Every Friday I join a community of bloggers for Five Minute Friday. One word prompt, five minutes. Unedited. The prompt this week is … Deliberate.
Deliberate >>> “carefully weighed or considered; intentional” (from dictionary.com).
These days in which we are living are quickly changing, bringing new challenges, and test our responses and reactions. If we are going to navigate through these times, we are going to need to be intentional about the way we approach and handle them.
Turning to my instruction book, I find some trustworthy advice:
- Be deliberate in what I think on. “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. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9, NASB).
- Be deliberate in my walk. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law … If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23, 25, NASB).
- Be deliberate in my relationships. “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity” (Colossians 3:12-14, NASB).
Each day will require I be more like Jesus – keeping my thoughts on things above, walking by the Spirit, responding to others in love.
“We never grow closer to God when we just live life. It takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness.” (Francis Chan)
Living more like Jesus
will require
I live in deliberate pursuit of His ways.
I think you have put your finger on a missing ingredient in the average American life. Sadly, We have too much on our plates to take any one thing too seriously.
The radio is packed away.
TV News? There, I don’t go,
for upon this strange new day
I just don’t need all that aggro.
I am at heart a simple man
who thinks that sparrows rock,
and polytics gets defined when
parrot swallows a running clock.
Maybe I should really care
about how Gen Z gets offended,
but that gets those folks nowhere
(which may be what God intended,
for He’s as lief not place big tools
into the hands of hating fools).
Well-stated advice, Joanne! God is the anchor of our hope, our faith, and our very life, and we can trust Him to help us navigate uncertain times.
Joanne your words are so very true. Thank you! FMF #11
Great post, Joanne. Thanks for sharing.
P.S. Love the quote by Francis Chan.
Thank you for writing and sharing. I love the Francis Chan quote. Most of all I love the scriptures!
FMF #15
Thank you for stopping and reading!
Deliberate pursuit–definitely, daily.
So wonderfully spoken, Joanne, I pray we all keep our thoughts on things above, walk by the Spirit, and respond to others in love. I pray I reflect the love of Christ for others.
Visiting today from FMF#14
Joanne, this is such a powerful reminder to be deliberate in those things that matter. I needed to read this today, heading into a new week.
thanks for sharing,
Kath, your FMF neighbour at #6 this week.
Thank you, Joanne for the reminder to deliberately channel my thoughts – to take captive the wayward thoughts and to focus on the praiseworthy things of God. Thank you. Blessings to you. Dawn #20
Just wanted to say thanks for your awesome blog post! I love how you highlight the importance of being intentional in our thoughts, actions, and relationships. Life can throw us curveballs, but being mindful and deliberate in how we approach them is key.
Your reminders to think positively, walk in alignment with the Spirit, and love others are spot on. Living like Jesus isn’t always easy, but it’s worth striving for.
Thanks again for sharing these wise insights. Keep being awesome!
Much appreciation,
Aritha