Everyday Discernment: The Importance of Spirit-led Decision Making – Day 9

What do you allow into your eyes? What do you allow into your mind? What do you allow into your ears? What movies do you watch? What tv shows do you watch? What music or radio programs do you listen to? What books or articles do you read? Do you realize they have an impact on you? That is why God’s Word tells us to take every thought captive in order to gain control over what we think about ourselves and life! God’s Word tells us to demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and to take every thought captive to make it obedient to Jesus! So let’s pause and seek discernment before we allow things into our minds through our eyes and ears!

Let’s check out what wisdom we can receive today through the Everyday Discernment devotional by Tim Ferrara!

Life demands we make critical choices, but how can you do so effectively? Your ability to discern can make all the difference in what your future looks like. As you read, you will discover how to measure what you are taught against the truth of God’s Word, how to develop a life-giving connection with God, and the path to finding clear direction from the Holy Spirit.

Everyday Discernment: The Importance of Spirit-led Decision Making | Devotional Reading Plan | YouVersion Bible

Scripture from Today’s Devotional:

Let’s spend time in God’s Word so that the light of God can shine upon us in order that we can shine as we go out into the world! God’s Word never returns void and is active and alive! So let’s make time to allow God’s Word to intersect with our lives and help us become more like Jesus!

Let’s be the dads who fix our thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable! Let’s be the dads who think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise! Let’s be the dads who don’t use foul and abusive language! Let’s be the dads who only speak good and helpful words! Let’s be the dads who only say words that will be an encouragement to those who hear them! Let’s be the dads who are focusing on living our lives in a way that shows the world around us that our focus on loving God and loving people is based on the reality that we think about the things of heaven rather than the things of the earth!

Today’s devotional has been provided to us by Helping you make better decisions that honor God (discerning-dad.com)

Reading through today’s devotional, here are some takeaways for me: (check out the devotional on your own too to see if you pick up other nuggets, and please share your findings in the comments)

For more information, please visit: https://discerning-dad.com

Takeaways from Today’s Devotional:
“Discernment in Entertainment Media“

• When it comes to shows, movies, plays, sports, concerts, and any other entertainment, what helps you decide if it is a good or bad idea?
• Today’s devotional points us to Philippians 4:8 to consider and reflect upon when it comes to considering entertainment:
  • “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things. “
• Let’s be the dads who “dwell on, to think in a detailed or logical manner” when it comes to deciding what we will do and what we will allow into our minds!
• Let’s be the dads who do everything we can to keep and control our minds to be positive and pure as much as we can since we know that “Controlling your thoughts to be positive and pure 100% of the time seems impossible“!
• Let’s be the dads who make good choices about what we allow ourselves to watch, listen to, and read because we know that something as simple or seemingly innocent as “watching the news, we will come across stories that disturb our very soul“!
• Let’s be the dads who make good choices about what we allow ourselves to watch, listen to, and read because we know that something as simple or seemingly innocent as “the interactions we have with people at work or the conversations we hear others discussing may not fall into the “positive and pure” category of thought“!
• Let’s be the dads who make good choices about what we allow ourselves to watch, listen to, and read because we know we need “discipline in how we think and what we think about“!
• Let’s be the dads who are living in this world, shining the light of Jesus, and yet at the same time realize that we do not need to be of the world as we read in John 17:14!
  • ‘I have given to them Your word [the message You gave Me]; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world and do not belong to the world, just as I am not of the world and do not belong to it. ‘
• Let’s be the dads who try to avoid falling into “the trap of a consumerism mentality that is prevalent in society“!
• Let’s be the dads who realize that by becoming a consumer of entertainment we open ourselves up to “the content that media provides with your eyes and ears and into your very spirit“!
• Let’s be the dads who take every thought captive in order to gain control over what we think about ourselves and life!
• Let’s be the dads who demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to make it obedient to Jesus!
• Let’s be the dads who realize that “Our thoughts and actions are often a by-product of what we consume“!
• Let’s be the dads who remember the scripture from 2 Timothy 1:7 that says: “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control]. “
• Today’s devotional speaks to this reality as follows:
  • “It’s not any different when we eat food. If we eat junk food all the time, there will be adverse health and mental effects on our bodies. The same is true of the media. If there are no limits on the quantity and quality of media you are taking into your body, the output will be adverse effects on your spiritual and even your physical life.“
• Today’s devotional closes with the following and challenges us to consider:
  • “We are cautioned in the Bible to not let “unwholesome talk” come out of our mouths (Eph. 4:29) and that we are defiled by what comes out of our mouths (Matt. 15:11). If we “set our minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Col. 3:2), we should be focusing our time on things that edify us and not the garbage that the flesh and the world provide. Many times, what comes out of our mouths is a natural byproduct of what types of content we are consuming, both good and bad!“
  • “What personal boundaries do you have with entertainment as far as what you do or do not engage with? What caused you to have these boundaries?“