Where do our thoughts flow?

'Thinking Spiritually' or 'The Grace and Duty of Being Spiritually Minded'(buy, read) by John Owen is great.

The Puritans are well known for cornering a person in order to reveal hidden sin. Owen demonstrates the skill by asking if 'spiritual thoughts flow in those times when we are quiet and free from our usual activities?'

It's easy to think about Christ and grace when we're in Church. Owen makes it clear that to test our love of Christ, to examine whether our mind is set on things above (Col 3) we really need to idenitfy the thoughts we have during those times when we have nothing to do. Where does our mind wander? Do we ever forget Christ? Are we inclined to let Christ into our minds after a long day or do we prefer to let the TV dictate our thoughts to us? If we can say yes to the last question it is evidence that we believe that TV is more attractive than Jesus.

I recently heard someone say that having a God-entranced vision of all things isn't thinking about God all the time but thinking about everything in relation to God all of the time. We can't be thinking about Jesus all the time. God has given us clean enjoyments on earth. We have to be thinking about everything in relation to Christ. Therefore when we watch good TV we should be rejoicing in the Spirit and thankful to God for the programme. If we can't praise God for the TV we watch/internet sites we read we shouldn't be enjoying them.