October 3

Jeremiah 1:1-2:30, Philippians 4:1-23, Psalm 75:1-10, Proverbs 24:17-20

Pray: Lord, help me to bring every thought captive and obedient to Your WORD. Make me aware when I am slipping into worry and remind me to pray.

Read: "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything you can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7) Worry consumes the time you could be praying. So when you start to worry start to pray. This is fundamental. It is walking with God 101. And when you tell God what you need and thank Him for supplying all your needs according to His riches there is a peace that comes over you that allows both right thinking and right acting.

Edify: Fix your thoughts Paul declares. This means two things. First…focus your thoughts. Be fixated on what God says. Second…repair and realign thoughts that don’t line up with God’s word. In other words, fix them. Take each thought captive. Make your thoughts line up with God’s word by voicing what the WORD declares and by letting go of what rhyme, reason, or emotion is shouting inside your head. Think about what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. Think about putting thoughts that line up with God’s word into practice. Right thinking leads to right living. Wrong thinking leads to confusion and destruction.

Practice: Listen to the news on television. Practice correcting statements that are not pure, not lovely, and not true to God’s word. (Get ready to be busy.) Learning to speak the truth in love takes time. Being able to convince gainsayers (those who oppose the Gospel as well as themselves) takes even more time. Study God’s word to show yourself approved as a workman that needs not be ashamed. Commit yourself to living out the Gospel. Be quick to praise and slow to criticize. In time, you will be asked to help others in their thinking and living.