "Daddy, why do we kneel before we sit?" "This is because we are here to worship a Holy God." My Father taught me by his example that the correct response to a Holy God was to bend my knee and bow my head.

Many years latter I learned about the Holy of Holies. This was the innermost area of the ancient tabernacle of Moses and the most sacred. There was a veil that existed as a barrier between man and God. The holiness of God could not be accessed by anyone but the high priest, and that only once a year. The day Jesus died on the cross the veil was ripped from top to bottom and man was given access to a Holy God.

I no longer go to a church where the candle always burns nor do I genuflect before I take my seat. Yet, still I am filled with a since of wonder that I have access to a Holy God. Once a week I take my seat and let the quiet of His presence penetrate my soul. Once a week I set aside time for sacred silence to listen for His voice.