Think on and do the things taught in scripture. In a world of racism and warfare and gun violence and immorality, think on what is noble and pure and lovely. Last October in churches all over America, Christians observed something called “Porn Sunday.” People in churches were reminded that one-out-of-five Christians have an addiction to pornography. That means they are drawn to X-rated movies, Internet sites and magazines. It also means they are drawn to sex clubs and topless bars where nudity is present and where sexual acts are performed. I know people whose marriages ended because of an addiction to pornography. I know that people in America spend more money purchasing pornographic material than they do on all professional sports combined.

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This is not just a problem for non-believers. This is a problem for every church in the country; people are hooked on pornography just like they are hooked on drugs or alcohol or cigarettes. There is only one way to break an addiction, and that is to get the object of that addiction off your mind and concentrate on something else. Paul says, “Whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable or praiseworthy, think on and do those things.” You cannot watch an X-rated movie while you are thinking on the things of God. You cannot go inside a topless club or watch sex acts on your computer if your mind is stayed on Jesus. Not only are the ideas of Jesus not dead, those ideas still have the power to break the addictions that grip our lives.

You may have been an alcoholic; but today you are free of that addiction by the power of God and by thinking on His word. You may have held racist views in the past but today your whole mind has changed because you thought on the things of God. And that power can work in every area of your life. It can break every addiction that grips us, from the silliest to the most sinister. You may not be addicted to sex or drugs or alcohol, but what about shopping or eating or gossiping or lying or stealing or profanity or procrastinating? Have I just knocked on anybody’s door that is in the church today? Are there still some chains that bind you? Are there still any habits that you have dragged around for years that continue to grip you to this day?

Paul tells us those things can be broken. Listen to what he says and makes these words your own; I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!” Christ’s ideas are not dead and his body is not decaying in some glass-encased mausoleum. He is alive and well today. He has all power in his hands. When you are sick He has the power to heal you. When you are frightened He has the power to encourage and comfort you. When you are confused about which way to go in your life He has the power to guide and direct your thoughts and your steps. You and I can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.

The secret to being successful in life is putting your faith in someone whose teachings and values were cherished and trusted by generations of people before you and I came along. I trust the Bible because, as the old song says, “It was good for Paul and Silas, and it’s good enough for me.” The God mentioned in this Bible brought Moses and the people of Israel out of slavery and across the Red Sea. The God mentioned in this Bible cooled the fiery furnace for three Hebrew boys and locked the jaws of lions for Daniel. The God of the Bible is as old as creation itself and as current as the air we breathe right now.