The thought life has much to do with the spiritual life, happiness and peace of mind. Consider your thought life: how the right kinds of thoughts have blessed you and how negative thoughts have caused you to be depressed, discouraged; to think less of yourself than was realistic; how negative thoughts have shot down the happiness that God sent your way. By surrounding yourself with the wrong kinds of thoughts you destroy the peace of God in your life. As you reach out for the right thoughts, let’s analyze just what a thought is.

Thought: the act of thinking, reflection, meditation; the power of reasoning or of conceiving ideas; imagination; opinions; consideration; memory. A person can be deep in thought.

Keep in mind also the word think: to seem (it seems it is a certain way); to form or have in mind; to conceive; to hold in one’s opinion; to judge (to think what you do not know is judging); to believe; to surmise by mental concentration (she thought herself into a dilemma). Think means you do not know: to intend; to purpose; to bring to mind; to keep continually in mind; to be obsessed with (he thinks of one thing all the time); to weigh something mentally. You can think aloud, think before you act, speak your thoughts as they occur, think to deceive, think dark thoughts, think to make decisions with no foundations of truth (I think that’s right).

Related to this is the word concentration: directing one’s thoughts; to collect or to focus; close or fixed attention.

Also consider the word meditation: deep continued thought or reflection; to ponder; solemn reflection on sacred matters, as a devotional act.

Keep the words concentrate, think, thought and meditation in mind as we explore the power thoughts really have in our lives.

Do You Feel You Can’t Please God?

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) (II Corinthians 10:3-5). The weapons of our warfare come through God, not self. Until he was baptized in the Holy Spirit, Simon Peter did not have overcoming power. Before that, his weapons were carnal; and it caused him to backslide. Many in this final hour have become discouraged because they do not understand the way of God nor how to battle. “I did my very best, and it wasn’t good enough,” they say. “I don’t think I will ever be able to please God.” Discouragement comes in to the point people finally do actually fail God.

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God. Every thought against the knowledge of God must be cast down in a continuing war against the devil; but, as Peter learned, only by the Holy Spirit can this be done. The Holy Spirit will furnish what you need.

And bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Every one of your thoughts must be brought into captivity, into obedience to the Lord. No matter how much that thought is trying to draw you away from the will of God and the things of God, the Holy Spirit will help bring those thoughts into His captivity so they cannot destroy God’s Spirit in your life in any way.

Tares among the Wheat

The sower of the Word, Jesus, told a parable about another kind of sower. Read about it in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew. Tares grow amid the wheat today. Are you the wheat of the Lord or a tare of Satan? All are mixed in together. When Jesus was asked why He did not separate the wheat from the tares, He answered that if He uprooted the tares at that time He would uproot some of the wheat; but that the time would come when all tares would be separated and put into the fire. Evil will be destroyed. If you are the wheat, it will be through the grace of God that you remain that way, whole in the Lord, complete in Him.

Today many sowers are busy with things other than the Word of God. Much is being sown over television that is rotten, degraded—evil seeds of the devil—all too little of the Word of God is planted in fertile ground. Some of you are inviting the evil sower into your home. It may not seem harmful; but, when enough seeds are sown, plants eventually take root. This is one of the reasons why America is in the spiritually needful condition it is, why morals seem to become more lax each day, why “anything goes” when it comes to sex, why marriage is no longer considered holy by many and the name of God is blasphemed over the airways. For the most part God is not honored. The imagination of the hearts of so many of those shows is evil continuously: evil minds writing destructive seeds to sow in your home that will find root in you and your loved ones. Thought by thought the seeds have been planted.

