Psalms 139:1-4
O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
The Sin of our Inner Thoughts
(Garbage in - Garbage out)
Romans 8:6-9
For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
We can't be controlled by God's Word when our nature is hostile to God. MB
Anyone who doesn't have the Spirit of the Lord inside of him, doesn't belong to God. That's why we need to ask the Holy Spirit to fill us. MB
Hostile thoughts begin in the mind, and then flow into the heart, pouring out of the tongue, resulting in the defiling of the spirit. MB
mind ➡️heart➡️tongue➡️defilement
Matthew 15:18-19
But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. ESV
How do we manage this extremely serious issue? We have been discussing some of the most detrimental teachings in the scripture, being admonished and warned of the dangers, as well as the consequences. There is truly only one way we can manage it, and that is through repentant prayer and fasting. We are talking about warfare against the God of creation; hostility does not align itself with YHWH Elohim, therefore it wars against Him.
I get a knot in the pit of my stomach just thinking about that. We are literally warring against the One who has given up EVERYTHING for us, and we have to be told to
"can it, and tighten the lip of the lid while at it".
Wow!
Speaking of "canning it", I have recently canned 10 quarts of muscadine jam and jelly. The process included picking the wild grapes from the vine, washing them multiple times to rid them of residual stems and debris, boiling them down while mashing the pulp out of them, straining them ladle by ladle through a wire mesh strainer until desired clarity, and then repeating the boiling process with the extracted and strained juice, following the addition of fruit pectin, lemon juice and a pat of butter (to reduce the foaming ). Once the juice is brought to a rolling boil, sugar is then added while continually stirring, until the mixture is brought to the final rolling boil that must be timed for one minute. At that time, the mixture is removed from the heat, wherein the next process begins.
Carefully ladling the hot mixture into sterilized jars, adding sterilized lid combos, the hot lidded jars of goodness are placed into a water bath to simmer for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on your location.
Finally, the jars of beautiful deep plum colored jams and jellies are removed from the water bath and placed on a rack or towel to cool. As the jars begin cooling, the hopeful "popping" sounds of lids sealing is music to the ears .. and then Voila! You now have a table or countertop of yummy joy!
Why am I talking about canning muscadine jam and jelly? Why go into such detail?
Because Spirit of Truth just awakened my mind, while tapping away at this post, to the analogy of muscadines and non-hostile thoughts.
We are to deal with our thoughts in a manner as to carefully pick the ripened, wormless thoughts, wash them in the Word of God, process them by fire with mashing and straining, adding the "good stuff" of the Spirit that adds sweetness to our lives, while removing and discarding the bitter debris that ruins our spirits .. and then canning and savoring the fruits of the Spirit in our hearts and minds.
After bathing in the waters of Truth, we transform into a mature royal purple delight, fit and pleasing for the King!
(Sweetness in - Sweetness out)
A bonus video for the days of trouble, to help us stay on our mark.
