Stop Thoughts At The Gate Of Action

I have been wrestling through the idea now for weeks.
In the middle of a crisis… and now maybe more than any other time in the history of my life… this has been a subject more relevant than any.
And that’s keeping a clean environment.
In a world gone mad, I must keep “clean” the environment of my temple, of my house, of my home.

And for a few months now my focus has been on words and actions.  But I wonder, too, if I must spend time on thoughts as well.

Second Corinthians 10:5 says this, “We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God.  We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”  I love the way The Passion Translation says it, “We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One.”

We, you and I, have been assigned to keep ourselves outwardly and inwardly pure.  My commentary says, “What we do from the impulse of the moment, depends on the state of our minds and this again depends, for the most part, on what we have chosen to make it, or allow it to become.”

The word impulse means this = sudden, involuntary inclination promoting to action, instinctual urge.

It is so important that we keep vigilant guard over the impulses of a moment.

It has been said that, “thoughts are the seeds of conduct”, but it’s more than that!  They are seeds that have begun to germinate underground.  They are seeds that have begun their development of natural properties that become our natural tendencies… our natural “bent” toward external circumstances.

I was so encouraged when I received a message from friend the other day that said, “I start getting upset and then start to pray!”
For her, it’s become this “check point” of her thoughts and a compelling them into submission to the heart of the Father.

And that’s it, really.  It is managing well our thought life so we are not rattled by disappointment, shaken by devastation, and tempted by evil.

The inclination of our nature must be subject to regulation.  To “regulate” means to adjust, arrange, govern, manage, supervise, guide, and direct.

We are not to be controlled and manipulated by our thoughts.  We are to adjust where necessary, manage our minds, and re-direct our consciousness to Jesus.

And the supervision of our thoughts is more than prevention of “negative” thoughts.  We must expel bad thoughts by the preference we give to good ones. 
On my front porch I have this beautiful antique ironstone crock that is positioned perfectly to house a large pot of flowers or greenery inside of it.  This past winter I used it to display a lighted Christmas tree, but now it sits empty as it waits for what it can be in this next season.

Sitting empty isn’t bad, but it doesn’t serve as a benefit.  It must be filled with something of beauty in order to properly and effectively adorn my home.

And so it is with my life.
In order to be a benefit… in order to adorn my earthly “tent” with the beauty of heaven, I must choose good thoughts over bad ones.  I must replace evil with good.  I must insist on managing well the seeds of my thought life in order to communicate effectively the life-changing, miracle-working God I serve and love.

I must carefully capture my contemplation before my critical conduct is affected.