Immorality Dressed Up to Look Innocent

One thought was sown a few years ago of permissive sex. The idea was presented that sex before marriage or outside marriage was nothing to be ashamed of. It has been an idea exploited much in the soap operas. Clever stories, making adultery seem not only glamorized but also justified, put thoughts into the minds and hearts of people that lead them to decide immorality is perfectly acceptable. The ways of the devil are not acceptable to God. Jesus is to be our way of life; He is pure, clean and holy. Marriage is holy in all and the marriage bed undefiled, the Bible declares; but sex outside of marriage, as well as before marriage, defiles. Either you are going to wake up to the deceits of this age, or the Holy Spirit will tell you to sleep on. He will withdraw, letting you go your way; and you will feel no condemnation. Some of you do not feel condemned now the way you once did when you first embraced things outside the will of the Lord. By not cutting off the things of the world, you are becoming more and more like the world. Evil thoughts stay with you because you want them to, because you do not love the Lord enough to choose to be like Him.

One of the networks a few years ago had the thought of seeing how far it could go without the government or the public intervening. An evil thought started it all, just as an evil thought started the downfall of Sodom and Gomorrah. Oh, it took a period of time, but one thought planted by Lucifer set it all into motion. Thoughts set into motion by Lucifer have brought us today to a great hour of separation. You can either take the standards of God or the degraded standards of the devil; there is no middle road. The hour of separation is here for the kind of material you read. Evil thought after evil thought fill many books, many magazines; but a right spirit in the Lord will rebel against evil on display in any form. Worse than the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, worse than the days of Noah is the time in which we live. Indeed, things are so bad that soon God will destroy this civilization, and that’s thus saith the Lord. Do you want to be part of that destruction? The Bible tells us that Lot’s righteous soul was vexed daily with what he heard and saw. He couldn’t turn it off the way one can turn off the television.

Another thought was nurtured for television: most people curse anyway; and to make programs realistic, cursing should be included. How do you react when you hear someone blaspheme the name of the Lord? Does it make you uncomfortable? It vexes my soul to hear it; I want to get away. I do not want to hear the name of the Lord blasphemed or hear someone degrade the way God said we are to live. God is the one who laid down a standard of holiness, a standard pure and clean; but the television writers for the most part have ignored God’s standard and inserted their own.

Are You Comfortable with the Devil’s Standards?

Where is your God? What kind of an example are you? Why did the Lord ask if He would find faith on the earth when He came? He knew the cesspool, the contamination that would be here. You will not be able to allow your mind to become comfortable with all the deceitful standards the devil is holding up and still be a servant of the living God, serving all of Jesus to the people. It won’t work.

Where is your consecration, your dedication, your separation? What separates you from the world today? It isn’t the way you dress; it’s the blood that stained the Old Rugged Cross, the righteousness of God, the holiness of God that is planted in your heart. The way you dress, the food you eat will not separate you; God tried that with the Jews. Then God sent His Son Jesus, who gave sinless blood so that that separation would work, so that we could be made new creations in Christ Jesus; but every imagination of man’s heart was evil continually, and man sold himself to the devil.

The Seeds You Plant Are Your Responsibility

When you throw out the seeds of your thoughts they become implanted into the minds of others. What kinds of thoughts do you plant in people around you? Do you cast reflection on others, putting them in a bad light? “I don’t think she is living for the Lord.” Talking that way is sowing the wrong kind of seeds. As a child of God you are to sow only the truth that edifies and blesses; sow the Word of the living God. His truth is all the Lord has asked you to sow. When you sow something else you have lost the seeds of God. Heaven has no gossip corner; talking unkindly about someone else, passing judgment on another puts you into deep trouble with the Lord. Gossipers sow the wrong kind of seed.

Many Christians go through life without reading the Word of God through from cover-to-cover one time. They actually do not know what is in the Word. Having no time to reap the good harvest found in the Word, they somehow have time to sow seeds of discontent and destruction. Only the truth will set people free.

What kind of seeds are you sowing? You are responsible to God for the harvest your seeds bring forth. That is the reason some of God’s people have not been blessed very much: they sow seeds that are destructive, unhelpful. Planting their own opinions rather than God’s truth, they reap a mixed harvest of weeds and wheat year after year in their field. I say again: you are responsible for every seed you sow.

