{"id":57327,"date":"2007-12-26T21:27:00","date_gmt":"2007-12-27T03:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=57327"},"modified":"2022-12-26T21:29:40","modified_gmt":"2022-12-27T03:29:40","slug":"the-importance-of-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-importance-of-thoughts\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of Thoughts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\tby Bill Crews\n

If you are concerned about your character, your conduct, your life, and your destiny, then be concerned about your thoughts<\/strong>. “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life<\/em>” (Proverbs 4:23). The heart is the mind, and the mind is the center of thoughts. “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he<\/em>” (Proverbs 23:7). A man may not be what he appears to be, but he is what he thinks.<\/p>\n

What goes into your mind, then, is extremely important. Be careful about the interests you acquire, the tastes you cultivate, and the desires you develop. They shape what goes into your mind. The conversations you listen to, the scenes you observe, the movies you view, the TV programs you tune into, the newspapers, magazines, and books you read, the songs by which you are entertained, the jokes you laugh at, the things you are taught all have a part in feeding information into your mind.<\/p>\n

You evaluate and monitor all that you hear and see. Your standard for evaluation and your conscience are vital and play their roles. You may seek out or receive what is vulgar or distorted, or you may reject and refuse it. You may pursue and embrace what is wholesome and true, or you may have no interest in it and neglect it. Be cautious, particular, and selective about what goes into your mind. If you allow garbage to go in, then garbage will come out in the form of words and deeds.<\/p>\n

What goes on in your mind is also extremely important. Be careful about your thoughts, meditations, desires, ambitions, daydreams, and fantasies. You determine what goes on in your mind. You are the master of it because you have control over it. It is your own little secret world — except that God knows all about it, and will one day bring it to light when you have to answer for it in the judgment (Ecclesiastes 12:14; Acts 17:30-31; Romans 2:16; II Corinthians 5:10). And sooner or later it will find expression in your life and make itself known.<\/p>\n

We cannot be like God without thinking about the thoughts of God. We cannot know the thoughts of God apart from the revelation of the things of God in the word of God (I Corinthians 2:11-13). We cannot have the thoughts of God in our hearts apart from the reverent study of and meditation upon the word of God, coupled with a sincere desire to do the will of God (John 7:17).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Bill Crews If you are concerned about your character, your conduct, your life, and your destiny, then be concerned about your thoughts. “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). The heart is the mind, and the mind is the center of thoughts. “For as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[97],"class_list":["post-57327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-thoughts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38128,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/changing-my-mind\/","url_meta":{"origin":57327,"position":0},"title":"Changing My Mind","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 7:15-20 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Solomon observed about the miser that it wasn\u2019t the man\u2019s words or his actions that made him a miser, but his thoughts - Proverbs 23:6-7 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0People too often say things that they don\u2019t mean \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Given motivation, they may do things that they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53547,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-compulsively-wash-my-hands\/","url_meta":{"origin":57327,"position":1},"title":"I compulsively wash my hands","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I am a very strong believer in Christ. He has my whole heart and soul. I have very strong faith in Him. I have seen miracles that He performs. I have severe OCD. It happens when I read the Bible, take communion, fast, and prayer. I get all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2183,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-heart-the-same-thing-as-the-mind\/","url_meta":{"origin":57327,"position":2},"title":"Is the heart the same thing as the mind?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 4, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: The brethren here have been asking about the mind and heart in reference to salvation. When one believes from the heart, is it the same thing as the mind doing it? Some passages say the heart does something and other passages say the mind does them. Answer: \"Jesus said\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12297,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-you-discuss-gut-feelings\/","url_meta":{"origin":57327,"position":3},"title":"Can you discuss “gut feelings?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 16, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: We have been having some great discussions at Bible study about gut feelings; for example, when some say I have a gut feeling about that person, but we have never met that person. I got a gut feeling about the boy my daughter is dating, or I got a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38807,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/am-i-sinning-if-im-cursing-in-my-thoughts\/","url_meta":{"origin":57327,"position":4},"title":"Am I sinning if I’m cursing in my thoughts?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My boyfriend was just baptized and he's been struggling. He has a little bit of anxiety. He's been trying to work on his cursing. he's doing great. But he asked me a difficult question. He asked, \"Am I still sinning if I keep the cuss words in my brain?\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27592,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-saying-follow-your-heart-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":57327,"position":5},"title":"Is the saying “follow your heart” wrong?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 26, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I want to ask about these verses: \"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?\" (Jeremiah 17:9). \"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life\" (Proverbs 4:23). I have read verses like these (I know there are others)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57327\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}