What do you think about?

So guys, what DO you think about?  What thoughts run through your mind on a daily basis?  What do you put in your head?

I’m not going to run through a list of possibilities because they are both endless and  redundant.  What I mean is that because we are guys there are the repetition of guy thoughts that make their way into our guy brains so I don’t feel the need to list those.  Additionally, the other things we focus on are as numerous as there are guys.  What I want you to do is ask you to focus for minute on the things that really do run through the fields of your thoughts.  Take a moment to ponder the majority of your thoughts. . .

Thanks for doing that.  What I hope you learned is that for most of us we are simple creatures of habit.  We tend to focus on the same things throughout our day.  In his book, The God Life,  John Ortberg challenges us.

The way you think creates your attitudes; the way you think governs your behavior; the way you think deeply influences your immune system and vulnerability to illness.  Everything about you flows out of the way you think

It all depends on where your mind stays.  If you really want to become  a certain kind of person - a hopeful person focused on Christ - you must begin to think thoughts that will produce those characteristics.

So you see, what you think on does have an effect on your life.  Does your attitude suck? check your thought life.  Are you frustrated and act out on that frustration?  Check your thought life.  Do you tend to play the victim rather than the victor?  Check your thought life.  Are you tired of people running over you?  Check your thought life.  Are you a bully?  Check your thought life.  Do you obsess over things?  Check your thought life.  Do you make bad decisions?  Check your thought life.

What you fill your mind with has a definitive impact on the rest of your life - relationships, job, yourself, even your walk with God.

Want to change your thought life?  Want to become the man God designed and desires you to be?  Follow God’s plan found in Philippians 4:8.  I love how The Message puts it.

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.

Make a change today.  Don’t wait until things get worse.  Confess to God the things you’ve been thinking on and how they have negatively impacted your life, your relationships, your job, and your walk with God.  Then, make a commitment to focus on the things of God so that the peace of God will be with you.

Mike