If you saw a farmer sowing weeds along with his good seed, you would think something was wrong with him; it is the same for the Christian who sows seeds of envy, doubt, distrust and judgment along with the good seeds he manages to get in. We can afford to sow nothing but the truth found in the Word of God.

Your sowing the wrong seed causes others to think with distortion, to be sad, disillusioned; it makes you a robber, taking away from them the joy and the strength of the Lord. The devil also is a robber—think of it: you and the devil, robbers together, related.

When you throw out damaging thoughts, robbing others of joy, happiness and peace of mind, you’re like one living in a slime pit. Why repeat unkind words to the person they were spoken of? Why stir up strife because of the feeling of importance it gives you? You have become a messenger of Lucifer; the devil couldn’t have done a better job in person. Those who disregard the feelings of others, those who refuse to put themselves in the others’ place are using neither the brains God gave them nor His compassion in dealing with others. When your brain goes on vacation, stop using your mouth. God said, Come now, and let us reason together (Isaiah 1:18), and now is the time to reason.

What do you talk about? God’s ways are not our ways; His thoughts not ours, for they are higher than ours. However, if you intend to walk the way of God, you must have the thoughts of God. How can you have those thoughts?—through the Holy Spirit. Before you speak, put the words you are about to say under the searchlight of God’s Word; see if they measure up. Carefully examine the thoughts that you have before you put them out on display, and you will know the kind of seed you are sowing. You do want to bring in a good harvest for God, to sow the right seeds, don’t you? The Bible says that for every idle word you speak you will be judged. Why?—because of the harvest it brings forth.

Thoughts Are Possessions

Undesirable thoughts will come to your mind; but when you are full of the Holy Spirit He will help you cast them down, weed them out so they will bring forth no fruit. A spark of life is not added to them because they are not passed on. When you pass them on, you give them life; and that makes you responsible for the harvest they bring. Just as you are responsible to the child you give life to, you are responsible for the seeds you bring to life. Your thoughts are your possessions to give or keep.

Thoughts unworthy in God’s eyes, thoughts weak in faith are killed out by God’s Spirit when put under the searchlight of God’s Word and not passed on; but by giving forth something hurtful you pin wings to it, sending it out with your blessing. If that blessing is really a curse, God holds you responsible just as surely as if you set off a bomb you thought to be a firecracker, killing a multitude of people. It doesn’t matter what you thought; the people are dead.

Know the kind of thoughts that belong to God, the kind of thoughts that belong to a human being and the kind of thoughts that belong to Lucifer; be able to separate them. How?—through the Word of God. The devil will put thoughts into your mind; but when you examine them, you find that only weakness dominates those thoughts—no strength, no edification, no life, no love, no deliverance.

Know God

It is essential for you to know God. “I do know Him,” you protest. Yes, lightly you know Him; your thoughts of Him are light; your words light. Do you really know God? Do you know when He is speaking, when He is moving? Do you know what He wants, or do you confuse your thoughts with His? Do you believe He is giving you thoughts when He is not? Do you know when He speaks and when it is your own spirit speaking?

Some of you are strangers to yourselves; you do not know yourselves, much less those you are talking about. The only way you can ever know yourself is to be introduced by the Holy Spirit, the One who is able to explain self to you truthfully and impartially. Even before you found God you thought you were all right; you did not really know about yourself. When you made mistakes, you justified them by saying that everyone makes mistakes. It takes the Holy Spirit to mirror your reflection of self in the light of His reality, in God’s light that shows up every spot and wrinkle.

If you are not born again, God will send you to hell. Only the blood of Jesus applied to your soul can cleanse you, straighten you out and make you a new creation in Him. God cannot look upon sin, and He cannot look upon a life embracing sin. You must take on the mind of Jesus. Much is offered because much is needed. Never does God offer that which we do not need.

