Made NewSample

...Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. - Philippians 4:8

We’ve asked Jesus to help us become new, to renew our minds and to begin renovating us from the inside out. 

There’s another place in Scripture where Paul gives good advice about how to be made new. Paul wrote a letter of encouragement to a church in a place called Philippi. This church would have dealt with a lot of similar struggles to what we deal with today. Paul wrote them a letter with advice for how they could be made new through Jesus. 

He said, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.” 

Paul wanted people to understand: being made new starts in our minds. It’s all about how we think. That’s why Paul encouraged this church to think about what God says is good. 

What we think about determines how we respond to people, how we feel about ourselves, and even how we interact with Jesus. Think about a time you watched, heard or read something that was negative or violent or addictive. How did you feel afterwards? What kind of thoughts filled your mind later on? 

Now think about a time when you watched, heard or read something that was uplifting or encouraging. How did you feel then? What kind of thoughts filled your mind after that?

One of the hardest parts of being made new is becoming aware of the content that drags us down. But this is key. Everything we fill our minds with — every piece of content from social media to Netflix to the news — is helping to form us into someone. 

It’s pretty surreal to wrap our heads around, but every habit we pick up, every song we listen to, everything we watch — it all has the potential to form us into the people we will become. 

But it’s also amazing news because it means that we can be formed to become more like Jesus. 

Tomorrow we’ll talk more about filling our lives with what is good… but for now, take some time to ask Jesus to bring to mind some content that drags you down. Is it something you watch or listen to? Take a moment and bring this before Jesus. He knows everything about you already, and He wants you to bring this to Him too. 

Jesus, I know there’s some content in my life that drags me down. I want to bring that before you now. I want to think about good things — but sometimes it’s hard, especially when I am bombarded with content everyday. Help me to think the way you think, Jesus.