Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23.
As a man “thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7. Many thoughts make up the unwritten history of a single day; and these thoughts have much to do with the formation of character. Our thoughts are to be strictly guarded; for one impure thought makes a deep impression on the soul. An evil thought leaves an evil impress on the mind. If the thoughts are pure and holy, the man is better for having cherished them. By them the spiritual pulse is quickened, and the power for doing good is increased. And as one drop of rain prepares the way for another in moistening the earth, so one good thought prepares the way for another.
Wrong habits of thought, when once accepted, become a despotic power that fastens the mind as in a grasp of steel.
The thoughts are not to be allowed to run riot. They must be restrained, brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Let them be placed upon holy things. Then, through the grace of Christ, they will be pure and true. We need a constant sense of the ennobling power of pure thoughts. The only security for any soul is right thinking.
Our minds take the level of the things on which our thoughts dwell, and if we think upon earthly things, we shall fail to take the impress of that which is heavenly. We would be greatly benefited by contemplating the mercy, goodness, and love of God; but we sustain great loss by dwelling upon those things which are earthly and temporal.
Although there may be a tainted, corrupted atmosphere around us, we need not breathe its miasma, but may live in the pure air of heaven. We may close every door to impure imaginings and unholy thoughts by lifting the soul into the presence of God through sincere prayer. Those whose hearts are open to receive the support and blessing of God will walk in a holier atmosphere than that of earth and will have constant communion with Heaven.
The Faith I Live By p. 222
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for David that God will show mercy on him, I believe he has demons controlling him. He needs be set free. Rosemary
—-Great news today. My daughter’s pathology report on the first surgery came back negative. We expect #2 to be the same. Also my sister’s MRI was negative. Vickie
—-Please pray that God will take complete control of my children’s lives. Buck
—-Please pray for Pastor Bohr and family as his father passed recently. Rose
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Dear Friends,
One old song that we used to love to sing is no longer in the hymnal, or if it is, I haven’t found it. The chorus goes something like this: Are you washed in the blood, in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless, are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
“Washed in the blood” how seldom we think of that great need today, how seldom we speak about it. Yet, it is the greatest of all our needs. John tells us, “if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1John 1:7 How much we need that cleansing! Praise God, we can obtain it through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Think of it! Jesus is in Heaven, at this very moment, pleading the merits of His blood in our behalf. He is our Creator, our Redeemer, our Priest, our King. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 1John 2:1 “We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:” “Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Heb.8:1,2; 9:24, 11, 12
May we “praise the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” Ps 107:15 May we worship the One Who “gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Titus 2:14 May we share this marvelous grace with those around us is my prayer.
Rose
Security Only in Right Thinking