Embracing Evil Thoughts

Thoughts are easy to come by. No one is ever a pauper in thoughts, but it is difficult to have and to use the right kind of thoughts. There are those who select depressing thoughts rather than happy thoughts. Others drop a faith thought in favor of a thought of worry. In place of the thought, “God loves me,” they take, “God doesn’t love me as much as He loves others.” The feeling of not being loved can be controlled by the Holy Spirit who sheds abroad the love of God in our hearts, the Bible tells us. He sheds abroad enough love to satisfy everyone, but many do not accept that love. Daily you must have the cleansing of the Holy Spirit, using the Word of God to keep you in the condition God wants; so that thoughts will not bother you and that evil thoughts coming to you will bounce off, not dropping into your soul.

When does one embrace evil thoughts? When you pass them on to others, you are really embracing them. When you pass on any thoughts of bitterness against someone else, it is dropping right on into your soul. The devil brought it; he placed it in your mind, but you touched it. That which you touch becomes a part of you. Touch not the unclean thing, for if you do it will drop right into your heart. Any hatred, any bitterness against another, any grudges you embrace will drop into your heart. The devil deceives, causing you to justify self because he wants those seeds to take root; and when you believe that self-justification, the seeds immediately take root.

Some Christians, in the corner of their hearts, have been hindered and hampered, not bringing forth a full crop for the Lord since they began farming for Him. The Lord is your partner, but have you hindered Him by sowing weeds in the middle of your field? Who would want a partner who plants weeds? Although God is pouring out His Spirit, some of you are going away from God instead of into His arms. God has worked patiently, gently with you; but in this final hour, thus saith the Lord, the Spirit will deal severely with you, and God’s Spirit will lift more and more from you.

In this great pouring-out time some of you don’t have as much love in your heart for God as you had before He started the great pouring out. If you don’t get in on the pouring out now, you never will. You can say that you are all right or that the preacher doesn’t understand, but God knows the heart; any self-justification on your part will not be acceptable to the Master. We are nothing without God. The Bible says that as you think in your heart so you are. When you embrace evil thoughts that drop down into your heart, they form the sort of person you become: a deceiver and being deceived. We can survive only when we are controlled by the Holy Spirit.

How much grief have you brought to others? How much have you robbed your companion, your children, neighbors, people who work around you, with the kind of thoughts that you throw out? How much have you robbed? In marriages today people are robbed of much, not only by their spouses but also by themselves. Even in public they criticize their companions, failing to comprehend that those companions are a part of them.

Lack of discipline makes it easier to embrace evil thoughts. Some have just a thought of disciplining their children. Threats are commonplace, but since they are not put into action the child remains undisciplined. If a child is in need of discipline, that’s what it needs, not merely a thought. The Bible supports discipline in the family—a thought planted by the Holy Spirit—and the Bible instructs how to put the thought of discipline into action, thoughts that when carried through will bring a harvest of good for the Lord and for His kingdom, and will bring order into lives.

Mind Your Own Business

If we are not careful, we will find our opinions interfering in the concerns of those around us. We do not need to choose the mates of others—in fact we need to leave others alone. Criticizing people, monitoring their behavior is out of place in the Kingdom. Our attention should be directed toward our own marriages rather than the marriages of others.

What kind of thoughts do you have in your own home? Are they thoughts of love and kindness, or are they thoughts of faultfinding? Are you critical of decisions that have nothing to do with you? These are thoughts of arrogance, envy and strife.

“I don’t think she should have taken that job.” What do you know about it? “They shouldn’t have bought that house.” They didn’t buy it with your money, did they? The devil robs us of much by thought.

If the devil cannot get you to embrace the thoughts he brings, he will just keep raining them down on you like a snowstorm. Thoughts from the devil are flooding God’s people night and day; only through the Holy Spirit can we survive. The devil brings all kinds of worrisome thoughts: troubled thoughts, unhappy things, fear about what might happen. God’s thoughts are not like that. God edifies; God corrects when you are in the wrong so that He can bring you to the knowledge of the truth, but He does not torment you with fear.

Wrong thinking brings wrong believing. The Holy Spirit is like a laser beam blazing out to shoot down thoughts of the devil before they have even a chance of affecting you. Instead of being afraid of those thoughts, let the Holy Spirit handle them.

