Scripture
Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
~Philippians 4:8, NLT
Quote
Believe me the mind today is in profound trouble, perhaps more than ever before. How to order the mind on Christian principles is one of the greatest themes to be considered.
~Charles Malik
If you are like me and I hope you are not, reading was not a passion in your early years. There was a time in my life when I hated reading and now it is a passion. Of course, I use to hate squash and now I love it. Thank God our taste change as we grow older. George Will the TV personality {I haven’t watched in years so I don’t know if he is still on} reads two books per week. I do good to read two per month. Kent Hughes says we should not only read the Bible but read good wholesome books. Here is his book list…
- John Calvin–Institutes of the Christian Religion
- C.S. Lewis–Mere Christianity
- J.I. Packer–Knowing God
- John Bunyan–Pilgrim’s Progress
- Fyodor Dostoevsky–The Brothers Karamazov
- Anne Frank–The Diary of Anne Frank {13 year old Jewish girl trying to escape the Nazis}
- Nathaniel Hawthorne–The Scarlet Letter
- Homer–The Odyssey
- J.R.R. Tolkien–The Lord of the Rings
- C.S. Lewis–The Chronicles of Narnia
- Tolstoy–War and Peace
Quite a list and I must confess to my shame that I have never finished John Calvins Institutes of Christian Religion. I have read Dostoevsky’s Idiot but not the Brothers Karamazov but it is on my list. Nor have I read Tolkien or Tolstoy. If I have, I don’t remember. I can tell you one that should be on the list and that is Viktor Frankel’s MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING. I would also have to add THE DIVINE CONSPIRACY by Dallas Willard. I also love reading the Puritan’s like John Charles Ryle. I don’t recommend Augustine. I read MY CONFESSIONS is 2022 and the CITY OF GOD this year {actually I still lack a few pages}. Unless you are a student to philosophy, I don’t recommend THE CITY OF GOD. I am in the middle of Luther’s book on Psalms and I love it.
What we think about is important. Hughes puts Philippians in the negative and it really makes you think: If anything is untrue, dishonorable, unjust, impure, unlovely, and something no one would admire; don’t think about these things. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. It is impossible to have the mind of Christ without discipline. The human mind is like a computer; what comes out is what we put in. If we feed on garbage, garbage wii come out. Unfortunately, our minds were broken by the fall and they must be renewed by the sanctifying word of God. It is a slow process but thank God it works.
Extra
I am currently reading three books other than my devotional books and Kent Hughes DISCIPLINES OF A GODLY MAN is one of them. Chapter 11 in this book is on the DISCIPLINE OF THE TONGUE and for me it was brutal. In reading his references, I came across Proverbs 17:9 and this is out of my new Bible [PASSION]… Love overlooks the mistakes of others, but dwelling on the mistakes of others devastates friendships {people}. I am telling you folks, the PASSION bible is worth the $25 just for Proverbs. If there has ever been a man who needed to improve on the use of his tongue, it is Jack Bailey. The tongue can be used in positive ways: [1] Proclamation {preaching} [2] Affirmation–encouragement [3] Healing and [4] Praise to mention a few. Just today, I was troubled about a certain situation and a young woman called me to discuss the very problem that was on my heart. Her words were so kind and gracious, they brought immediately healing to my troubled soul. When I hung the phone up, I said “wow!” Then I prayed, “Lord let my words bring healing and comfort.”
Have a good day. Thanks for reading the blog.