And now, 

dear brothers and sisters, 

one final thing. 

Fix your thoughts on what is true, 

and honorable, 

and right, 

and pure, 

and lovely, 

and admirable. 

Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 

Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me - everything you heard from me and saw me doing.

Then the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:8-9 NLT

Paul's wrap up, his takeaway for the Philippians, and for us, is  to anchor our thoughts, to 'think about our thinking', to choose in whatever our circumstances are, to fix our thoughts on truth, and beauty, to look for the good (even in our darkest if times).

And then to follow his, Paul's example, as a follower of Jesus. 

Even in my faith journey I'm tempted to do my own thing, to think I know best. 

Who are the followers of Jesus who you are following? 

Those who've shown their love for God and love for people in the long haul?

Those who reflect God's character and heart? 

(I think Paul would warn us that character does not equal popularity or how big their 'platform' is.)

Back in Ch2 Paul highlighted Jesus character in v5-8. 

It's people who demonstrate that life, that heart we should look to emulate.

And he concludes that this is a path of peace. Not peace that comes from our culture, but from thinking about our thinking, fixing our minds on truth and beauty, living in community with other followers of Jesus who love God and love people over the long run. 

There's peace there.

#lockdownlessons