Nov 13.97: Light For The Day - "Sinful Imaginations"

"May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to
you, O Lord, my refuge and my redeemer!"
-- Psalms 19:14 (TEV)

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"Sinful Imaginations"

Robert Browning said, "Thought is the soul of the act."
Emerson said, "Thought is the seat of action. The 
ancestor of every action is thought."

If God destroyed the world once for its continually
evil imaginations, is it not reasonable to believe
that all of the sin, lust, and licentiousness that is
rampant today grieves His heart just as it did in
that day? Many people dream of sin, imagine sin,
and -- if granted the opportunity -- would indulge in
sin. All they lack is the occasion to sin. So, in the
sight of God, they are sinners as great as though
they actually had committed immorality. 

All transgressions begin with sinful thinking. You
who have come to Christ for a pure heart, guard
against the pictures of lewdness and sensuality
which Satan flashes upon the screen of your
imagination:

- select with care the books you read,
- choose discerningly the kind of entertainment you
attend, 
- the kind of associates with whom you mingle,
- and the kind environment in which you place yourself.

You should no more allow sinful imaginations to
accumulate in your mind and soul than you would let
garbage collect in your living room.

-- Billy Graham

"But each person is tempted when he is lured and
enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it
has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it
is full-grown brings forth death."
-- James 2:14-15 (RSV) 

Prayer:
I need my thoughts to be continually purified by the
cleansing power of Your Spirit, Almighty God.

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"O Jerusalem, wash the evil from from your heart,
so that you may be saved. How long will you go
on thinking sinful thoughts."
-- Jeremiah 4:14 (TEV)
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