ABC

Good morning and welcome in everyone.  Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.

Many of you probably have a computer of some sort in your home, but did you know that the first modern automatic electronic digital computer was called the Atanasoff-Berry computer or otherwise known as ABC.  It was the brainchild of physics professor John Vincent Atanasoff and his graduate student Clifford Barry, conceived back in 1937.  The main purpose that it was used for was solving linear equations rather than a general purpose computer.  They claim that this computer is integrated into every modern processor’s design.

This reminds me of the Christian life

Although many people have been involved in the development of electronic computers, each of us need to understand that God designed a computer too, and it was actually the very first one that was ever created. He gave it to Adam.  It is extremely powerful, with incredible amounts of storage capacities, and it is found right inside of your own head.  It is the computer of your mind.

Philippians 4:8-9  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.  Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Like a television, our minds have an input, to which you can attach many different outside sources.  TVs receive information from a satellite, the internet, a DVD player or from a VCR.  Once these things have been inputed into the TV, they are outsourced onto the display screen.  Whatever you put into your mind, will most certainly be displayed in the way that you live your life outwardly.  In order to please God perfectly we have to be very careful about what you place your mind on.

Romans 8:5-8  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Maybe you go to a job somewhere, and on your 10-minute break, you begin to search the scriptures and to fill up on some spiritual food that will carry you to your next break.  I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love jerky.  The harder and more flavorful it is the better.  When we work in the woods, I like to put a piece in, and enjoy it for the next hour.  This is the same way that we need to feel about God’s Word.  We take little nibbles off of it during our day, and then we go and constantly think about, as we enjoy it’s wonderful flavor of truth and hope.  We can think about scripture, we can pray about scripture, and we can sing about scripture, and nobody has to know a thing about it because we do it inside of our hearts minds towards God.

Colossians 3:16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Our mind is kind of like an empty 2 liter bottle.  You can either fill it back up with water or with lemonade.  You could fill it milk, or with pop, but whatever you put inside it, that is what it contains.  The things that we pour into our minds each day, is very important to our spiritual life. There’s an old saying…..garbage in, garbage out.  The more of the world that you place inside your brain, the more of the world is going to be inside of your head.  Am I getting too simplistic again?  I hope so.  It’s the simplicity of the gospel.  What we think about each hour of the day is very very important to success in the Christian life.  This is why we need to input God’s Word regularly into our lives, and meditate on scripture.  We need to exhort one another daily while it is called today.  The more scripture, the merrier, enjoying an unending daily revival of God’s Word!

1 Timothy 4:15-16  Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.  Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Many conservative Christians are turned away from the word “meditation” because many people of different religions are involved with it.  Meditate simply means to contemplate, to keep the mind fixed upon something, or to deeply study.

We meditate each and every day, on numerous different things depending on the lifestyles that we come from.  Many many years ago I remember someone telling me about a very good guitarist.  He was so good that people used to say that he slept with his guitar at night.  He was constantly trying to perfect himself to become a better musician.  His mind was completely focused on reading, practicing and thinking about ways that he could improve on his guitar.  You could very easily say that this was a form of meditation in his own life.  

A lawyer is meditating constantly upon the law, because it is something that they think about during a lot of their day.  A mechanic does the same when he thinks about how he’s going to fix a car as he begins to research the vehicle online.  A general on a battlefield might meditate deeply, thinking about how He will have his army fight the next battle.  A student might meditate on passing a history final as they cram for it over the next week.  Even a housewife can practice meditation by simply spending her day thinking about what she’s going to prepare for supper for her husband and her children.  So you see, each of us meditate about something.  Meditation is simply thinking deeply about certain things during your day. Over the years, this word has become offensive to certain Christians because it has been used in a lot in other religions, so I will simply say, that we need to think deeply about the things of God’s Word.  We need to place our minds on the good things of scripture, not once a month, not once a week, but each and every day.  It is only through the constant exposure to the truth, that our minds can be renewed and transformed to the will of God

Romans 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We need to be careful about what we put inside the computer of our mind.  In order for us to produce the perfect will of God, we need to input the truth of scripture.  God has created us with quite the hard drive, just make sure you store the right things inside of it.  God has given us an amazing and free computer inside of our heads, and it was created long before they invented…..

…..ABC

Let’s think about these things for right now.  We can be found on your web browser by searching tlkjbc, or by going to hipcast, buzzsprout or amazon, or by getting our podcast feed directly at tlkjbc.com, or I suppose, you can find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods.  Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️

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