Eve’s Downfall Started with a Thought

Daily there is a terrible war being waged, all-out war of the mind. Bombarding the mind often with just one thought, the devil is trying to enter through the eyes, the hearing, the senses. That is the way he convinced man and woman to sell out in the Garden of Eden—through one thought, one thought. Daily the devil dropped one thought of disobedience on Eve. At first she wouldn’t touch it, but as time wore on the thought became so familiar to her that it lost its horror. At first she could overcome it with the Word, with what God said. As long as she didn’t reach out to take the thought, to take the apple, she did not sin. “The Lord didn’t really mean you weren’t supposed to eat the apple,” the devil whispered again and again. “The Lord wants you to be happy, and the apple WILL make you happy,” he rationalized. “You won’t really die if you eat the apple, Eve.” The devil kept Eve’s attention directed toward the apple, at that one thought; but so long as her fingerprints were not on that thought, so long as she did not reach out and take the apple, there was no sin.

Some of you are troubled greatly about the thoughts that come to you. The devil says you might just as well go ahead and follow up on them—you thought them didn’t you? Just remember: as long as Eve didn’t reach out and take the apple there was no sin. Had she not looked at it in the first place, however, it would not have been her downfall. Some of you look at those thoughts. You do not put them into action—you do not sin—but by looking, you lose; you lose joy, happiness, peace. Then you have to pray and fast to regain the ground you lost. However, if you wouldn’t have listened to the enemy or looked at what he was trying to do, you would be much stronger in the Lord.

The apple, the thought: “Come on, Eve, there’s really no harm,” was never far from Eve’s mind. Finally the devil got Eve’s attention long enough, and the apple began to look more beautiful, more harmless. “Get a little closer, Eve, it won’t hurt to look. Forget about everything else and concentrate on that apple.” If you continue to play with the thought, after awhile you will be weakened to the point of reaching out. Remember Eve had been pure, pure, pure; she knew no sin. Those who think they are too strong to fall are badly mistaken. Finally Eve decided to reach out and take the apple; at last the thought was hers. For the first time it dropped into her soul. For the first time an evil thought was claimed.

How long did it take for the devil to bring this about? The Bible does not tell. We only know that the devil never gives up—he will not give up on you. If he is able to take your joy, your peace, he will. As long as you are tantalized by his ideas, they will be plentiful. If you are distracted, affected in an unpleasant way, the devil will not give up.

Let the Holy Spirit Stand Guard

Some of you are ground down by the devil with a thought or thoughts that he constantly brings to your mind. You won’t put that thought into action; you only allow him to bring the thought. In other words, you won’t give yourself over to the Holy Spirit to the extent the enemy can be backed off, so that your mind will be covered and anointed by the power of the Lord like the mind of Jesus. When you give yourself to the Holy Spirit, the devil cannot take your love, joy and peace; but if you refuse to do so, your spirit becomes damaged and your soul is in danger. Without the Holy Spirit standing guard, the evil thought drops into the soul and the soul becomes corrupt. Eve sold her soul for that one thought.

Remember we are in an all-out war—the battles of the mind—with the devil bombarding our minds from all directions. Some are in great distress because of this. Minds in a vise, many are unable to enjoy the blessings of God; they are miserable, afraid. The Israelites thought God would not take them through the Red Sea—they thought—and great fear took them over. Pharaoh was going to conquer them—they thought. Refusing to accept the truth, they couldn’t believe God when He promised deliverance.

Just a thought has caused many marriages to fail; it has caused deaths, suicides, murders, rapes. Just a thought was the beginning of it all, a thought unworthy of God’s expectations. Your thoughts, your words should enhance the work of God rather than take away, no matter where you are. It’s time to be consecrated and dedicated to God.

