When Moses returned to Egypt to announce God’s plan for removing Israel from the yoke of slavery, his message was welcomed by the leaders of Israel as recorded in Exodus 4.

“Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.”

Exodus 4:29–31, ESV

Notice the response of the people. They believed and then they worshipped.

So far, so good. Worship is a proper response when the good news that was announced to them was believed.

But as Paul Harvey used to point out, it is good to know the rest of the story, and we do know it.

The rest of the book of Exodus records the story of how the Israelites fussed at Moses and complained against God when things got difficult. At one point they even expressed a desire to return to Egypt even though their slavery was severe when they were there.

“We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.””

Numbers 11:5–6, ESV

My point is that we are made of the same stuff as the Israelites. It is so easy to worship when things are going the way we think they should.

But when things are hard, when things are not going according to our plan, when it seems that our life is too difficult, then we lash out at God and we lash out at those around us. Unfortunately, this is human nature.

But as believers, we have a resource that can allow us to rise above such complaining. We don’t have to be fickle like the Israelites. We can learn from Paul.

“. . . for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

Philippians 4:11b–13, ESV

As believers, we have the Holy Spirit residing in us so that we can learn to be content no matter what life throws at us.

We don’t have to like our circumstances. We don’t have to pretend that they are what we want. We don’t have to give the illusion that it is easy to function in those circumstances.

But we can learn to be content and we can learn to accept them without lashing out at God or others.

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This post is a continuation of focus on Philippians 4:8 in which Paul gives us a strategy for managing our thoughts and channeling them in a positive direction. The verse reads:

“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.”

Philippians 4:8, ESV

In this post, I want to concentrate on the first category of the focus of our thoughts. We are to think about what is true. I like William Barclay’s comment on this verse:

Many things in this world are deceptive and illusory, promising what they can never perform, offering a specious peace and happiness which they can never supply. A man should always set his thoughts on the things which will not let him down.

-William Barclay

Fake news is really not a new phenomenon. Fake news dates all the way back to the Garden of Eden when the serpent approached Eve with the question, “did God really say . . .?”

Socrates, through the pen of Plato, is quoted as saying that the unexamined life is not worth living. I agree with this, but the question arises as to how we can determine what standard should be used when doing the examination.

Or, as Pilate is recorded as saying, we ask the question, “what is truth?” How do I know something is true?

For me it all comes back to the resurrection of Jesus which we recently celebrated on Easter. During his time on Earth, Jesus made some really bold claims about himself. Jesus said things that would be outrageous and offensive if he was just like any other human being. But by rising from the dead, he proved that what he said throughout his ministry is true and should be believed.

Jesus also validated the entire Old Testament as being true and reliable. So we can agree with the Westminster Divines when they formulated Question 2 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism which tells us that the entire Bible is the standard by which we can evaluate what is true and what is not true.

So, in short, to focus on what is true requires frequent, consistent reading of the Bible. To focus on what is true requires that we transform our minds to discern God’s will for us.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Romans 12:2, ESV

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We live in an age where we can only consume a small fraction of the information that is available to us. We are bombarded by announcements of things we should be concerned about along with advice on how to think about those things. The noise is relentless and at times oppressive.

We have advertising which attempts to make us feel that buying a product will somehow make our lives complete. Our social media feeds are filled with posts from people that make their lives seem much better and easier than they are. From them we get the message, “if you could only be like me.” We compare ourselves to people that seem to have better experiences, more stuff, and happier lives.

Then there are the very real struggles that we all face. Jesus was totally accurate when he told us “You will have suffering in this world” (John 16:33, CSB). The list of things that cause suffering is seemingly endless. Then there is the anticipation of suffering that can also be oppressive. We understand the bumper sticker:

“Life is hard and then you die.”

The apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6 that we are not to be anxious about anything. But we are anxious, or at least we are tempted to be anxious and our society increases, rather than decreases, our anxiety.

So what does Paul recommend for us to do to be less anxious? First he recommends praying about it and allowing God to work it out. This will bring peace.

Paul further recommends a change in the way we think about life. In Philippians 4:8, Paul writes:

“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.”

Philippians 4:8, ESV

The verb in this verse, translated think about, is in the imperative mood and is therefor a command or an instruction. For Paul, it is not optional, it is mandatory that we control our thoughts and channel them in healthy ways. He commands his readers to do this.

What are we to think about?

In verse 8, Paul gives us eight categories of things that we are to think about and focus upon. Over the next few blog posts I would like to explore these categories individually and open a discussion as to how we can apply this command to our lives.

If you are encouraged by this post or would like to make a comment, please use the comment form below to offer your feedback. If you are reading this in an email and would like to comment, you can reply to the email or click on the “Read in browser” link below to go to the web page where you can enter a comment. I enjoy hearing from you.

This morning I listened to the story in Exodus 3 of Moses encountering the burning bush.

As I listened to it, the thought came to me that life as a Christian would be so much easier if God would appear to me and tell me what to do. Instead, I have Scripture as a guide and I need to infer what God wants rather than hearing specifics about my situation directly from God.

Shortly after beginning down that thought path, it dawned on me that Jesus has told me what to do. He boiled it down to two great commands:

“And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.””

Matthew 22:37–40, ESV

There are only two things I have to do. But I must acknowledge that I don’t do either one of them consistently. If I ever made it through a day feeling that I did pretty well at these commands, then I would consider that a great day. Alas, that day has never come. I find myself falling short and sighing at the end of every day as I consider the many ways I failed in these commands.

But I find comfort in what John wrote in his first letter:

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

1 John 2:1, ESV

I am reliant upon grace alone to get up the next day and begin again to attempt to fulfil the two great commands.

At the burning bush, Moses was given a huge task, he was called to shepherd the people of Israel out of their slavery in Egypt.

With those two commands, Jesus has given you and me a huge task to practice unconditional love.

When Moses remonstrated with God and declared his inability to fulfill the task he was given, God said to him, “but I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12). The presence of God would allow Moses to overcome all the difficulties and fulfil his task. And Moses did indeed fulfil the task he was given.

Jesus told us “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20, ESV). So while the task to love God and love others is also very daunting, with Jesus by our side, and with the grace and forgiveness that we are given when we fall short, we can press on in our mission.