whatever is lovely...

artwork by Tamara Peterson

This spectacular piece of artwork by TamaraPeterson inspired me to do a word study based on the Scripture Philippians 4:8:

NASB: 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.

Amplified: For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].

NLT: And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Phillips: Here is a last piece of advice. If you believe in goodness and if you value the approval of God, fix your minds on the things which are holy and right and pure and beautiful and good.

Wuest: Finally, brethren, whatever things have the character of truth, whatever things are worthy of reverence, whatever things are righteous, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are attractive, whatever excellence there is or fit object of praise, these things make the subject of careful reflection.

Young's Literal: As to the rest, brethren, as many things as are true, as many as are grave, as many as are righteous, as many as are pure, as many as are lovely, as many as are of good report, if any worthiness, and if any praise, these things think upon.

Finally (loipon) means literally “for the rest” or “for what remains” and in the present context means “as to what remains to be said.” As Paul draws to the conclusion of his letter, in this verse he deals with the greatest conflict that every believer encounters—the battle for the control of our minds.

Pastor William Barclay writes: “The human mind will always set itself on something and Paul wished to be quite sure that the Philippians would set their minds on the right things. This is something of the utmost importance, because it is a law of life that, if a man thinks of something often enough, he will come to the stage when he cannot stop thinking about it. His thoughts will be quite literally in a groove out of which he cannot jerk them. It is, therefore, of the first importance that a man should set his thoughts upon the fine things and here Paul makes a list of them.”

True (alethes) is that which conforms to reality. In the final analysis whatever God says on any given subject is true! The unchanging God and His unchanging holy Word is the final test for truth. You do not have to look very closely to find our Lord Jesus Christ in verse 8 for Jesus said He was "the Truth" and each of these traits is true of Him.

Honorable (semnos) means worthy of respect or entitled to honor. It is that which inspires reverence or awe. It describes those things which are worthy, venerable, august, noble. The idea pertains to whatever evokes special respect.

Right (dikaios) refers to that which conforms to the perfect standard of God's righteousness. We know from Romans that the "good works" that God requires (they are "right") do not come from our good intentions, but originate out of faith that obeys. Dikaios describes whatever is in perfect harmony with God’s eternal, unchanging standards, as revealed in Scripture.

Pure (hagnos) is that which is free from defilement, stainless, that which will not contaminate, that which is "morally and inwardly" pure. The word refers to ceremonial purity, but also to the moral purity that is pictured by the ceremonial. It especially means keeping our bodies undefiled by abstaining from sexual sins.

Lovely (prosphile is a relationship word derived from pros = towards + philes = friend) refers to that conduct which is dear to someone. It is that conduct which is pleasing in its motive and actions towards others. Prosphile has the idea of that which is admirable or agreeable to behold or consider.

Pastor William Barclay writes: “Winsome is the best translation of all. The Greek is prosphile, and it might be paraphrased as that which calls forth love. There are those whose minds are so set on vengeance and punishment that they call forth bitterness and fear in others. There are those whose minds are so set on criticism and rebuke that they call forth resentment in others. The mind of the Christian is set on the lovely things—kindness, sympathy, forbearance—so he is a winsome person, whom to see is to love.”

Good repute (euphemos is from eu = well, good + pheme = rumor, fame) and refers to that which is well–spoken of, praiseworthy, laudable, highly regarded or well thought of. It is something or someone that deservedly enjoys a good reputation.

Excellence (arete) refers to any preeminence (moral, intellectual, military). Arete is a term denoting consummate ‘excellence’ or ‘merit’ within a social context. To the Greek philosophers, it meant “the fulfillment of a thing.” Arete came to mean quality of life which made someone or something stand out as excellent. In short, arete was a term denoting consummate ‘excellence’ or ‘merit’ within a social context. Exhibition of arete invites recognition, resulting in renown or glory.

Worthy of praise (epainos from epí = upon + aínos = praise) is literally "praise upon" and denotes commendation, praise, or approbation (an act of formally or officially approving). It means something which is worthy of being commended. The word can describe the act of expressing admiration or approval, praise, approval, recognition. In the present context epainos describes a thing that is praiseworthy or something that deserves to be praised. So when that thought comes into your mind ask "Is it praiseworthy?" Then reflect upon it.

