The Golden Nugget: Thinking about the right things can make a big difference.

Weekly Verse: “Finally, brothers and sisters, 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

Weekly Message: 
Life is equally thinking and doing. Your actions are precipitated by your mind absorbing data, analyzing it, and designing a plan on which to act. There are so many things vying for your attention and space in your mind. What should you allow to live in your mind?
Bad things are eventualities. But even bad things can help you discover an inner strength, a resolve to withstand, an understanding that it’s okay to cry. 

What if you decided to think about only the “right” things—the good things? Of course, thinking only about the right things implies there are wrong things to think about. Then your mind begins to debate what those wrong things might be. The debate can become so intense that it keeps you from thinking about the right things. Thinking right is not as easy as it may seem.

But the sweetness of God draws you to think right. When you fill your mind with and meditate on what is true, noble, right, pure, and lovely, the God of peace promises his peace will be with you in every moment. Thinking about the right things produces an incredible experience of God.

Consider This:

• How might God have the power to influence the way you think?
• What is a great way to deal with people who, by their nature or by their intent, want you to think about wrong things?

Take Action:
Make a commitment to dismiss all wrong things from dwelling in your mind for the next three days. It might be helpful to ask others to remind you when you are speaking of wrong things to shift to the right things.