Our pursuit of holiness cannot stop at what we do, but must include what we think. Psalm 139:1-4 and 1 Samuel 16:7 make it clear that our thoughts and actions are equally important to God and that He sees our thoughts as clearly as He sees our actions. We learn that “holiness begins in our minds and works out to our actions.” Mr. Bridges encourages us to protect our thought lives by carefully guarding what we listen to and what we view with our eyes. He also warns us to purify ourselves from the more “acceptable” sins of the spirit, including envy, jealousy, bitterness, an unforgiving spirit, the spirit of revenge, and a critical spirit.
How do you guard your thought life? What sinful attitude troubles you most and what steps can you take to guard yourself from falling into its trap? Are you ready to pray for humility and replace unholy thoughts and attitudes with thoughts that are pleasing to God?
We'll accept comments for Chapter 12 through August 11. We will cover Chapters 13 and 14 during the week of August 12 - 18. We look forward to reading about your thoughts and insights.
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This chapter was a good reminder that I can never hide my thoughts or my heart from God. He sees them all and this is where sin usually begins for us, in our heart. I must be prepared that this is another area that I will battle.
The examples of King Saul and the elder brother really made me think about whether I look at something the Lord gave another person and overlook the abundance that He has provided in my life. I also had to look at Asaph on page 120 and check my heart to see if I feel that God is "not giving me a fair shake in life."
What I walked away with this week is the last two sentences about not cloaking my sins and instead praying for humility and honesty to see my sins for what they are and also for the grace and discipline to root them out of my mind and replace them with thoughts of God.
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