A Thought for the Day - 005

by Jesse Abel

A Thought for the Day – 005

 

Everyone seems to have their hand out these days. What seems to rattle my brain is the many organizations that say, give us a donation and our advocacy will repair our national woes. How sad it is that many of us fail and give in to their empty promises, when all we really need to do is engage our heart and mind in prayer. Proverbs 22:17-21

Comments and challenges

 

Here is a poem by someone anonymous. “Two passions beat within my chest, the one is foul, the other blessed. The one I love, the other I hate; the one I feed will dominate.” Whether the writer of this poem had Romans 7:13-25 or Galatians 5:16-18 in mind is not the critical point, what is important is that the person understood the moment by moment outworking of his or her heart.

 

Here is the RUB! Do you understand the capability of your heart? It can and does produce good and evil daily and to our dismay or displeasure the heart may find pleasure to feed on and dismiss the good and miss the intended blessing of producing what is right. A little play on words but I am sure you did not miss the purpose.

 

Here is another way to look at this problem within our heart. Notice too what the apostle John has to say about evil in the heart. John like Paul is writing to “believers” and if you believe in Jesus then it is simple… they are writing to you! Here is what he says.

 

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (or her). For all that is in the world –the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he (or she) who does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2:15-17

 

Now I have been thinking about what is resident in my soul lately. Last evening there might have been a little lust of the eyes and lust of the flesh going on, but my wife stepped up to the plate and blocked my vision. Now one could say that she saved the moment, but let us not forget about the “pride of life” later within the hour, I bragged to someone about the intended victory and lost the battle.

So again; “I find two passions beating with my chest, one is foul, the other blessed. The one I love, the other I hate and the one I feed will dominate.” Now poems have a unique way of speaking to us, but if we do not rise up to the divine will of Christ Jesus our LORD through the indwelling Holy Spirit; then we are no better than the unbelieving people around us.

 

Instead allow the faith in your soul to dominate and be fruitful. Another apostle puts this in the framework of his epistle in the words found in. 2 Peter 1:2-11