What did you talk about today? Before you fall asleep at night review your conversations of the day. Did they uplift, edify? If you want to live in the presence of God, you will have to think and act in a manner acceptable to Him. Honor God; place value on His presence; recognize Him. Fellowship with God comes when you are in harmony with the Holy Spirit, in one mind and one accord with Him so the old-time power of God can fall the way it did on the day of Pentecost. It’s time for us to move closer to God.

Is the Thought Yours or the Devil’s?

How can you tell if a thought really belongs to you? The devil says it’s yours; is he right? He’ll offer you that bright red apple and declare your name is written all over it. It’s yours; you might as well go ahead and act that thought out. How can you tell if the thought is yours? This is the test you put on it: If the thought is one of stealing, ask yourself, “Would I steal a million dollars had I the chance and no one would ever find out? Would I go down to the bank tonight if it were unlocked and I were certain no one would be there to see me?” If you would, then the thought is a part of you; you are as sinful as the thought.

Would you tell a lie in a close place if no one else would know? Would you lie to save your life? The devil says you might as well lie because you were thinking about it. But would you really tell that lie or would you honor the presence of God so much that you would be willing to die for what you have in Him? The Bible tells us that all liars will go to hell. Would you sign away your chance of Heaven to save your skin for a little while?

The Lord said that if a man looks at a woman, desires her and lusts after her, he has committed adultery in his heart. This means that when a man looks upon a woman and would have intercourse with her if there were an opportunity, the thought is sin. The only thing that keeps him from having sexual relations with her is the opportunity. If, however, the man would not have sex with her even if there were an opportunity, then the man has not committed adultery of the heart; he is just tempted. This is the way to separate temptation from sin: “Would I put the thought into action if there were an opportunity?”

You are not responsible for a desire, but there certainly is a danger in playing with that desire in your mind; there is a danger in looking at forbidden fruit. Had Eve turned away the first time the devil brought the thought of the apple to her, she would not have given in to the sin of disobedience. I repeat, don’t think you are so strong that you can look at temptation, continue to look and never fall. You are setting yourself up as a target for Lucifer, and he just might shoot you down.

Can you be trusted anywhere with anything? Do the banks need to be locked when you are around? Are you honest? Are you pure, holy? Would you do anything that is unholy? If not, the thoughts of the devil that come your way are temptations. What do you do about them? Let the Holy Spirit help you use the Word of God against those temptations, shooting them down like a laser beam destroys its target.

Recognize the Power of a Thought

Recognize the power of a thought and don’t allow the devil to show you “the apple.” “I THOUGHT I was saved.” A thought isn’t enough. “I THOUGHT I had victory over the problem,” but the thought wasn’t enough. “I THOUGHT I was healed”—you must know it. “I THOUGHT I had the baptism of the Holy Ghost; I THOUGHT God loved me.” You must KNOW these things. “I THOUGHT He would supply all my needs.” The power of a wavering thought can destroy your power, your help from God. You shoot down the help from God when you THINK instead of KNOW. “I THOUGHT He heard my prayer.”

Before Pentecost Peter THOUGHT Jesus was the Son of God, but he only thought it. When the testing hour came for Peter, the thought was not strong enough to hold up. After Pentecost, however, Peter had that extra power of the Holy Ghost dwelling within; and, at last, he knew Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. The disciples THOUGHT Jesus would not die and then, when He died on the Cross, they THOUGHT it was all over; they didn’t KNOW He would rise again. They weren’t there at the tomb waiting for Him to come forth even though He had tried to tell them. See the difference between THINKING something and KNOWING it? “I THOUGHT God was excusing my having sexual relations outside of marriage because my wife was sick”—a minister said these words. For thirty days he held that thought; then one day he woke up to find that the Spirit of God had departed from him. God left him the way He left Samson of old, and he had known it not. The minister looked at the red apple—the devil said go ahead—but it wasn’t in accord with the Word of God.

“I THOUGHT it was all right to rob the bank; they didn’t need the money—it was insured—and I did.” “I THOUGHT it was all right to take another man’s wife—if he couldn’t hold her it served him right.” That isn’t what God said. “I THOUGHT nothing was wrong with running away from home; I didn’t THINK they loved me.” “I THOUGHT it was all right to destroy my daughter’s marriage—he was a bum.” “I THOUGHT it was all right to break a promise—I made it; didn’t I have the right to break it?” You are just as good as your word. What if God were to break His promises to you? “I THOUGHT I would just play around; I didn’t THINK we would go all the way.” Each thought developed into another thought, and you went on and on until you had gone all the way. The devil made you THINK it was all right.

A thought started you on your way to Calvary—what a beautiful thought! A thought started you on the way to the Upper Room. One thought can bring great joy if it’s the right thought, but one thought can start the day with depression. One thought can produce peace and joy, and one thought can bring about chaos.

Separate your life from the thoughts of the enemy. Decide you are going to be an overcomer. One thought can take you into the presence of God. One thought can start a victorious day for you—one thought of God and how much He loves you—but one thought can bring fear and destruction; one thought can bring suicide. A thought of hate can destroy all love, but a thought of love destroys all hate. A thought of bitterness destroys all peace, but a thought of peace destroys all bitterness. A thought of faith brings deliverance. There’s healing in a thought, but there’s sickness in a thought, too. The thought that God will let you down destroys the thought that God will deliver you.

Only God Understands All

Do you share your thoughts with others? You’re taking a great chance, opening yourself up for betrayal. It’s hard for most people to keep secrets; some will find friends to whom they tell their whole hearts but later are devastated to find that those “friends” repeated the story to others. It gave the “friends” a sense of importance. There will always be a Judas. It pays not to trust all the thoughts of your heart with anyone but the Lord. Tell Him all of your despair, all of your weaknesses, all of your faults. Never tell another those things you do not want known. Only God can understand all. Only God can forgive and forget; it isn’t in a human to do both.

Heartaches because of Thoughts in Old Testament Days

In Genesis 38:15,16 is the story of a man who THOUGHT he was going in to a harlot, but it was really his daughter-in-law; and she became pregnant. A thought caused much heartache and distress.

In I Samuel 1:13-16 we find Hannah praying before the Lord. Only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard; she was pouring out her heart before the Lord. The priest THOUGHT she was drunk. He didn’t know and he did not make it his business to know before he passed judgment on her. He had to change that judgment after talking to her.

Samson’s wife was given to another; it caused chaos and death. Why did her father give his married daughter to another man? In Judges 15:2 we read that he said, I verily THOUGHT that thou [Samson] hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion. Samson was so angry over this that he burned their fields and killed many of the Philistines. A thought of one man started it all. “I THOUGHT you hated your wife”—but he did not find out for sure, and he lost his life because of it.

Genesis 50:20 finds Joseph speaking to his brethren: But as for you, ye THOUGHT evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. A thought sold Joseph into slavery—a thought. “Here comes a caravan—let’s sell him!” God, however, used their thought of evil for good. After all that his brothers did to him, Joseph still spoke kindly to them and cared for them. He did not live in the day of grace or of Calvary, but what a forgiving spirit Joseph had!

But they THOUGHT to do me mischief. And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down (Nehemiah 6:2,3). Nehemiah was doing the work of the Lord, and he did not let those who would bring harm deter him. Take a lesson from Nehemiah: when people rise up to cause problems don’t fuss with them; just make clear that you do not have time to let the work of the Lord cease while you come down to them. The power of a thought in Old Testament days set up kingdoms and tore down kingdoms.

Consider your thought life; consider the evil and the good of it. By not understanding the thought life, you can be condemned by the devil when you are innocent—and you can be guilty when you think you are not. Through proper thoughts much that is wonderful can be yours rather than despair.

The twentieth chapter of Genesis gives us insight into Abraham’s thought life. And Abraham said, Because I THOUGHT, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake (verse 11). Abraham passed his wife Sarah off as his sister to protect himself. Because of it, the Lord brought judgment on the whole household of Abimelech. Then the Lord revealed to Abimelech, before He actually committed adultery with Sarah, that she really was another man’s wife. He met Abraham face to face asking, “Why did you do this thing?” Sarah was Abraham’s half sister, but Abraham pretended they were not married. It was a deliberate lie, one that brought judgment and great sorrow upon Abimelech’s household. God, however, was merciful and allowed Abraham to pray for them: So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children. For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife (verses 17,18).

Naaman, seeking a cure for his leprosy, came to the prophet Elisha who told him to dip seven times in the river Jordan. The advice made Naaman angry. Naaman THOUGHT He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper (II Kings 5:11). Thinking the miracle should be done his way, in a rage Naaman stalked off. However, the good advice of his servant brought second thoughts. He went back, dipped in the Jordan seven times and was healed. His flesh, the Bible says, became like the flesh of a little child. Read it for yourself in verses 1-19.

Do You Really Love the Word?

What do you meditate upon; where is your mind? When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches (Psalm 63:6). My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me (verse 8). My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips (verse 5). I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings (Psalm 77:12). I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works (Psalm 143:5). Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them (I Timothy 4:15). What things?—love, faith, purity. O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day (Psalm 119:97).

Do you really love the Word? Do you meditate upon the Word day and night? I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation (verse 99). Meditate on His works; it helps you to understand God and to know Him. Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts (Psalm 139:23). When your thoughts have been purified, when the Holy Spirit has helped you weed out everything unpleasant, you welcome the Lord in to search your heart so that every day you can become more like Him.

Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist (Luke 21:14,15) When you are brought before your persecutors, the Lord will give you His words of wisdom if you keep your mind upon Him. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night (Psalm 1:1,2). Day and night think upon what God has said.

I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee (Job 42:2).

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee (Isaiah 26:3). How can you have perfect peace?—by keeping your mind stayed on the Lord. When you allow the Holy Spirit to keep your mind upon the Lord, He can shoot down all the evil thoughts and give you victory over Satan so the devil cannot take your joy, your peace and happiness.

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7). Not in your mind, but as you think in your heart. Whatever is in your heart is the real you.

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer (Psalm 19:14).

The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity (Psalm 94:11). All thoughts that are not upon the Lord are vanity.

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). The Word discerns thoughts; no thought can deceive the Word of God. If the thought is wrong, the Word will let you know it is wrong. If the thought is not of God, the Word will let you know; but you must study the Word, know the Word. The Spirit will show you whether the thought is your own, the Lord’s or the devil’s. The Holy Spirit through the Word is the discerner of all thoughts. Put the Word-test to your thoughts: Is this thought of God? Is it my thought? Is it a thought of the devil? Would I do something wrong if I felt no one else would ever know? Turn the Word on the thoughts; let the Word uncover the source.

The Secret of an Overcoming Life in Christ

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 (Philippians 4:8). Thinking on the things mentioned in this verse will shoot down all the ugly thoughts, all the unhappy thoughts, all the despair, all the ungodliness—they will be forced to go. This verse holds the secret, the formula for an overcoming life in Christ. Take this formula; think on the true, honest, just, pure, lovely, things of a good report. The Word of God will tell you what thoughts measure up to this verse. The Word of God cleanses your yielded heart of the impurities of self and sin.

Taking everything to the light of God’s Word is something that God taught me years ago. He showed me that the Word would be my safety. Every visitation, every manifestation must be taken to the Word.

Let your thought life edify and bless you. When the enemy entices you to think on that which takes away from your experience with God, turn to the things of edification in the Word. Feed your mind; nourish it with the Word. You care for your body; now care for your mind. Pick the food for your mind that brings about growth in the Lord. Take on the mind of Christ and remember that the anointing is the presence of God; the anointing will help you keep your mind on the Lord. The anointing will make you healthy and strong in the Lord so that when you reach out for Him you will know that He is there. You will know where to find your Lord in time of need; you know your Lord will stand by you; He won’t fail. He is saying to you, Come boldly unto the Throne of Grace and you will find grace to help in time of need.