Rēad to Read …Again
Daily Reading: Ezekiel 9-12
Ezekiel 11:5
And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them.
“If a person could be arrested and locked up for that which they think, every person would be locked up every day.” This is what the old preacher said on that sunny morning that we were having breakfast at the old IHOP. We were speaking about the struggle of the mind in ministry, for that is where the battle is. When those words were spoken by him there was doubt that it was so. Now, almost 30 years later, he may have been right.
For example, in the DFW metroplex there are over 8.1 million people. To put that into perspective, there are only 4 million in the entire state of Oklahoma. Of those 8.1 million people, every one wants to drive to the same place at the same exact time. At least that is what it seems like. Talk about rude! Forget the slogan Drive Friendly – the Texas Way. That’s not happening! Road rage is out of control, shootings happen far too often, and oh the sign language! “Brake checking” (slamming on your brakes to make someone crash into you) is a state sport. Those are just some examples of the bad behavior of DFW drivers.
But what about the ones who think about shooting others, or crashing into them, or just being mean and ugly in one’s thinking toward another. Consider verses like I Peter 2:17. Honour all men…, Or I Peter 2:19-20. For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God., or Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; These verses teach that our thoughts of evil toward another is wrong in God’s eyes. Honoring others, preferring others, and suffering patiently should be the thoughts of the heart and acts of the flesh. Not violence, cursing, or ugly thoughts.
The meanspirited thoughts may not be acted upon, but God knows if they come into one’s mind. Just as He knew the minds of those in Ezekiel’s day, He knows ours today. Jesus even said that every idle word that people speak they will give an account of to Him one day (Matthew 12:36). For from within the mind comes the actions of the flesh. To keep the flesh clean, keep the mind clean. For after all, no one else can know all the thoughts of a person’s mind, but God can. He said so.
Perhaps the old preacher was right. Isaiah gave the antidote to the disease of the mind, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. (Isaiah 26:3)
Dr. William T. Howe
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