“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. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippines 4:8-9
In a world full of turmoil, change and confusion many people today are living anything but a peaceful life! In fact, many of them do not understand what a peaceful life is, what it looks like or if this type of life is even possible. However, this scripture, which was my mother’s favorite, gives us a formula to use in this search and a promise if you do! A thesaurus might use the words like contemplation, reflection and introspection for the word meditate but for young people you might want to encourage them to think on these things when they are sad, lonely, embarrassed or discouraged and give them examples.
- True – God love you
- Noble – Doing the right thing even though it hurts
- Just – Things that are fair
- Pure – Clean and unselfish
- Lovely – A favorite person, flower, place
- Good Report – Activity that demonstrates God’s love
- Virtue –Actions as demonstrated by Jesus
- Praiseworthy – Doing something unselfish for someone