Let…mind dwell (logizomai from lógos = reason, word, account) means to reckon, compute, calculate, to take into account, to deliberate, and to weigh. Logizomai refers to a process of careful study or reasoning which results in the arriving at a conclusion. Logizomai conveys the idea of calculating or estimating. The idea is to think about something in a detailed and logical manner. Logizomai was an accounting term and so one gets the picture of taking all of the truths Paul has listed regarding your thought life and putting them in the "calculator" of your human brain, thinking about them and coming to a conclusion, and most importantly, then letting that conclusion affect the way you live. The present tense and imperative mood commands a continuous action, a call to a spiritual discipline for the purpose of godliness for as a man or woman thinks in their heart so they are.

Pastor J. I. Packer says: “Logizomai, or meditation, is the practice of turning each truth we learn about God into matter for reflection before God, leading to prayer and praise to God. Logizomai is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God. It is an activity of holy thought, consciously performed in the presence of God, under the eye of God, by the help of God, as a means of communion with God.”

Pastor Wayne Barber writes: “In Philippians 4:8 the whole verse hinges on the phrase dwell on these things. It literally means to ponder these things. The word is logizomai. It is in the present imperative. Always be pondering these things. It means to reason something out. To look at something and see what it is all about and how it came to be.  Godly living is just not the result of a good intention by a sincere believer.”

An old Native American Christian was explaining to a missionary that the battle inside of him was like a black dog fighting a white dog. “Which dog wins?” asked the missionary. “The one I feed the most,” he replied. In Philippians 4:8 the apostle Paul says, “Feed your mind on the pure truth of God’s Word.”

We were created to worship God. It is the reason for our existence both here on earth and throughout eternity. Sometimes our concept of worship is going to church one hour each week. But God desires continual fellowship with us and wants us to live a lifestyle characterized by worship—keeping our hearts and our thoughts fixed on Him. How is that possible? When we go about our day delighting in the things God delights in, finding our greatest satisfaction and joy in Him, honoring Him in all we do, and ascribing to the Lord the glory due His name—we are worshiping God. Whether our days are filled with changing diapers and washing dirty dishes, sitting at a computer, or teaching, we can experience worship as a lifestyle through our thought life. When we fulfill God’s call with joyful obedience and do our work to the glory of God, that is true worship. Outward expressions of worship such as kneeling, bowing, praying, and lifting hands may enhance our worship experience, but true worship emanates from our hearts. Let us respond joyfully to God’s call to worship. We will be blessed beyond measure as we walk all day long in the light of His presence!

Lord Jesus, what a privilege it is to worship You! Purify my heart and my thoughts so that I can learn to worship You continually. Help me to perform all of my duties today in joyful obedience to You so that even my work becomes authentic worship—keeping my heart and my thoughts fixed on You…In Your Mighty Name we pray, amen.

Look up – Meditate on Philippians 4:8. Pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.

Look in – Meditate on Philippians 4:8. Pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: “Because God is ______________, I will ______________.”

Look out – Meditate on Philippians 4:8. Pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.  

* If you liked this post you’ll love this book – Name Above All Names Devotional: Focusing on 26 Alphabetical Names of Christ

Weekly LinkUps…

rest is worship...

artwork by Tamara Peterson

This beautiful Bible journaling artwork by Tamara Peterson inspired me as I listened to a new song by Jonny Diaz, Breathe…When the stress is on the rise in my heart I feel You say, “Just breathe, just breathe. Come and rest at My feet and be, just be. Chaos calls, but all you really need is to take it in, fill your lungs, the Peace of God that overcomes, just breathe, let your weary spirit rest, lay down what’s good and find what’s best, just breathe, just breathe, just breathe…” This drew my heart to a word study of the word, “rest,” from Matthew 11:28-30…

Amplified: Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]  Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. [Jer. 6:16] For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good—not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne.

Phillips: Come to me, all of you who are weary and over-burdened, and I will give you rest! Put on my yoke and learn from me. For I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Wuest: Come here to me, all who are growing weary to the point of exhaustion, and who have been loaded with burdens and are bending beneath their weight, and I alone will cause you to cease from your labor and take away your burdens and thus refresh you with rest. Take at once my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find cessation from labor and refreshment for your souls,  for my yoke is mild and pleasant, and my load is light in weight.

