Impure thoughts-struggling with these?

Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. (Ps. 119:9)

Impure thoughts are one of those “pandemics” which seem to be affecting scores of believers and unbelievers alike. Keeping “dirty thoughts” in your mind and not “doing the thing” is similar to keeping a fire  in your room and always watching to ensure it does not burn down the house! Thoughts are seeds, that might take years to grow and produce a fruit.  A seed of immoral thought  “will not bother” staying in our minds for 10 or 20 years until it can grow to produce an immoral act one day. Sexual scandals hardly happen overnight as many of us might think.  Other impure thoughts include thoughts of hate, fear, envy, jealousy etc.  Whatever pollutes the pure life God has called us into,  constitute impure thoughts to the believer.

I remember thinking to myself when I was about 16 or 17 “is it possible to have a clean mind, free from impure sexual thoughts?”. Those thoughts began infiltrating my mind as it probably does to many teenagers. A few years later, I will answer this question myself, that “yes it is possible to have a clean, pure mind, every day 24/7!”. What happened?  I “stumbled” on something, not by chance but by the direction of the Spirit as a way to deliver me from this terrible bondage. The scripture above says “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Ps. 119:9).  How can a young man or woman, or even old men and women, cleanse their thoughts? By taking heed to God’s Word and applying it to their minds constantly. Meditating on God’s Word will cleanse your mind in a way you will be astonished. It is not some fancy self-improvement strategy but the application of the power of the Spirit to do what many of us know is almost virtually impossible to do humanly speaking, that is, keep a  pure mind every day.  Many of us have seen images on TV, listen to words, see things around us that will linger in our minds for centuries if nothing is done to keep them away. We wished we could just “delete thoughts” as we delete messages from our phones today, but it does not happen that way.  God’s Word is spiritual Water that will clean your mind of every impure thought as you meditate on it. I have the first-hand experience of this and will recommend it without hesitation. Meditate on God’s Word constantly and see how it cleanses your mind. Of course pay close attention to what you see and hear especially in this day and age of internet, TV, radio so that you do not clean your mind one way and reapply the impurity in another.

Do not  “die inside”  silently or even get frustrated as a believer with thoughts you dare not allow others know they are on your mind. There is hope for you.  It is possible by divine ability to keep a pure mind. Do not try to do it yourself, just get God’s Word in your mind and let it work it  “magic”!  God wants you to live above impure thoughts today.

MEDITATE-Impure thoughts

The Word in your  mind and mouth (1 Tim 4:15; Josh 1: 8)

Meditate on the verse above. Ponder upon it, and let it sink into your spirit.

PRAY

Water the Seed (word) to grow. Invite the Spirit’s strength! (Isa 32:15; Zach 4:6)

Ask God to help you embark on this journey of mental cleansing.  Leverage divine ability by His Word. You have an advantage as a believer in Christ.

APPLY THE WORD TODAY!

Your door to a blessed life today is doing God’s Word. Refuse to be a hearer or reader only! (James 1:22-26)

Is there any reason you will not want to start the process of “mental detoxification” today?  One way to assure there is always a Word in your mind is to remember to keep your mind on the verse of the day you had for your devotional, like the verse above. When that thought of sexual impurity, fear, or jealousy comes today, do not fight it! Just switch your mind over and think about that verse. As you do this repeatedly, the Word will cleanse your mind and rid it of that obtrusive thought and empower it to stay “impurity-free”.

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