Purity of Mind, Thought, and Vision

Below is a response to a brother regarding the movie The Blues Brothers. Maybe there is something here for you. What is impeding our vision of Jesus Christ?

Well...you know...I love the music in the movie, but I only watch the version that has the language cleaned up...I had gone years and never seen the version with the original language and when I did I was disappointed...but of course I shouldn't have been...this happens to me with books too, I'll download 5 books from the library onto my Kindle and end up sending 4 back because of the language or other content. I don't need toxic images in my head.

We've gone from immorality to amorality, and that is particularly frightening...and we see it throughout society and even in the professing church. Whether it's lying, covetousness, greed, blasphemy, lust, promise-breaking....the list seems endless...violence.

What we put in our hearts and minds molds and forms our souls. 

Hopefully we learn to desire to be holy as our Father is holy (1 Peter 1:13 - 15; 2 Cor. 6:14 - 7:1), to be living sacrifices to our Lord (Romans 12:1 - 2), and to have thought lives of purity (Philippians 4:4 - 9). Everyday we suit up for the game, and everyday life is a contact sport (1 Cor. 9:24 - 27). 

But you know, we are super-conquerors in Christ and greater is He  who is in us than he who is in the world (Romans 8:31 - 39; 1 John 4:4). 

Last night Vickie and I were watching a retrospective on UVA's Men's Basketball Championship. It began with 2018 when the Hoos lost in the first round to UMBC - the first time a #1 seed ever lost to a 16th seed.

Then the 2019 tournament was packed with OT and last-second games, and the boys kept saying to themselves when they were down, "It isn't going to end this way."  (Even though I knew they'd win in watching the retrospective, I still felt some tension - "How are they going to do this?" Reminds me of the Washington Nationals miracle season). 

So no matter how challenging life becomes, as men in Christ we can say, "It isn't going to end this way." (Philippians 1:6).

Rogers Hornsby, a HOF baseball player who hit .424 one year, never went to movies (this was in the early 20th century), he said he didn't go because he didn't want to hurt "his batting eye." When you think of how the "flicks" used to flicker it makes sense.

Isn't this the way we ought to be? We don't want to do anything that might hurt our vision of Jesus Christ? (Matthew 5:8; 6:22 - 23).

Well...you never know where a conversation or question will take you!

Much love,

Bob