NEW SERIES: "THINK" PART 1 - "OUT OF THE HEART"

"For as he thinks in his heart, so is he" Proverbs 23:7 NKJV

Jesus said the following, (found in Matthew 15:19) - "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders", as He expounded on what defiles a person. The passage can be found here in Matthew 15:10-19.

The Son of God chose "evil thoughts" as the first category because, from the Human Experience, every action, reaction, and deed begins with a thought. Whether it is a beneficial invention, such as Velcro or the sticky/Post-it note, or a rank evil from - name it - everything begins with a thought.

All sin is hatched in the mind, which if not taken captive and expelled immediately in Jesus' Name, will ferment into a "what if" scenario. At that point, there is still a choice to resist the devil. This is why Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6: "And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one".

When a sinful thought (regardless of the type of sin) reaches the "What If" stage, there is now a fork in the road. You and I have a choice to make. We can proceed and sin against God and our own soul or turn back and take it down. If the former is chosen, as we discover from speaking with people who have gone as far as to wreck their homes and lives, the choice to commit the sin comes with the PURPOSEFUL ignoring of the evident warnings of the Holy Spirit. In other words, you will know immediately from the Spirit in your own spirit - that you are NOT supposed to do this act/deed or whatever. I have seen men blow up their marriages and careers; lose their children and church community and then lose their way for a while, from giving in to the passing pleasures of sin for a Season.

What this new "THINK" series is leading to, as the roadmap for Victory, from the oppression and darkness of a life ruined by sinful thoughts that went flying past the "WHAT IF" phase to outright rebellion and destruction TO the victorious life of Philippians 4:8 and a powerful Prayer Life.

These truths are timeless but even more meaningful so, as we begin anything new- from a new year to a new season in life to a new "anything".

Scripture explains Scripture. Proverbs 23:7, from the Word of God  - Who is also Jesus, the Word (John 1:1) - tell us that as a man thinks in his heart (and thus mind), so is he". Jesus expands His Word in Proverbs to what the results of stinking thinking are, in our Matthew 15:19 verse " murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders"

You and I have a better road - the Highway of Holiness; the Road of Righteousness; the Freeway of Faith; the Pathway to Peace and the Joy in the next leg of the Journey with Jesus. Let's choose that instead, as we launch into a forever season of righteous thinking and doing and living.

In Jesus' Strong Name, amen

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Why use the NKJV:

My favorite translation of the Bible has always been the great King James Version (KJV) as it was my first real bible after being Born Again in July 1988....after a lifetime of going to church, youth ministry and even speaking from pulpits. Personal Bible Memory and speaking Scripture to myself aside, the KJV and its old English is a little tougher for modern readers to comprehend. The English vocabulary in the early 1600s, when the KJV was being written, was minimal. The NKJV has all the features of the King James Bible, is accurate, and flows beautifully. It is also used in many churches worldwide,  and in many Southern Baptist, Pentecostal, and other churches in America.

NOTE: For literal word-for-word accurate translation and Bible Study, my bible of choice is the New American Standard 1977 Version which had to be re-covered in goatskin due to its falling apart. It is the first version of the literal NASB but it has the same flow and feel of the KJV. That is the bible in the photo is this first of the "THINK" Series