September 1

”Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path.” (Proverbs 23:19 NIV)

There are many words in the Bible alerting us to guard our thoughts. Think about… don’t think about… be careful about the things you think about… place all your thoughts under Christ’s directions, etc. God knows that what we think has a decisive influence on what we say and what we do.

All people think. It’s impossible to close the thought process. If one contemplates closing off thoughts that in itself is a thought. However, even though we can’t close off thoughts, we can steer them.

From a pure heart come clean thoughts and a pure love. Evil thoughts are always seeking to force their way in, but they can’t enter a pure heart, if the person doesn’t, by choice, allow them in.

The desert fathers maintained that our thoughts could be cleansed. Made holy – yes, even ’saved’, and this is something for which every Christian ought to strive. We can’t hinder temptation coming, but we need not give in to them.

The desert fathers had three recommendations for use in the campaign against evil thoughts: 1. Discover harmful thought processes when they first pry and seek to enter. Expose them! 2. Stand up against them by decisively dismissing them, and 3. Actively do, and think the opposite. People can choose to protect a pure heart and clean thoughts, even though it does at times require a hard fought battle.

Prayer

Lord, help me today to discover when evil thoughts seek entry. Help me to stand firm against them, and help me to actively think the opposite of evil thoughts and to do the ’good’.