Rejoice in the Lord – Philippians 4:2-9

I suspect that most of us (myself included) need to do a better job at turning off the television, radio, facebook, or internet discussion boards – or even that comment section on the Portland Press Herald website! ;-)

Especially during this particular season that comes around every four years.  The political dialogue is ramped up… the media paints worse-case scenarios in hopes of boosting their ratings… and even respected Christian leaders would have us believe that the sky is falling (Guess what… one day it will!) It’s so easy for us to get lost in the fog of fact-checking, or discerning which attacks to believe and which ones to dismiss.

Don’t get me wrong… I think we ought to participate in the political process and vote as the Spirit of God would lead us.  But let’s not get so side-tracked by the issues that we forget that God is still on the throne, and that Christ will return when the time is right!  Let’s not forget that in the meantime He calls us to act as individuals–loving justice, doing mercy, and walking humbly with Him.

Paul wants us to fill our minds with pure and praiseworthy things – to meditate on Scripture, to consider the depths and riches of God’s love and grace, and to rejoice in the blessings that God pours out on us.  It’s increasingly difficult to do that if we allow the cacophony of voices to cloud our heads with all the bad news and speculation of bad news that exists.  Let’s be sure to balance the news with a healthy dose of those things that belong to the Kingdom of God.