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In the quiet of the morning, there is a song on my lips. The words flow gently from my mind, emerging as a soft, fragrant sound of praise to you dear Lord. I praise you for the voice to praise you and the mind that gives me the words. Yet I know you know my thoughts, that even without the sound of praise to you, you know my heart; you know my inner most being. Praise to you dear God that you have entered my life and taken hold of me. May I continue to grow deeper in my love for you, my yearning to know your ways. All praise to you dear God for the love and grace you shower upon me. You are deserving of all praise.
Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. – Psalm 33:1-3 (NIV)
© 2019 CGThelen
I must confess that many times in my life my mouth has gotten me into trouble. Not necessarily because of some remark uttered out of anger, but by a response to a temptation or sinful desire in my heart. The mouth vocalizes our thoughts whether good or bad; it responds to temptations with a “yes” or “no.”
Psalm 141:3 tells us, “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.” It is a great prayer that treats our mouth as a fortress that determines if good or evil enters our life. The guard at the door to this fortress determines what comes in or goes out of our life and what better guard than the Lord.
Even though evil doers approach and ask to enter, our door remains closed. Our lips do not welcome them. With the Lord’s wisdom we can defend our life with how we respond — with what we say. With our mouth we can humbly pray Psalm 141:4, “Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies.”
© 2019 CGThelen
#ThrowbackThursday — This post originally published June 22, 2010. The Gulf Oil Spill started in April, 2010 and was capped later that summer.
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been called an ecological disaster. As oil continues to flow from the damaged well deep below the surface, it continues to coat wildlife, beaches and wetlands with the gooey, black substance. A major effort is under way to clean up the oil, but the only way to solve the problem is to stop the flow of oil from the source by capping the well.
It’s a vivid picture of what sin can do to our lives. Sinful thoughts deep inside our minds don’t seem harmful until they spew forth, coating our lives and those around us with its gooey darkness. We struggle to clean the mess sin causes in our life, but the only way to really stop it is at the source. As Paul wrote in Romans 12:2: “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect (NLT).”
Each day becomes a struggle to control our thoughts and our sinful nature. Paul describes this in Galatians 5:16-18 as a struggle between sinful desires and the Spirit. “These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions,” Paul says to break free we must let the Holy Spirit guide our lives. “Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.” If we do not, then we become like Israel who Ezra described as “a land polluted by the corruption of its people (Ezra 9:11 NIV).” Sin continued to spew forth, coating Israel in darkness.
So how do we capture sinful thoughts and focus on the Spirit? We must cap them at the source. “O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts (Jeremiah 4:14)?” We must fix our “thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess (Hebrews 3:1).” We must let Christ and the Spirit capture our mind. “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love (2 Peter 1:5-7).”
© 2010 CGThelen
#ThrowbackThursday — This post originally published May 22, 2010.
In today’s world, there’s no shortage of words. A recent article in Wired cites a University of California at San Diego study that reports Americans consume about 100,500 written words each day. Then there are the thousands of words we hear each day. Add to that the thousands of words we speak on a daily basis and it quickly becomes apparent that we are surrounded by a hurricane of information.
So what exactly are we saying to each other with all those words? What are you saying? Is the Gospel of Jesus Christ getting through or is it getting lost in the massive number of conversations swirling around us? If you are not careful, you’ll get caught up in trivial
Does Jesus dominate your daily conversation?debates that leave Jesus in the background. Paul cautioned Timothy about getting caught up in worldly discussions. “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.” (2 Timothy 2:23)
Jesus cautioned his disciples in Mark 13:5 “Watch out so no one deceives you.” He goes on to warn them of many who will come to try to deceive with their words. When we focus on the Word of God each day – immersed in prayer and conversation with Him — we are filled with words that endure and stand up to the test of time. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Mark 13:31 NIV).
Just as important as what you are saying, consider the words you are consuming each day. Are they nourishing your soul or are they distracting you from Christ? ”For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.” (1 John 2:16)
When we fill our lives with the Gospel, we anchor our lives in God’s wisdom. That makes it easier to displace the trivial words of this world with the enduring Words of God.
© 2010 CGThelen
