Conversations

Tonight I went to my regular Bible Study followed by dessert at a restaurant with a number of Bible study friends. One of the passages which was in the back of my mind all evening was Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” NASB

I made a conscious attempt to redirect my thoughts, and my words, to; things which are true such as the gospel and the word of God. To things which are honorable such as Jesus’ death on the cross to redeem us from our sin. To think on things which are pure, or at least the converse of impure. To dwell on things which are lovely, like seeing the growth and sanctification of our siblings in Christ. To act out things which are of good repute, or ways which I can be of good repute even among outsiders looking at what I do and where I go. And finally towards God and His word which is excellent and worthy of praise. These are the things which we should dwell on and should be exhibited through our speech.

Needless to say it was a somewhat mentally difficult evening at times. I recall a number of great conversations which will offer fodder for future blogs. But there were also conversations and words spoken which partially to my own shame were, if not negative, less than stated in Philippians 4:8. I thought I would list some of the conversations which I found profitable and would like to think about again in the future.

Someone left me with an exhortation for excellence in everything.
Someone left me with an example of dedication to their family.
Someone left me with encouragement relating to the blog I posted earlier this week on Proverbs 3:5-6

Someone was sharing about something which Owen wrote on pride. It was almost the same words as I posted a few weeks back from C.S Lewis.
Someone offered me encouragement in things I have been discouraged with relating to school.
Someone showed genuine interest in something I care about even though it didn’t relate to them.
I had an insightful conversation on what we can term as cultural in the New Testament.
I had an encouraging conversation related to the state of the church in Brazil.
I had an encouraging conversation relating to the state of the church in Russia.
I had a brief but good conversation on youth ministry.

It’s these little conversations which make the church. These are the things which bring us together to love Christ better, draw others to Him, and grow in our sanctification. It was a long evening and got somewhat boisterous at a few points. Those points were fun and made me laugh, but the impact left little lasting satisfaction in contrast to the conversations which included topics we are scripturally mandated to think on. It’s funny how true the Bible is when it says our only satisfaction will be found in Christ.