It has become obvious to me, that I cannot be blessed, I cannot have life joy and satisfaction etc., etc. if I allow my mind, will and emotions to dwell on the things that Scripture forbids. I am reminded of a saying that if you put a thimbleful of fine old scotch into a barrel of sewage, it remains sewage. But if you put a thimbleful of sewage into a barrel of fine old scotch it will become sewage! Even so Jesus has told us that evil thoughts-murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander etc. all come out of the heart and defile it (Matthew 15:19).
I am not saying there is no pleasure in sin. But I found that such pleasure is only for a season, and that it traps you, with you needing more and more and getting less and less satisfaction (Hebrews 11:25; John 8:34). So if I want to be blessed in the full sense of the meaning of these verses I need, as Proverbs 4:23 would have it, to guard my heart with all diligence, because everything I do flows out of it.
It is a battle, but the rewards of victory are spectacular. Please note, I am not saying that I have arrived, but I do know that the closer I get to God, the more enthralled I am with His beauty. And the more I see of His beauty, the more I want to be like Him, and the more I want to see Him face-to-face. More and more I can say with Paul “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21). As I say, I am not fully there yet, but I am grateful that I am further along that road than I once was.
Father, my heart is filled with joy this morning as I meditate on these truths. Your promises are true! The more I allow Your Word and Your ways to penetrate my heart, the more blessed I feel. As the Amplified Bible puts it, I feel more and more “spiritually prosperous—with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favour and salvation, regardless of my outward condition (Matthew 5:7 AMP). I need Your help to continue to move in this direction, I cannot do it without You in Jesus Name Amen
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