Today’s Scripture
Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
Colossians 3:2
Big Idea
Your daily habits and decisions help you become either spiritually healthy or spiritually weak.
Today’s Thought
Ever heard of a guy named Daniel in the Bible? It’s likely you know about the time he was thrown into a lions’ den but didn’t get eaten because God closed the lions’ mouths. Pretty cool stuff. But there’s another remarkable story that happened earlier in his life.
In Daniel 1, we read about how King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered Jerusalem and took Judah captive. The king ordered that the best and
the brightest of the young men of Judah be brought to his palace for the opportunity to enter royal service.
We meet Daniel in this chapter when he convinces the king’s staff to let him and three of his friends follow a different diet. Instead of eating the rich food and drinking the wine prepared in the royal kitchens, these four men wanted a different diet: vegetables and water. At the end of 10 days, these four guys looked healthier than all the other young men — and their diet became the diet for all the others, too!
You see, Daniel understood that if you want to be physically healthy, you need a healthy diet. Did you realize the same principle is true when it comes to spiritual maturity and health? It doesn’t happen automatically. It happens as we pursue habits and disciplines and patterns that will help us become more like Jesus — a spiritually healthy diet.
As you move forward with this process of becoming an r12 Christian, fill your mind with stuff that draws you closer to God, not our culture. Spend more energy learning the Word than worrying about the world. Too many Christians — including Christian teenagers — are filling their minds with trivia and media and junk and celebrity gossip that pulls them away from God.
That’s what it means to think about the things of heaven instead of the things of earth. Does this mean you should completely detach from your culture and become a monk? Not at all. It’s not wrong to watch TV or read magazines or go online or play video games, but what do you see, how long do you view it, and what do you do with it once it’s in your mind? Those questions matter as you go through the process of renewing your mind.
Can you think of some "spiritual junk food" that we take in? Comment below with a few.
Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
Colossians 3:2
Big Idea
Your daily habits and decisions help you become either spiritually healthy or spiritually weak.
Today’s Thought
Ever heard of a guy named Daniel in the Bible? It’s likely you know about the time he was thrown into a lions’ den but didn’t get eaten because God closed the lions’ mouths. Pretty cool stuff. But there’s another remarkable story that happened earlier in his life.
In Daniel 1, we read about how King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered Jerusalem and took Judah captive. The king ordered that the best and
the brightest of the young men of Judah be brought to his palace for the opportunity to enter royal service.
We meet Daniel in this chapter when he convinces the king’s staff to let him and three of his friends follow a different diet. Instead of eating the rich food and drinking the wine prepared in the royal kitchens, these four men wanted a different diet: vegetables and water. At the end of 10 days, these four guys looked healthier than all the other young men — and their diet became the diet for all the others, too!
You see, Daniel understood that if you want to be physically healthy, you need a healthy diet. Did you realize the same principle is true when it comes to spiritual maturity and health? It doesn’t happen automatically. It happens as we pursue habits and disciplines and patterns that will help us become more like Jesus — a spiritually healthy diet.
As you move forward with this process of becoming an r12 Christian, fill your mind with stuff that draws you closer to God, not our culture. Spend more energy learning the Word than worrying about the world. Too many Christians — including Christian teenagers — are filling their minds with trivia and media and junk and celebrity gossip that pulls them away from God.
That’s what it means to think about the things of heaven instead of the things of earth. Does this mean you should completely detach from your culture and become a monk? Not at all. It’s not wrong to watch TV or read magazines or go online or play video games, but what do you see, how long do you view it, and what do you do with it once it’s in your mind? Those questions matter as you go through the process of renewing your mind.
Can you think of some "spiritual junk food" that we take in? Comment below with a few.
Prayer
I know there are so many voices in this world battling for my attention, God.
Please help me develop a healthier spiritual diet. Let me feed on Your Word
and Your truths. Let me hunger and thirst for a deeper relationship with You.
Renew my mind and change my life. Amen. 
Music that isn't teaching what God wants us to learn, Games or websites that aren't teaching what God what wants us to learn, and anything that doesn't allow us to hear God's word and understand it.
ReplyDelete-Jasmin
So many times, we get distracted by other things instead of focusing on God. I think "spiritual junk food" is things that consume your life instead of God. Such as facebook, games, maybe even just texting. They're fine for a little while, but when they start to consume your life, they take away from the One that most important.
ReplyDeleteI think media is some spiritual junk food,and i agree with Kelly when she said spiritual junk food we take in is anything that isn't pleasing to the Lord, and takes up the time we should be spending with Him. - gabby
ReplyDelete