In Gracious Words; Speak Life, we looked at the fact that we should be kind and constructive and helpful with the things that we say.
But only briefly in that post did we explore the fact that the bible teaches;

“Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.”
[Proverbs 4:23]

The Good News Translation of this verse reads;

^‘Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.’

Before we talk about anything else, I want us to understand that the condition of our heart is extremely important.

The heart is where God Himself searches, to know the true character of a person; to know one truly loves Him and is for Him.  (Jeremiah 17:10)
The heart therefore must be nourished with good things, because it controls absolutely everything else; ‘from it, springs the situations, the issues, the happenings of life’.

Now let’s move to the next step, before anything else, after the heart we have our thoughts, hence why different translations of this Proverbs verse, will refer to our thoughts, if it doesn’t mention the heart.

Our thoughts are crucial!

Our thoughts, are the products of our hearts, and they determine –
Our words,
Our actions,
Our beliefs,
Our morals,
And therefore essentially, they determine our character; the person we are and the way we live our lives.

So in short, our hearts ought to be clean, for our thoughts to be clean, in order for our lives to glorify God.

Prayer point:
Father,
Purify my heart, and teach me to feed it with the things that will bring forth goodness and positivity.
Help me to make the right decisions with what I watch/read, whom I surround myself  with, and what I spend my time doing, in order for me to ensure that my heart is being filled with things that will produce thoughts of life and love, not otherwise!

I once read something that said,

‘If we watch our thoughts, we won’t have to do so much watching over our mouths’.

Now that’s why we’re here today…

We already know that it is important for our words to be positive, to build, and to encourage others, but the question now is, is it a struggle for you to produce life-speaking words, or do they flow from your tongue naturally?

Do you find yourself always having to stop yourself from cursing, cussing, and tearing others down, or do you find that your mind automatically encourages you to think the best, of and for, others?

Don’t be ashamed if you relate more with the first part of these two questions – that’s exactly why we’re here, we’re going to highlight it as an issue, and we’re going to deal with it…

‘Why does it need to be dealt with?’ You may ask…

Well friend, if we could speak, act and live, just for the sake of it, then we wouldn’t have to worry about dealing the heart and our thoughts!
However here is the truth;
It’s not good enough for us to say things just because we know it’s the right thing to say.
Neither is it good enough for us to do things just because it’s the right thing to do.
The God we serve is One who looks at the intention – and the intention begins at the heart.

Therefore we need to go back to the step before the words and actions, and be transformed by the renewing of our minds, in order to  C O R R E C T  the way we think.

Jesus teaches us with what He says in Matthew 5:28 regarding adultery, that actually, sin begins with the thought. A similar concept is mentioned in James 1:15 – basically telling us that harbouring a wrong thought, will give birth to the wrong practise, which is sin.

So, Simply put – Our thoughts are powerful!

Now let’s flip it.
If the wrong thoughts have the power to birth wrong words and actions, then surely the right thoughts – the God-pleasing thoughts, will birth Christ-like words, actions and attitudes.

Friend, from today, Let’s focus on thinking right.

Let’s begin to cast out rude thoughts, negative thoughts and tempting thoughts, and immediately replace them with the better opposite.

Let’s not only work on what we’re thinking, but as mentioned above, let’s work on ensuring the heart; the root of it all; is being filled and encouraged with the things of God.

Spend more time, feasting on God’s word to know what it says.
Spend more time fellowshipping with those who already have a positive and trained mind, rather than those who are bitter and see the worst in everyone.

Be careful with the shows you watch and the social media feeds you follow – if all they represent is cheating, theft, lying and death, then these will also be the first things we think of when a situation arises.

Above all,

P R A Y.

Ask God to give you a heart that chases after Him in every single aspect of life!
Pray for God to renew your mind, transform your heart and therefore perfect your thoughts, in order for you to truly be, a person of Love, a person who is pleasant and a person who is positive in all things.

As we strive towards Christ, we have to ensure that we have it right from the very foundation – so, let us Train our hearts and our thoughts, so that from them, GOOD life will flow.

Keep the Faith, Don’t Stop Believing,
God Bless you.