Set your mind on things above...

"...think about these things..."

It's hard to pin down research results because methods, goals for understanding and results widely vary, but, we can easily say the brain has thousands of thoughts per day. Some researchers try to make a count of all conscious thoughts and some try to calculate every single thought. What is clear, when including both sets of goals, is we have LOTS of thoughts a day; estimates range from 12,000 on the lower in to in excess of 70,000 thoughts per day. WOW!

We all know it's hard for our focus to marshal our thoughts to pinpoint control for long periods of time, and, thank God, our subconscious ticks through all sort of thoughts for us (like the various motor skills it takes to brush one's teeth or the mysterious combination of intentional, muscle memory and subconscious thoughts it's taking to type these very sentences). No doubt, our brains are amazing!

For what we can organize and direct, the Apostle Paul's letter to the church in Philippi gives us rightward focus: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you." (Philippians 4:8-9 ESV)

So, beloved friends, "...think about these things..."
Is it true?
Is it honorable?
Is it just?
Is it pure?
Is it lovely?
Is it commendable?
Does it have any excellence involved?

Is there something to praise?

Let us set our minds on things above, and, even when we we have to set our minds on things below, let us train our vision through things above to even look below. Embrace the challenge: "...think about these things..."