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Think on These Things
May 18, 2013

The French philosopher René Descartes offered the thought, " I think, therefore I am." His philosophy makes me wonder what to think of those who do not think for themselves. While I wouldn't agree that a person who doesn't think doesn't exist, I would agree that a person who doesn't think is merely an extension of another person who does think. That's probably one of the reasons why teenagers can be challenging. It's not that they are rebellious by nature; they are just starting to think, and with anything new, practice makes perfect. A person who begins to think for him or herself may consider this ability way out of context and view that they have been given a special gift. Most who begin to think for themselves never consider that others also think for themselves. So thinking for ourselves is a very normal part of the human existence and it is important for us to understand what the Bible says about thought, and it is important to consider the breadth of our human knowledge first introduced in a garden thousands of years ago.

Genesis 3:1-8
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

From the very beginning, mankind wanted to know the knowledge of both good and evil. Imagine how wonderful our lives would be if we only had knowledge of good. Imagine how wonderful our lives would be if there were no evil in the world, if there were no sin committed by a person against another person. How different the world would be! God is aware of how the evil in this world impacts our thoughts, so in a world that has both good and evil, what do you think God might have us think about?

Proverbs 7:1-3
My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.

God wants his commandments to be written in our hearts. To have this type of close relationship with God, we have to know what God would expect from us. Unless we are thinking of God's commandments, having the commandments written on our heart will never happen. Beyond obedience, there are other things God would have us think about, and Paul wrote about these in his letter to the Philippians.

Philippians 4:8-9
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

God would have us think about those things that are true, honest, pure, lovely, and having a good report. He wants us to consider the virtue and praise associated with our thoughts and when we can affirm an idea as meeting this checklist, then we are to do them. As a first centuryt apostolic Christian, I believe that one of the things I need to do is keep the Sabbath and that is why these studies are published with a date for Saturday. I believe we need to observe the Holy Days given in the Bible recognizing that Jesus' sacrifice replaces the sacrifices mentioned with many of the Holy Days. I also believe it's important to respect and tolerate those with other beliefs, and I wish all who believe differently, peace and love. What's interesting about Pentecost is that it not only marks the time when the Holy Spirit was first given to believers, Pentecost is a Holy Day with a reminder to provide for the poor and needy and we'll discuss that idea more tomorrow. For now we need to remember to think about those things that are good, and as we are able to do that, we celebrate what is good, embrace what is good, and do what is good.

All verses are from the King James Version.
This site provided by Tom Laign. To all who may believe differently, I also extend peace and love.
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