#21 WEIRD Thoughts from the Back Deck...

Philippians 4:8 brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

A very familiar verse. As a pastor in a school and having 3 adult kids...Wow, that is still strange to see that in words written down!... Sorry, I digress. As I was saying, being a pastor around kids I hear the word "whatever" a lot. It's usually used with attitude if you know what I mean! And if you raised kids you know exactly what I mean!!

The repeated word "whatever" definitely stands out in this text. 

But sometimes I am weird and I think weird thoughts.  I must admit, I am feeling weird right now so I have a weird question...
What does the word "is" mean? Is there a definition for it besides its classification?

In some cases the word "is" could be defined as equal to but not in all cases. 

Think about the verse today again in that light with my changes...
"whatever equals that which is true, whatever equals honorable, whatever equals just, whatever equals pure, whatever equals lovely, whatever equals commendable, if there equals anything of excellence, if there equals anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

Kind of weird to think about and see this familiar text this way. I am not suggesting we get in the habit of changing the word of God but this, at least for me, is more of meditating on the word of God. Slowing down and thinking about God's word is good. I would say that the word "is", is often passed by quickly as we read. "Is", in some cases, is an important word like when Jesus says This bread is my body, This cup is my blood. 

Just some weird thoughts for us to chew on. 

Have a great day!
Andy

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