Philippians 4:8-9 ESV
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
A long time ago my husband and I used to watch a lot of
movies. We had grown up watching movies as children, and we continued the
practice into our adult lives. Now back when we were children movies were
usually only in the theatre or you could maybe get one a week on television, so
not at all as it is today. And we didn’t really get into watching many movies
probably until about 1988 when we discovered a VCR for the first time.
And at that time in my life I was going through menopause
and my emotions were all over the place, and I had all sorts of things coming
against me, and finally I caved to my circumstances, I let them get the best of
me, and I yielded to the enemy of my soul on and off over a span of maybe seven
years. And every time I tried to get back on track the enemy was slam dunking
me and then I would cave again. Not pretty, I know.
But by the grace of God, the Lord brought me back, he
revived my heart, and now I was back following him with my life and not caving
to the enemy of my soul whose will it was to have me. And again I was walking
in fellowship with my Lord, seeking his face, and following his will. And then,
in the year 2004, the Lord called me to this present ministry, and that is when
I got the most serious about following the Lord than ever before.
The Lord had been making a lot of changes in my life, and so
I was backing away from many things I had allowed in my life during that time
of moral failure, and I knew that most movies had to no longer be a part of my
life, and I had really backed away from most of them. But then in 2008 I was
encouraged to suggest to my husband that we examine our movies in light of this
passage of Scripture in Philippians 4:8-9. And he agreed.
We had a collection of movies from over the years, so we
pulled them all out, and one by one we examined their content in light of this
passage, and I think when we finished that 2 movies remained. We literally
threw all the rest of them in the trash. And I am not talking about filthy
movies here, but family friendly entertainment mostly. When we really began to
examine the content of these movies against this Scripture, they didn’t pass the
test.
Why Tell You This?
So, why am I telling you all this? It is because Satan is a
deceiver, and he deceives our minds into thinking things are good when they are
not good. For a large portion of what we discovered in these movies that caused
us to throw them out came as a surprise to us. And that is because the
questionable content was hidden and disguised as something good and/or
innocent. And so where we had seen them as good, they were not good.
For example, I grew up watching Shirley Temple movies on
television and I just adored Shirley Temple. I love music, and she sang and she
tap danced, and that is mostly what I was drawn to. But there was an underlying
theme in most all of her movies. She usually played the role of a child who was
being mistreated in some way, from what I recall, so she became rebellious, and
she lied, and she did things she shouldn’t have done, and sometimes there were
adults who helped her to be sneaky and underhanded.
But in the end she came out as the hero because she had
conquered those in authority over her with her sneaky and underhanded schemes.
And so these movies were glorifying and giving a stamp of approval on children
being rebellious against those in authority over them and on them using
trickery and lying and underhanded schemes in order to circumvent the authority
that was over them. And that does not agree with this passage.
So, the encouragement here is that if we are going to apply
this passage of Scripture to our lives, in truth, then we should be willing and
ready to let the Holy Spirit walk with us through this passage, letting him
examine our hearts and lives, and letting him point out to us where we are not
doing what this says to do. And then we must be willing to do what he says, and
to give up anything he says to give up that is opposed to this Scripture.
For, what we are taught in the Scriptures should become a
reality in our everyday lives. And any of us can be deceived, especially if
that deception happened early on in our lives and so we were blinded to it. So,
if we are going to put into practice the truth of the Scriptures which are for
us to obey, then we really need to open up our minds and hearts to letting the
Holy Spirit reveal to us where we are deceived and where we need to change. And
then we will be thinking on the right things.
Have
Thine Own Way, Lord
Words
by Adelaide A. Pollard, 1907
Music
by George C. Stebbins, 1907
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine
own way!
Thou art the potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine
own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just
now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine
own way!
Wounded and weary, help me I pray!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine
own way!
Hold o'er my being absolute sway.
Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me!
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