The Message: “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Rest (refresh) in Greek is anapauo, from ana, which means again, back, or even as intensifying the meaning of the verb pauo which means to cease or give rest. Anapauo means  to cause someone to become physically refreshed as the result of resting from work. Anapauo can also refer to spiritual refreshment or revival. Anapauo signifies “to cause or permit one to cease from any labor or movement” so as to recover strength. It implies previous toil and care. Its chief significance is that of taking, or causing to take, rest.

Pastor John Newton, who wrote Amazing Grace, notes that...”The Greek word anapauo expresses something more than rest, or a mere relaxation from toil; it denotes refreshment likewise. When we are enabled to view our sins as laid upon Christ, that those who come are accepted in the Beloved, that there is no more condemnation—but pardon, reconciliation, and adoption, are the sure privileges of all who trust in Him—O the sweet calm that immediately takes place in the soul! It is something more than deliverance. When we are brought nearer to Christ, and taught to live upon him as our sanctification, deriving all our strength and motives from him by faith, we obtain a comparative rest in this respect also. We find hard things become easy, and mountains sink into plains, by power displayed in our behalf. How is this rest to be obtained? If it was to be bought—we have nothing to offer for it. If it was given as a reward of merit—we can do nothing to deserve it. But Jesus has said, "I will give you rest!" Our title to it cost Him dear; He purchased it for us with His own blood; but to us it comes freely."

A missionary in Africa experienced great difficulty in trying to translate the Gospel of John into the local dialect. He faced the problem of finding a word for “believe.” When he came to that particular word, he always had to leave a blank space. Then one day a runner came panting into the camp, having traveled a great distance with a very important message. After blurting out his story, he fell exhausted into a hammock nearby. He muttered a brief phrase that seemed to express both his great weariness and his contentment at finding such a delightful place of relaxation. The missionary, never having heard these words before, asked a bystander what the runner had said. "Oh, he is saying, ‘I'm at the end of myself, therefore I am resting all of my weight here!"' The missionary exclaimed, "Praise God! That is the very expression I need for the word believe!"

Rest is worship. Whatever stress or chaos may be in your life right now, Jesus invites you, just as he did the crowds he was teaching: “Come to Me. Give Me the heavy load you’re carrying. And in exchange, I will give you rest.” Jesus knows the challenges and deadlines we face and the weariness of mind or body we feel. He understands the stress, tasks, and responsibilities that are weighing us down. As we lay all that concerns us before him, His purpose replaces our agenda, and his lightness and rest replace our burden.

Rest is worship. The verdict is final. The case is never going to be re-tried—irrevocable. On that we can rest—we are justified on the basis of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. It is a blessing to know that I am, right now, under the completely sufficient imputed righteousness of Christ. Because I have placed my trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ, I am redeemed by His precious blood. The threat of failure, judgment, and condemnation has been removed. Knowing that God’s love for me and approval of me will never be determined by my performance is the most encouraging promise to which I cling.

Lord Jesus, Thank You that I can rest in Your finished work on the Cross. Thank You that I can rest as You carry my burdens for me. I give them all to you and I gladly receive Your rest! Teach me Your wisdom that is humble and pure, and help me to walk in the ways you set before me. Thank You for Your mercy and love that invite me to continually experience Your Peace and enjoy Your Presence, living my life resting and trusting in You!

Look Up—meditate on Matthew 11:28-30

Look In—as you meditate on Matthew 11:28-30 pray to see how you might apply it to your life.

Look Out—as you meditate on Matthew 11:28-30 pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others.

Weekly LinkUps…

peace...imagination, meditation, worship

artwork by Julie Artz Hanson

My OneWord365 for 2015 is trusting. As I pondered Julie Artz Hanson’s beautiful work of art while listening to the anointed new hymn, Heroes by Bethel Music’s Amanda Cook …I will, trust, here in the mystery, I will, trust, in You completely, awake my soul to sing with Your breath in me, I will worship, You taught my feet to dance upon disappointment, and I, I will worship... my heart was drawn back to one of my Daddy’s favorite scriptures, Isaiah 26:3 ... “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”

The Hebrew word for “mind”—yêtser—is translated “imagination” four other times in the Old Testament. So, you could quote this verse this way: “The Lord will keep you in perfect peace when your imagination is stayed upon Him, because you trust Him.” Imagination. Meditation. Worship. To mediate you have to imagine. Your imagination is part of meditating.

