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

Just as an athlete trains the physical body, he also trains his mind to fight through the pain, to maintain discipline, to obtain the goal. Our spiritual training begins in the mind and one way to practice the renewing of our minds is by following the instruction of Paul to the Philippians in the verses above.

When Paul tells us to “think about these things”, he intends for us to do more than think for a moment and then move on to the next thing on our agenda. We don’t hear the word very often, but he wanted us to ruminate on all that is Good. He wanted us to dwell or meditate on such things. He wants us to absorb the true, the honorable, the just, the pure, the lovely, the commendable, the excellent, the things worthy of praise.

Try this today. Limit your intake of things that are less than true or commendable. Maybe you can turn off the TV, the radio or the phone or computer and direct your thoughts and energy toward something that builds your mind and reinforces the idea that Jesus is the LORD of your thoughts.