THINK ON THESE THINGS
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice!
Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to
God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will
guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
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. Philippians 4:4-8 NKJV
We, in the twenty first century live in a world with information overload. With the booming information technology industry with an ever-increasing array of devices and social media apps and gateways to knowledge, and information resources, many are finding that much, even too much time is spent online, trying to make sense of a barrage of news, fake news, opinionated opinions, and, sadly much negative name-calling and derogatory put-downs of those who dare to disagree with a particular point of view.
Sadly, there have been tragic stories of young people who have been bullied online on social media sites, or through toxic text messaging,to such an extent that some have taken their own lives. This is a sorry reflection on the times in which we live.
As a member of the Baby Boomer generation, I did not grow up with computers. As a child, computers were mysterious monsters which filled whole rooms, with whirring reels of tape seeming to spin backwards and forwards in some kind of random fashion - but, which were, in fact programmed by people who were a rare breed of intellectual aficionados.
In the early 90's, I commenced an IT Associate Diploma course at the TAFE College in Launceston, Tasmania where we were living. I remember being impressed one day when one of the lecturers commented that he checked his own email account on his home computer every morning. Wow! Not only did he have his own email account, but he could view and respond to them at home!
Some twenty five or so years later, and just about everyone has personal access to the worldwide web on internet, and probably a majority have personal email accounts, if not Facebook and Twitter accounts.
I wonder if maybe, the prophet Habbakuk, writing some 600 years BC, was having a prophetic revelation of our times when the Lord told him:
"Write the vision
and make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it."
IPads, Samsung Galaxy Pads, Lenovo tablets etc are all called tablets. 😀
Seriously, many young people, and older people, are addicted to this technology.
Smartphones abound by which, again the younger generation spend hours sending and receiving text messages, at times to the exclusion of all other pursuits or personal interactions. This has been a major cause of social disconnect in families - what seems to be rather ironic in that such a readily accessible communication tool is a source of wider communication breakdown.
With the above-mentioned observations in mind, the apostle Paul's words in Philippians 4, quoted at the start of this blog have particular relevance to us today.
As Christians, who profess to be led by the Holy Spirit as we read and meditate on and study God's Word to us in the Bible, we should not be overcome with anxiety or fearfulness, or despair. The Bible is filled with promises of God's peace and clear directions for living a life filled with purpose and fulfillment in His will for our lives.
That is why Paul admonishes his readers to: Think or to Meditate on "These Things." What Things? Whatever things are: True
Noble
Just
Pure
Lovely, and
Of Good Report.
He further qualifies all these things as having virtue and being praiseworthy!
If I am honest with myself and with you, the reader, I would have to admit that I spend too much time looking at and meditating on Facebook posts that appear on my Newsfeed on Facebook.
Many of these posts are informative, but as with secular news sources on radio, television and in print media, online "news" is most often very negative and presents a very dismal picture of the state of affairs.
As a committed Christian, it might seem a cliché, but it is nevertheless true, that I would be much happier and more at peace generally, if I spent "less time on Facebook - but more time with my face in The Book (The Bible)."
To Be Continued...…………….
Sadly, there have been tragic stories of young people who have been bullied online on social media sites, or through toxic text messaging,to such an extent that some have taken their own lives. This is a sorry reflection on the times in which we live.
As a member of the Baby Boomer generation, I did not grow up with computers. As a child, computers were mysterious monsters which filled whole rooms, with whirring reels of tape seeming to spin backwards and forwards in some kind of random fashion - but, which were, in fact programmed by people who were a rare breed of intellectual aficionados.
In the early 90's, I commenced an IT Associate Diploma course at the TAFE College in Launceston, Tasmania where we were living. I remember being impressed one day when one of the lecturers commented that he checked his own email account on his home computer every morning. Wow! Not only did he have his own email account, but he could view and respond to them at home!
Some twenty five or so years later, and just about everyone has personal access to the worldwide web on internet, and probably a majority have personal email accounts, if not Facebook and Twitter accounts.
I wonder if maybe, the prophet Habbakuk, writing some 600 years BC, was having a prophetic revelation of our times when the Lord told him:
"Write the vision
and make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it."
IPads, Samsung Galaxy Pads, Lenovo tablets etc are all called tablets. 😀
Seriously, many young people, and older people, are addicted to this technology.
Smartphones abound by which, again the younger generation spend hours sending and receiving text messages, at times to the exclusion of all other pursuits or personal interactions. This has been a major cause of social disconnect in families - what seems to be rather ironic in that such a readily accessible communication tool is a source of wider communication breakdown.
With the above-mentioned observations in mind, the apostle Paul's words in Philippians 4, quoted at the start of this blog have particular relevance to us today.
As Christians, who profess to be led by the Holy Spirit as we read and meditate on and study God's Word to us in the Bible, we should not be overcome with anxiety or fearfulness, or despair. The Bible is filled with promises of God's peace and clear directions for living a life filled with purpose and fulfillment in His will for our lives.
That is why Paul admonishes his readers to: Think or to Meditate on "These Things." What Things? Whatever things are: True
Noble
Just
Pure
Lovely, and
Of Good Report.
He further qualifies all these things as having virtue and being praiseworthy!
If I am honest with myself and with you, the reader, I would have to admit that I spend too much time looking at and meditating on Facebook posts that appear on my Newsfeed on Facebook.
Many of these posts are informative, but as with secular news sources on radio, television and in print media, online "news" is most often very negative and presents a very dismal picture of the state of affairs.
As a committed Christian, it might seem a cliché, but it is nevertheless true, that I would be much happier and more at peace generally, if I spent "less time on Facebook - but more time with my face in The Book (The Bible)."
To Be Continued...…………….
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