“Let the WORDS of my mouth and the MEDITATION of my heart BE ACCEPTABLE (rāṣôn: bring pleasure and delight) in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.” (Psa. 19:14) We must be careful what we say because, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” (Pro. 18:21) The emotional pain, discouragement, and resentment our words can produce could eventually cause people to shy away from us. We’re all susceptible to making a mistake like this if we don’t exercise self-control in what we say. “For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone DOES NOT STUMBLE IN WHAT HE SAYS, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.“ (James 3:2) We can take it to God, so we can build bridges and bring others CLOSER TO THE LORD with our words.
What about our thoughts, “For as he thinks in his heart, SO IS HE.” (Pro. 23:7) The meaning of this is really different than what I want to explain which is, “…do not be conformed to this world, but be TRANSFORMED (metamorphoō: to be divinely changed into another form) by the RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, that you may PROVE what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Rom. 12:2) We now have the POWER TO CONTROL what we think about! But remember, so did Eve. She was created perfect and lived in a perfect environment, but Satan tempted her, and Eve CHOSE TO LISTEN to the devil!
What can we do to prevent the same thing from happening to us? Moses instructed God’s people to love the Lord with their all, to listen to all of God’s words and he said “You shall TEACH THEM DILIGENTLY TO YOUR CHILDREN and shall TALK of them WHEN YOU SIT in your house, WHEN YOU WALK by the way, WHEN YOU LIE DOWN, and WHEN YOU RISE UP. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deut. 6:7-9) When they go to bed when they get up in the morning when you just sitting around or when you’re traveling somewhere, these are times WHEN YOU MIND IS NOT OCCUPIED ON SOMETHING so it’s easy for the devil to slip thoughts in our mind. When our minds are busy with projects or when we are working, we have better control of our thoughts! So, keep our minds focused on THE LIVING POWERFUL WORD OF GOD…
IT IS ALIVE, IT IS POWERFUL, IT IS THE BREATH OF GOD…
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham