You Will Never Be Sorry--
For harboring only pure thoughts,
How often lately have you given any thought about your thoughts? If you are like me the answer is probably not often enough. The following is an article I just ran across which might have in the thought control area.
Keeping Our Thoughts Under Control
by naomi Cassata
The Bible has a lot to say about what goes on upstairs in our minds. It is not only the main center that dictates how our physical bodies work, but also the board room that greatly affects our spiritual lives. It is our responsibility to manage what flows through our minds examining the good from the bad.
Reading through scriptures we can find many interchangeable references referring to our minds. Here are a few: imaginations, meditations, thoughts and even our souls. Our minds are like secret rooms that no one has access to unless we choose to reveal them. Of course God has access at all times. He knows exactly what each mind is meditating on. David exclaimed: May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14) David knew that his meditations were important to God. He learned that sin stems from the inside, and if he could cause his meditations to line up with God's word, his actions would follow suit.
HARMLESS-IN-BETWEEN THOUGHTS
Throughout any given day, we are attacked by hundreds if not thousands of thoughts-most harmless. We need those harmless thoughts to get us through any normal day. They help us remember appointments or decide what to eat for lunch.
Then there is what I call the "in-between thoughts." These are thoughts we have in-between our everyday normal thoughts. Many times they are lingering and even captivating. They have the potential to lead us into sin if they are not tamed by the word of God.
CAPTURING OUR THOUGHTS
When a thought passes through our mind that is less than godly, so to speak, it must immediately be captured and cast out. We should never allow sinful thoughts to float around in our imagination realm. Too often we fall prey to these kind of thoughts. Whether it is a thought of revenge over a wrong done to us, lust over what someone else has or rage over what another has said to us, if we dwell on them, they will begin to consume our everyday lives. We will eventually act out our revenge, lust or rage. If we don't take our thoughts captive, they will take us captive. An evil thought is like an unwelcomed rodent that just won't leave unless we make it leave. Satan is always behind these thoughts. If he can control our thought life, he will hold us in bondage.
RENEWED MIND
Next, our minds must be continually renewed. When we renew our minds, we are feeding it truth from God's word. We can only do this by reading the Bible and finding out how we are to respond when we are faced with a bad thought. It is like setting a new course for our thoughts to follow; a course that lines up with the word of God for a particular situation. For example, say someone does something to offend us. Our minds begin to be bombarded with various thoughts. Some may be to get revenge; others thoughts may be to never forgive. These are not one time thoughts, but instead they are "thought patterns." The next time someone offends us, we will have these same thoughts. Nothing changes from situation to situation. Until we change courses and follow the pattern God has orchestrated in His word, we will never find freedom from this way of thinking.
STAYING FOCUSED
Lastly, it is equally important to keep our minds focused. We find in Philippians 4:8 exactly what course we are to follow. Our minds must be focused on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. These types of thoughts are pleasing to God.
It is important that we strive to keep our thought lives pure before God. Once we've lined our thought patterns up with the word of God, our actions will be close behind.
Copyright 2010
Naomi Cassata
iluvjc079@yahoo.com
Article Source: FaithWriters.com http://www.faithwriters.com and FaithReaders.com http://www.faithreaders.com
Visit http://masterbusiness.webs.com for an uplifting and often humorous daily thought.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
Another You Will Never Be Sorry--
You will never be sorry--
For bridling a slanderous tongue,
Here's a good article I found on this subject--I hope you find it beneficial.
Taming the tongue
by Ann Elaine Broughton
"If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless"
(James 1:26 NIV).
James wrote about what damage the tongue can do. "The tongue also is fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell" (James 3:6 NIV). James does not mince words. When was the last time you were a victim of words spoken in haste that hurt you in some way? As Christians we must think before we speak because those who are outside of the Lord will condemn us if we say hurtful things about others. Filtering our thoughts through the Holy Spirit will help us speak words that will build others up instead of bringing them down. "we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5 NIV).
If you are ever tempted to say anything about anyone behind his/her back that would hurt his/her feelings, stop and say to yourself, "If this person was sitting next to me, would I be saying this?" This includes what you write to others on email and texting. Words are powerful. They can end careers, bring tears to eyes, and destroy lives. They can also change lives for the better, give hope, encouragement, and praise.
What kind of words have you been speaking lately? It is time to reflect on this. People judge you by your words. Are you careful in your speech? Have you said words about others that would make them sad if they heard them? It is time for you to pray and ask God to help you to control your speech so that the words you speak are ones of encouragement, peace, and love. Be an encourager this week in your speech and think before you say something that might hurt others.
Dear Lord,
I ask you to help me to pray before I speak so that I won't hurt other people's feelings in any way. I know that my words should be like those of Christ; full of grace, truth, peace, and love. Help me to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. Let my words bring joy to those around me, instead of sadness.
In Jesus' name,
Amen
My husband and I have been in the ministry in one form or another for 37 years. I have had several poems published in the local newspaper. I write devotionals for my co-workers and friends. I own this article and have full rights.
Article Source: FaithWriters.com http://www.faithwriters.com and FaithReaders.com http://www.faithreaders.com
Visit http://masterbusiness.webs.com for an uplifting and often humorous daily thought.
For bridling a slanderous tongue,
Here's a good article I found on this subject--I hope you find it beneficial.
Taming the tongue
by Ann Elaine Broughton
"If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless"
(James 1:26 NIV).
James wrote about what damage the tongue can do. "The tongue also is fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell" (James 3:6 NIV). James does not mince words. When was the last time you were a victim of words spoken in haste that hurt you in some way? As Christians we must think before we speak because those who are outside of the Lord will condemn us if we say hurtful things about others. Filtering our thoughts through the Holy Spirit will help us speak words that will build others up instead of bringing them down. "we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5 NIV).
If you are ever tempted to say anything about anyone behind his/her back that would hurt his/her feelings, stop and say to yourself, "If this person was sitting next to me, would I be saying this?" This includes what you write to others on email and texting. Words are powerful. They can end careers, bring tears to eyes, and destroy lives. They can also change lives for the better, give hope, encouragement, and praise.
What kind of words have you been speaking lately? It is time to reflect on this. People judge you by your words. Are you careful in your speech? Have you said words about others that would make them sad if they heard them? It is time for you to pray and ask God to help you to control your speech so that the words you speak are ones of encouragement, peace, and love. Be an encourager this week in your speech and think before you say something that might hurt others.
Dear Lord,
I ask you to help me to pray before I speak so that I won't hurt other people's feelings in any way. I know that my words should be like those of Christ; full of grace, truth, peace, and love. Help me to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. Let my words bring joy to those around me, instead of sadness.
In Jesus' name,
Amen
My husband and I have been in the ministry in one form or another for 37 years. I have had several poems published in the local newspaper. I write devotionals for my co-workers and friends. I own this article and have full rights.
Article Source: FaithWriters.com http://www.faithwriters.com and FaithReaders.com http://www.faithreaders.com
Visit http://masterbusiness.webs.com for an uplifting and often humorous daily thought.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
You Will Never Be Sorry--
You Will Never Be Sorry--
For stopping your ears to gossip,
There' not really a lot to say about this idea. We all know it's true, but it's just so easy to sit and listen to those juicy morsels of gossip. The thing is, those who talk about others to us will also talk with others about us. If we are selective about the people we choose as friends, we will have less of a problem with gossip. We also want to be careful that we are not a gossip source!
Visit http://masterbusiness.webs.com for an uplifting and often humorous daily thought.
For stopping your ears to gossip,
There' not really a lot to say about this idea. We all know it's true, but it's just so easy to sit and listen to those juicy morsels of gossip. The thing is, those who talk about others to us will also talk with others about us. If we are selective about the people we choose as friends, we will have less of a problem with gossip. We also want to be careful that we are not a gossip source!
