Taking Care of the Place You Live

May 29, 2008

By James Fields

“Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me” (2 Timothy 4:10, NIV).

What? How could this fellow worker and friend of the apostle Paul just walk away from his love for Jesus? How could someone who preached the gospel and frequently fellowshipped with Paul love this present sinful world? How could Demas possibly turn away from the Jesus who forgave his sins?

Demas failed to take care of the place he lived. No, I don’t mean his house or apartment. I mean his mind, his thought life. We all live in a place humans call “mind.” Our bodies are mere vehicles that carry our mind here and there. Truly, what we think is where we live.

Scripture tells us to take care of the place we live by meditating on God’s Word.

“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8).

Read the Word, hear it preached and discussed. During your day purposefully recall passages of Scripture and think about them. This meditation on God’s Word releases God’s refreshing power in you. Strength, encouragement, joy and fearlessness will characterize your life.

Refuse to allow mean, hateful, lustful and ugly meditation into the place you live. Screen the ideas and desires that knock on the door of you mind. Say “no” to everything that contradicts God’s Word or upsets your spirit. As we take care of our thought life by comparing our meditation to the Word, we will enjoy living with ourselves, our words will bless people and God will be proud to call us His own.

— James and Delores Fields are veteran Assemblies of God pastors and former missionaries. They founded Comfort and Encouragement Ministries in 1997.