Wow it's been a while. College is no joke and I'm still trying to set priorities for everything. Clearly the blog has taken a very low priority in my life. Unfortunately, other things have fallen down on the priority list that shouldn't.
Today I was reading the Bible in Psalm 19 and the final verse, verse 14 says " Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer."
That just hit me right between the eyes. We say so many words every day. A study from 2014 says we roughly speak 16,000 words a day. How many of those are pleasing to God? I know how guilty I am of this... especially when I think about how little of those words were spent in prayer or how many times I say a word that perhaps isn't necessarily a "bad word" but it certainly isn't a good word. Or I think of how many times I comment about someone else or say something negative. 16,000 words a day, yet so few I use to glorify God.
And to dig even deeper, let's consider our thought life...
If you're like me right now you're going "No...let's not." I don't really want to think about this, but in order to grow, I know I need to face this.
It is so easy to give in to our flesh and let our thoughts wander to ANYTHING. I know how guilty I am of allowing my thoughts to think of things that God would abhor. And even then, I spend so much time thinking about myself. Rather than thinking about God or thinking about others, I'm so concerned about myself.
It is hard to battle the flesh and our sin nature, but it isn't impossible. Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." When we were saved by the blood of Jesus, we inherited the power of the Holy Spirit to become new! We now possess the power to overcome our sin nature with Jesus' help. 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
It isn't easy. We all know that. But we can do it in some very simple steps:
- Recognize our faults, our sins, our shortcomings
- Confess them to God, repent
- Ask God to help turn our minds on good things, not bad things
God wants to help us grow. All we have to do is ask.
Whenever you might be tempted to think or say something you know God wouldn't be pleased with, remember this verse. (Bold used for emphasis)
Philippians 4:8 " Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise,
think on these things."
Great post, Lauren!! :) Definitely a reminder I can use as well.
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