Last night as I sat in church listening to the message, it left me with a lot to ponder. Pastor Scott Patton was bringing forth a word about your Output matching your Input. He was talking about how hypocrisy is really nothing more than your output not matching your input. In other words, you are spitting out things contrary to the character of God and that’s what others are seeing. Another point he brought across was that the Word of God IS the Word of God…but…we, as God’s chosen, are also the written word. We are the bible that many people will read and may be the only bible that some will ever read. Now with those two things in mind, let’s take a deeper look. As we go from day to day, we take in a lot of things all around us. Things we see on TV (which is almost beyond being anything good), things we hear others talking about while we are working, talk & songs on the radio as we travel in our cars, how we see people (treat each other/fight with each other/say things to each other), people’s reactions to others as to their differences (such as in race, gender, style of clothes, size of the person, etc.), and on and on and on. So many things enter our brain without our permission. So how do we safeguard against things we have no control over??? Glad you asked me that!!! The bible gives us great insight on how to do just that!!! Philippians 4:8 (NKJV) Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. Anyone can choose to focus on what it is negative in this world and what is negative in each other…but…how much more satisfied would your soul be if you chose to see the good in things and the good in people? How much lighter would your heart be if you were feeding it good things to meditate on instead of always being something to pull your spirit down? My grandmother always taught me that there was good in everyone and sometimes we just have to search and look hard to find it…but…she truly believed that everyone was good within. Now let’s take a minute and look at that second point that Pastor Scott brought across. We are the written word of God. Do you know that non-believers are watching you to see what a believer is like? Do you know they are watching to see if you are any different than they are because they are looking for something different for their lives? We all face the same world and the same situations. What makes the difference is how we react, how we handle, how we deal with and how we accept the same things that we all face. Believers and non-believers live in the same world, eat the same food, work the same jobs, shop the same stores, drive the same roads, and wear the same clothes. Soooooo, what’s the difference? The difference is the hope that Jesus gives us on the inside that we are not governed by what we hear, see or experience. No matter the situation, no matter the circumstance, no matter what, we have the hope of the Lord in our lives that allows us to know that God’s got this! Ok, here’s where the rubber meets the road!!! In order to be the written word of God effectively, in order to have our OUTPUT match our INPUT, then we have to safeguard what we take in. What are you feasting on? Are you feasting on meditation of God’s word? Are you meditating on what is good and pure? Are you searching out what is of good report? Are you meditating on what is of virtue and praiseworthy? Some things that we encounter are beyond our control from merely just living in this world from day to day…but…there are many things we do have control over entering our lives. You can choose to pick up a devotional book and read from it. You can choose what kind of music you listen to. You can choose what you watch on TV. You can choose so many things that will make a difference on the inside so that your output matches your input. How can you have a good output if you only input things that are on the rough side of life? I encourage you to challenge yourself to be observant of what enters your mind and your heart. I encourage you to meditate on things that are good & pure. Not only will it allow others to see Jesus in you but it will change your outlook as well. It will change how you handle things that come against you. It will open a whole new attitude within your heart and your soul that you can begin to take on the characteristics of God more easily and more readily. That is our main purpose, right? To become more and more like Christ in our lives? That’s my goal! To become more of Him and less of me. I just encourage you to challenge yourself to lineup your INPUT so that it will match your OUTPUT according to the characteristics of God. Just a little food for thought this morning! Be blessed my friends! Love in Christ Jesus, ~~Trish Maddox
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 13:42:27 +0000
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