Devotions from John Ortberg’s book, The Me I Want to Be

If we want our minds to be full of life, we will have to pay attention to what it is focused on.  What feeds our mind so we can flourish?  One of the greatest gifts is His word!  Not that we read it to fulfill a spiritual duty every day but to meditate on it as we delight in it. As we do that, neurons are firing and our brain is rewiring, helping us know we are loved by God.  As we know this in a deeper way it will affect all our other thoughts as well. Our grandkids learned the verse, “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.”  Our minds are being shaped all the time and we have the freedom to think these kinds of thoughts.   Let us think of what causes our minds to be drawn to what is noble, true, pure, lovely etc…it could be as simple as learning to see beauty in places you have never seen before.( What really struck me today was the stained glass windows of the cathedral and the gorgeous paintings etc. we saw. Such beauty and made for the glory of God!)  And as we read the Scriptures, enter into the story and let it come alive so God can speak in a new way. Or if we have doubts, let us not try harder to believe, but just tell God about our doubts as He already knows.  Finally, let us do what we already know the scriptures say to do, which may mean practicing loving a difficult person or forgiving someone  etc.