I Want To Think Right, Live Right And Do Right

Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

This is my favorite Bible verse, and one that I try to live by. Everything that we do is a result of our thoughts; therefore, it is imperative that we maintain a healthy thought life. This is why we are directed in Philippians 4:6-8 to always do TWO things: 

1. Pray about everything (Philippians 4:6-7)
2. Think on good things (Philippians 4:8)

There is no need to worry, just pray. When we pray, we are putting a matter into God's hands to deal with, trusting Him that God cares and hears the prayer of the righteous. Sometimes I pray what I call “blanket prayers” or “umbrella prayers,” where I pretty much just tell God I don't know what to pray, so I am praying about everything at once. I don't think that is the best way to pray. I think we should get into specifics with God, and mention the names of people we are praying for, and tell God exactly what we are requesting. Albeit, a blanket prayer is still valid! All-inclusive prayers are still evidence of faith in God. So it would be better for a believer to pray all-inclusive blanket (or umbrella) prayers, than to not pray at all. Sometimes I am just simply tired, so I'll say: “Lord, I pray about everything!” You say, “You do that?” Yes, all the time! Sometimes I'll simply cry out in my weary soul, “Lord, I need your help, I cannot make it without You!” I know God is listening to my prayers! 1st Peter 3:12, “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.”

Every Believer Should Be Committed To Living Christlike

Dr. Bob Jones Sr. (1883-1968) said: “Do right, though the stars fall—DO RIGHT!” The unsaved world thinks very different than the Christian does. The world views everything from a final mindset, believing that this life is all there is; but as Christians we have the blessed hope of eternal life (Titus 1:2). Our God is faithful! The older I get, the closer to Heaven I am. I am resolved to think right, do right and live right to stay close to the Lord. It feels good being right with God. I hate the feeling that there is something between me and God that is not right. You cannot live in willful sin as a believer and have a perfect walk with God. It is important that we be honest with God at all times, and stay confessed up in our sins (1st John 1:9). God doesn't expect us to be perfect, but He does expect us to try with His help (Matthew 5:48; Galatians 2:20). The first step in living right is to want to live right!

Granted, we all have things which we accept in our life, that others may not approve of (Romans 14:22). For example: Some Christians refuse to have any fun on Halloween. Personally, I like carved pumpkins, hay rides, haunted houses and think it is a lot of fun. To each his own. I do not celebrate the meaning of Halloween, and I would never let my child dress up like witch or a demon, but I do not judge those who do. I am a fundamentalist Christian, not a nut. You become a “nut” when you go ballistic over someone else passing out pumpkins at church to kids on Sunday. I had a Christian boss once who blew up in anger when he found out I wasn't a registered voter. That is nutty! Galatians 5:15, “But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.”

I was reading a book today of Bob Jones College chapel talks by Dr. Bob Jones Sr. (1998-1968). I really love this man of God! It is so tragic that BJU today has forsaken the convictions of its founder (1927), embracing hundreds of tainted Bible revisions, going along with apostasy in the churches instead of taking a stand for what is right, as Dr. Bob Jones Sr. always taught. Brother Jones makes good sense and had a godly way of thinking, that is so lacking across America today. I read these great words today from him:

“Listen to me young people, you never get out of a hole by lying. A lie will dig the hole deeper. Truth will not always get you out of a hole, but lying will never do it. When you get in a hole, put up a ladder of truth and try to climb out. Don't lie; don't be a humbug; don't be a fourflusher! Listen, it is not only wrong to lie, but also it doesn't pay to lie. There is something about telling the truth that disarms even your enemies. You can't lie yourself to success. You can travel the road of truth. So travel it!” —Dr. Bob Jones Sr., “Things I Have Learned: Chapel Talks,” page 51; Bob Jones University Press, ©1945

Amen! That is godly advice. I love what author Mark Twain (1835-1910) said: “If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.” I couldn't have said it any better. The TRUTH can be dealt with, but a LIE cannot. The Devil is a beautiful liar!

Don't Let The Devil Sift You As Wheat!

I don't know about you, but I don't want the Devil to beat me with a stick. Many people give the Devil a stick to beat them with! Jesus warned the apostle Peter that Satan desired to beat him as wheat. You had better believe friend that the Devil wants to do that to every saint of God. Luke 22:31, “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:” They say a picture is worth a thousand words. ...

Some people hand the Devil a big stick to beat them with! As long as we choose to live right, we are within God's protective circle. The Bible says that God had placed a protective HEDGE around him, so that Satan could not afflict him in any way...

Job 1:8-11, “And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.”

When a believer chooses to go into sin, we invite the Devil into our life. Oftentimes, it is the Christian himself that causes suffering, loss and affliction in his own life. God is not to blame. Blessed be the name of the Lord!!! The man after God's own heart, David, learned the hard way the consequences of going astray from God's commandments. Psalms 119:67 and 71, “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word. ...It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.” A godly Christian allows God to take the failures in their life, and turn them into stepping stones. God can take the lemons in our broken life and make lemonade. One of my favorite MP3 sermons is by Pastor Jack Hyles called: 'SOME ON BROKEN PIECES' (a sermon about being salvaged for God's use and service). Job 5:17, “Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:” DO GOOD and it will BE GOOD! 

James 1:13-16, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren.”