BBD 11.14.16 Think, Jesus (Classic)
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>
Classic from 2009
Burning Bush Devotional
14 October 2016
Think, Jesus
Blessed is
the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive
the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one
say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by
evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is
drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it
gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not
be deceived, my beloved brethren. - James 1:12-16 NKJV.
Artyom Sidorkin arrived at a hospital in Izhevsk, Russia with a fir tree
growing in his lung! Well, it was actually only five centimeters long, but it
was large enough to cause him some major pain, and he was coughing up blood.
When doctors first examined him, they suspected that he had cancer and ordered
a biopsy. However, they were a little surprised to find some green needles! The
tiny little tree was removed successfully. It is thought that Artyom may have
breathed in a bud; then it began to grow in his lung and cause major physical
problems.
Our problems with sin usually begin with a tiny little thought or idea that is
placed in our hearts. Instead of dismissing the thought we let it hang around
for a while. Every few days we find ourselves thinking about the forbidden
fruit of a thought that has somehow become implanted in our heart. Whenever we
think about that forbidden fruit of a thought; it grows a little larger, and
little larger. We find that we have been “drawn away” by our “own
desires and enticed.” Then we find that the little bud of the
forbidden fruit has “conceived.” “It gives
birth to sin” and as it grows larger begins to bring pain and death into our
lives.
One of the tricks you could say of dealing with a sinful thought is not to
focus on that thought. The more attention that we give to the sinful thought
the more likely we will act upon it. What we need to do is to immediately focus
our thoughts upon something else. One of the best things to do is to focus our
thoughts on Scripture. If we have verses of Scripture memorized, we can begin
to run one of those verses or even several of those verses through our minds.
If we do not have Scripture memorized, and we are where we have access to a
Bible or New Testament, we can begin to read God’s Word when we have those
thoughts. Another thing to do, and perhaps to do in combination with the other
things is to pray. We can always pray silently. We can pray very short and
effective prayers such as, “Lord, help me!” “Lord, guard my heart.” “Lord,
unite my heart.”
The writer of the Book of Hebrews understood this principle of refocusing our
attention. We are told in Hebrews 12:1b-3, “…let us lay aside
every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with
endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and
finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the
cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of
God.” In the next verse he says, “For consider Him who
endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and
discouraged in your souls (Hebrews 12:3).”
So, when you are confronted by sinful thoughts or ideas: refocus your
attention. Look “unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” and
contemplate upon all that He has done for you. “Consider
Him” placing your thoughts and focus upon Jesus through Scripture,
through prayer, through contemplation, and you will defeat the evil thoughts
and desires that sometimes come your way. Remember, think, Jesus!
Copyright © 2009-2016. Ed
Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On
June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.
Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of those
first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to
prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.
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