Whatever is ... (8)

How long is the worm in the cocoon?
How long is needed for an ugly duckling to become a swan?
My mother is still one of the best cooks ever. Often she cooks s-l-o-w.
Fellow American's, speed is not everything. The best things can not be rushed.

Paul's efforts to create a metamorphosis of the mind does not happen immediately. He decelerated, caught his breath, and carefully chose the best verb possible to motivate his brothers at Philippi to search out honorable ideas, truth and truthful people, pure, lovely, or of good repute. He longs for them to be completely changed, so he included anything excellent and anything worthy of praise.
He chose 'DWELL'.
Jack McKinney, the same Greek teacher from Harding previously mentioned, explained the word as meaning to take up residence, to live somewhere long enough to 'put down roots'. 

But the word Paul selected was a different Greek work, but with some of same flavor. Logizomai means to reckon, count, compute, calculate, count over; to take into account; weigh the reasons, infer, meditate on, suppose, judge, determine, purpose, or decide.
Strong's Dictionary of Greek words added this footnote. “This word deals with reality. If I 'logizomai' that my bank book has in it, it has in it. Otherwise, I am deceiving myself. This word refers to facts not suppositions.” So DWELL deals with facts, not with anyone's opinion.
Paul wants to properly re-train their minds. He calls on them to spend time thinking about each item in his powerful list. He knows it will take time to develop these mind-correcting qualities. Each one must be factually, thoughtfully considered.
“Thought control is clearly the practice Paul enjoined here.” (Burton Coffman Commentary)
This one strong verb, dwell, requires calculation and computation. The benefits of each quality will provide reasons why it should be adopted.
Our success at properly re-training our minds will be directly proportional to our success at weighing reasons. We must infer results and meditate on the benefits of every quality. If we properly determine the outcomes, we then can plan, purpose, and decide to implement these wonderful traits.
“We are responsible for our thoughts and can hold them to high and holy ideals.” (Robertson's Word Picture of the New Testament).
Yes, Paul could have simply made the list and told them to become such. He also knew the likelihood of failure. Developing these qualities in their minds would subsequently cause a metamorphosis of their lives.
How beautiful the butterfly is. How great mom's soup is. How elegant a swan is.
Slow down, re-think, and become true, honorable, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent and worthy of praise.
Philippians 4:8 “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.”

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Study truth, honor, things pure, lovely, of good repute, excellence and praiseworthy.

If Joseph Carries a Grudge...

In the movie "Rainman" the main character kept a journal of all wrongs done to him. He recorded them.

Most of us harbor aggressions in our head or heart.

After Jacob was buried, Joseph's brothers asked themselves "What if Joseph carries a grudge?" The thought scared them sufficiently for them to beg forgiveness.

Someone once said a grudge is "the heaviest thing to carry."

Psychcentral.com has "8 Tips To Stop Holding A Grudge". They include:

• Acknowledge the problem.
• Share your feelings.
• Switch places.
• Accept what is.
• Take the positive.

These project prudence and pleasantness, but Joseph's answer uncovers an uncomplicated comprehensive course of action. Genesis 50:20 says; “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.”

God can change your conflicts into peaceful, positive purposes for others. Like Joseph said, "...to preserve many people." He can take:

• unwanted marital unfaithfulness, and commission you to counsel others..
• disillusionment, and sanction you show others how to deal with disappointment.
• people's anger at you, and offer you opportunities to develop their self-control.
• alcoholism surrounding you, and allow you demonstrate resilience.
• rebellious family members, and enable you to demonstrate God's powerful, gentle perseverance.
• lies about you, and validate your use of truth as your strength.

The goal of this struggle is to allow God to mature you for His use.

Crazed Pigs

Hi,

My name is Thad. It's early Christmas morning. But I do not want to tell you the traditional Christmas story. I want to tell you a different story about Jesus.

This fall, me, Jesus, and the other guys were traveling by boat near the Gadarenes. We crossed the lake, got out, and traveled a short distance. We saw a cemetary with the Swine Growers of Galilee (SGG) beside it. Then the really weird stuff started happening. 

When we were still a long ways from the cemetary this freaky dude came running out. He ran up to Jesus, fell on his face, and began to worship Jesus. 

This guy was S-T-R-A-N-G-E. At first I could not tell if he was crazy or an epilectic. I soon found out he was possessed. He lived in the graves. I latter found out people had tried to control him with ropes, chains and shackles. Nothing could hold him. He broke free from everything. The locals told us he would wander around in the hills at night, screaming. They said he would take rocks and hit himself till his skin would bust open and bleed. See what I mean by "strange"?

Anyway, when he ran up to Jesus he started saying stuff like "Jesus is the Son of the Most High God!" Then he would beg Jesus not to torture him. 

Jesus must have recognized he was possessed. Jesus asked him what his name was. He called himself "Legion," explaining to Jesus there were actually many demons in him. (As odd as you might that that was, it was the first thing that made sense to me.) Jesus, with a tone of authority, told the evil spirits to come out of him. 

The spirits began begging Jesus not to send them to "the place." My brother Mark called it something like "the place in-between", but another brother, Luke called it the "bottomless pit or abyss". I think they were describing that place were spirits go after death --- not on earth but not in hell or heaven yet either. So as an alternative, the spirits in Legion ask if they could enter the 2000 pigs being fed next to the cemetary.

I did not see Jesus' face, but he might have smirked a bit. I think he knew what could happen. Jesus allowed them to get in the pigs. 

You should have seen what happened next! The evil spirits were more than the pigs could stand. The pigs went berserk! They began squeeling, jumping over each other, rooting up everything wildly, even biting each other. Then they stampeded down the hill into the sea. Can you just see two thousand pigs jumping in the water? 

I did see Jesus as he watched them drowning. He knew the spirits were going to the abyss anyway as each pig died. Their idea did not work.

The employees of SGG trotted off to town and started telling people what had happened. Those people came out to the sea to see the dead pigs in the water. 

What they also saw was amazing. It was a seated Legion. He had cleaned up the best he could. He was acting quite normal and thinking correctly. He was not howling at the moon. He had clothes on for the first time in long time. This sudden transformation in Legion, a change they could do, was more than they could comprehend. They, after having tried to restrain him, realized how powerful a miracle this was. Such power they could not understand. So they did the only thing they could think of -- they asked Jesus to leave the area.

Jesus never stayed where he was not wanted.

Jesus lead us back to the boat. While we were getting in, Legion came running. He began to beg Jesus to let him come along. Tom and Bart started making a place for him when Jesus did something unexpected. I do not think I will ever forget it. 

Jesus gave Legion a purpose and a mission. "Go home to your friends," Jesus began. "Tell them the great thing Jesus has done for you. And tell them how he had compassion on you," he said.

Jesus started with a crazed man. His life was completely out of control. Jesus not only removed the problem but also gave direction and purpose for his life.

Thanks for reading my less-than-traditional Christmas story.

Till later,

Thad
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Does life seem out of control? Do you have so many problems you are afraid to count? Are the problems 'un-fix-able'? You don't know what to do with yourself? Why are you on this planet? Is life supposed to have purpose?

Jesus is the answer to every question. 

Start by reading an easy-to-read version of John. Learn who he is -- God's Son. Begin today! If you search for him, he will get life under control and give you purpose and direction.

If I can help you, email me. (LINK TO EMAIL)