Isaiah 26:3...

Amplified: You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character], because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation].

Young's Literal: An imagination supported You fortify peace—peace! For in You it is confident.

Your imagination is your ability to see with your heart what you can’t see with your eyes. Your imagination is how you think, how you meditate, how you understand, and how you remember things. We really can’t do anything without our imagination.

God's Word comes alive when you can picture what it’s talking about. Let the Word of God control your imagination as you think about scriptures, and you will see things in Scripture that you can’t see with your physical eyes. You see it on the inside…in your imagination.

Your imagination is a powerful entity. It can cause the hair on the back of our neck to stand up, our spirit to soar, or our face to blush. Imagination is the power that holds our beliefs together; we believe with our imagination. Imagination is the wellspring of faith and hope. Our biggest and best dreams for ourselves and others rise from the imagination.

It is the work of the imagination to reinterpret and reform repeated assumptions and expectations. When we enlarge the context, we refocus, or we see it through a wider lens. Imagination is the work of seeing through a wider lens. When you enlarge your perceptions using your God-given imagination, you give yourself the opportunity to turn from the negative aspects of your past, to get rid of the excess baggage, and to face the journey into the future with hope.

You may be saying, "But I don't know how to meditate."  However, if you know how to worry, then you know how to meditate.

Worry is when you take a negative idea and continue to think on it over and over, and it will usually start to affect you negatively. When you take a Truth from Scripture and think on it over and over, we call that meditation. Meditation just means you focus your attention over and over on the Word of God. When one continually mutters God’s Word to himself, he is constantly thinking about it. The benefits will be a blessing.

Pastor John Piper gives an interesting word picture of meditation writing: “If you want to be filled with the Spirit of passion and exultation over the great things of God, you must fill your mind day and night with the Word of God. Pour over it. Memorize it. Chew it. Put it like a lozenge under the tongue of your soul and let it flavor your affections day and night.”

Pastor Warren W. Wiersbe writes, “The believer’s mind should become like a “spiritual computer.” It should be so saturated with Scripture that when he faces a decision or a temptation, he automatically remembers the Scriptures that relate to that particular situation. It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to bring God’s Word to our minds when we need it. But the Spirit of God cannot remind you of something that you have not learned! You must first let him teach you the Word. You must memorize the Scripture that He opens up to you. Then the Spirit of God will be able to remind you of what you have learned.”

Finally, in Isaiah 26:3 God’s promised peace has two conditions: First, it is for those who trust in Him, which means to commit ourselves to the Lord, lean on him, and hope confidently in Him. Second, it is for those who fix their thoughts on God using their imagination. We are often preoccupied and have our minds focused on many other things. Some of us seem to have a tape in our minds that keeps replaying a list of responsibilities, tasks and scheduled activities, problems and burdens, and the tragedies and fearful things going on in the world around us. But when we use our God-given imagination and fix our minds and thoughts on the character and attributes of the Lord our God, we have something different playing in our minds: the reminder that God is our everlasting rock, our refuge in times of trouble, the Lord Almighty who holds the whole world and each of us individually in His hands. With God as our focus and with our faith firmly fixed on him, we can experience the truth of this verse: He will keep us in perfect and constant peace no matter what happens. It’s a promise.

Heavenly Father, I need Your peace today. I ask you to help me to do these things: to lean on you, to meditate on your character and attributes, and to trust you with all my heart. Thank You for Your promise that Your perfect peace will guard my heart and mind. In Christ, we are relaxed and at peace in the midst of the confusions, bewilderments, and perplexities of this life, because we trust in You. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Look Up—meditate on Isaiah 26:3

Look In—as you meditate on Isaiah 26:3 pray to see how you might apply it to your life.

Look Out—as you meditate on Isaiah 26:3 pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others.

Weekly LinkUps…