Thoughts on thoughts

I can remember for the longest time thinking that as long as I did good, that I didn't sin. I remember one night lying in bed telling God that I had not sinned that day because I did good and I didn't say anything that was bad or mean to anyone that day.

I can't even begin to tell you how long I believed that as long as I didn't say or do anything "bad," God and I were on good terms. And I bet you can imagine the surprise when I found out that God knows our thoughts and that our thoughts can cause sin in our lives.

A few years back I began running and through the running program we have at our church (Run For God). One of the biggest things the leader of the group, Aimee, challenged us to do was to memorize scripture.

I don't know about you but that is one of the hardest things for me to do. I was always the last kid in Awana to finish her book and would struggle to memorize my verses each week. So, to say the least, it was a challenge I didn't think I would be up for, and of course, God had other plans.

I'll never forget one of the verses we memorized that season, Philippians 4:8, which brought me full circle with understanding that my thoughts are susceptible to sin as my actions were.

"Whatever is true, whatever is right, whatever is nobel, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things."

It's the verse I constantly have to meditate on.

Are my thoughts true?
Are they right?
Are they nobel?
Are they pure?
Are they lovely?
Are they admirable?
Are they excellent or praiseworthy?

If my thoughts are not in line with what the scripture says, I pray this verse over and over and over again.

Our thoughts have the ability to cause us to sin, but are we going to allow the enemy to destroy us with our thoughts or allow the Almighty God to help us.