Whenever I am reading my Bible, and I come across what God thinks is an 'abomination', I sit up and take notice as to what is being said more closely. Today's reading was one of those days as I came to verse 26 in Proverbs 15 which says:
"The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord: but the words of the pure are pleasant words."
There's something unusual about this verse, did you notice? It is contrasting the thoughts of the wicked with the words of the pure. They are not the same thing, are they? Or are they.... Our thoughts ARE words - to the Lord! For as I've said before, He hears everything you and I are THINKING as if we were SPEAKING it aloud. Not only that, the Lord is offended at our wicked thoughts - He hates them!
Psalm 5:4 says, "For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee."
Wicked thinking is an evil practice that comes forth from evil hearts. Wicked thinking isn't just thoughts of murder or the like. Wicked thinking is anything that deviates from the divine law or departs from God. Unbelief, mistrust, worry, impure motives, etc. all fall under the category of wicked! Ladies, if you're having a problem with your thought life, you've got a heart problem! You're having a spiritual 'heart-attack', an attack of sin in your heart causing it to malfunction, thereby resulting in damage to your thought life by hindering it from being pure. Deuteronomy 15:9 says to beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart... We need to take full responsibility for our thought life, amen? When we do, we are taking responsibility for our words at the same time... Haven't you ever felt dirty rotten when you've not kept your imagination from wandering down a wicked path? I have! I've wished that I could just take a big eraser and erase it all away! So often we let those wicked thoughts build up and don't tend to them. We leave them laying around on the chalkboard of our hearts when we should clear them away with confession and commitment... Confession is that big eraser that God gave us to clean up not only our thought life, but anything that displeases Him! It is His purifying process for our hearts and very simple to do...
Look how Achan confessed his sins in verse 20 of Joshua 7:
"....Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done."
And how Balaam confessed his sins in Numbers 22:34:
"And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again."
How about Saul's confession in 1 Samuel 15:24:
"And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice."
Don't forget David's confession found in 2 Samuel 12:13:
"And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin thou shalt not die."
Let's look at Peter's confession in Luke 5:8 next:
"When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord."
And how could we leave out the prodigal son's confession in Luke 15:8:
"I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee..."
So you see ladies, confession is not a complex thing, is it? It is simply an open declaration of our guilt before God, declaring our faults to be true, as we see in the examples above. It is the way we unburden our guilty consciences and find forgiveness for our souls. How come we don't do it more often?? We need to exercise our souls in this way...
Acts 24:16 says, "And herein do I exercise myself, to have ALWAYS a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men."
Remember ladies, wicked thinking is an abomination to the Lord, it offends Him and we need to confess our sins and make our consciences void of those offenses, amen? Have you done your spiritual exercises yet today?? Does your spirit need a good work-out, working out that sin lodged within it?? Bend at the knees and get started! I also mentioned that another way we clear our wicked thoughts away is through commitment. What do I mean by that? Look at Proverbs 16:3 which says:
"Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established."
The Bible encourages us to commit all our works unto the Lord for He is ever ready to receive our concerns and take charge of them. He can carry them through to successful completion! No longer will we have to be weighed down by worry, for our thoughts will be securely established and unable to be pulled in a downhill direction and on to the path of wickedness. Gone will be the temptation to take matters into our own hands. You see ladies, the most important words in our vocabulary are "yes" to God! Make some commitments in your life so that the Lord can stablish you, strengthen you, settle your heart - purify it....and your thoughts will follow suit as well as your words! You see, words are not just letters strung together, they are thoughts strung together and a reflection of the condition of our hearts... A word can be a balm or a bomb, amen? What has your speech been like lately, dear lady?? A person who commits himself to the Lord succeeds in thinking and speaking properly, for He has placed his whole being into the Lord's hands for preservation and protection! Oh, and did I tell you? It is then your words will become pleasant for a change rather than abominable, for pure words are born in the heart, not in the head!
Psalm 12:6, "The words of the Lord are pure words..."
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