Visit http://masterbusiness.webs.com for an uplifting and often humorous daily thought.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
More From Uncle Ben--You Will Never Be Sorry--
You Will Never Be Sorry--
For standing by your principles,
Hopefully as a Christian business person these principles are biblically based. The person who does not stand by principles is constantly influenced by all that is going on around them. They are like the ocean, constantly moving and tossing to and fro. We must be dependable and consistant in our thoughts and actions. People must know that they can count on us no matter what.
Visit http://masterbusiness.webs.com for an uplifting and often humorous daily thought.
For standing by your principles,
Hopefully as a Christian business person these principles are biblically based. The person who does not stand by principles is constantly influenced by all that is going on around them. They are like the ocean, constantly moving and tossing to and fro. We must be dependable and consistant in our thoughts and actions. People must know that they can count on us no matter what.
Visit http://masterbusiness.webs.com for an uplifting and often humorous daily thought.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
You Will Never Be Sorry--
You Will Never Be Sorry--
For being loyal to your church,
The church correctly defined as the body of all Christian believers. Being loyal to the church is the same as being loyal to Christ Himself, since the church is His body.
Visit http://masterbusiness.webs.com for an uplifting and often humorous daily thought.
For being loyal to your church,
The church correctly defined as the body of all Christian believers. Being loyal to the church is the same as being loyal to Christ Himself, since the church is His body.
Visit http://masterbusiness.webs.com for an uplifting and often humorous daily thought.
Monday, June 28, 2010
More From Uncle Ben--You Will Never Be Sorry--
You will never be sorry--
For thinking before speaking,
It's so easy to give a quick response that we hardly think before we do so. There are TV interview shows where one person is speaking and the other person just jumps in and starts talking before the other person finishes. This may be justified at times, when the first person goes on and on with a seemingly endless speech. But for someone to constantly interrupt another, in my opinion, is not acceptable behavior.
Thinking before speaking involves the lost art of listening to others & responding appropriately. Let's get the focus off ourselves and what think and seek to see things from our fellow man's eyes.
Visit http://masterbusiness.webs.com for an uplifting and often humorous daily thought.
For thinking before speaking,
It's so easy to give a quick response that we hardly think before we do so. There are TV interview shows where one person is speaking and the other person just jumps in and starts talking before the other person finishes. This may be justified at times, when the first person goes on and on with a seemingly endless speech. But for someone to constantly interrupt another, in my opinion, is not acceptable behavior.
Thinking before speaking involves the lost art of listening to others & responding appropriately. Let's get the focus off ourselves and what think and seek to see things from our fellow man's eyes.
Visit http://masterbusiness.webs.com for an uplifting and often humorous daily thought.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
You Will Never Be Sorry #6
More from Uncle Ben...
You'll Never Be Sorry
For being honest in business
The quote comes to mind, "Honesty is the best policy." Of course we must seek to be honest at all times, not just in business matters.
This goes along with the idea of telling people the truth, the whole truth, & nothing but the truth
I'm reminded of the shady butcher on a TV show weighing meat on a scale along with his thumb.
How often have you seen an ad with a great product price, followed by a lot of small print spelling out all of the conditions which negate the special price?
I wonder how much prices on various good & services would drop if employees would stop stealing from their employers?
The Great Book states in Proverbs 28:6, "Better to be poor & honest, than rich & a cheater." (LB)
Have a grand week & remember the honesty factor we looked at today.
Visit http://masterbusiness.webs.com for an uplifting and often humorous daily thought.
You'll Never Be Sorry
For being honest in business
The quote comes to mind, "Honesty is the best policy." Of course we must seek to be honest at all times, not just in business matters.
This goes along with the idea of telling people the truth, the whole truth, & nothing but the truth
I'm reminded of the shady butcher on a TV show weighing meat on a scale along with his thumb.
How often have you seen an ad with a great product price, followed by a lot of small print spelling out all of the conditions which negate the special price?
I wonder how much prices on various good & services would drop if employees would stop stealing from their employers?
The Great Book states in Proverbs 28:6, "Better to be poor & honest, than rich & a cheater." (LB)
Have a grand week & remember the honesty factor we looked at today.
Visit http://masterbusiness.webs.com for an uplifting and often humorous daily thought.
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