Talkin to Jesus

Y'know, keep talkin to Jesus. Cos He is listening. God says seek and you will find, ask and you shall receive. You have not because you ask not!
"Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." (John 16:24)

So anyways, this noon, I was getting exasperated with myself, so I asked God. "God, what can I do with these thoughts of mine? Why do they keep coming? Am I thinking these thoughts knowingly or unknowingly and what can I do about it? God I pray that You will teach me. Holy Spirit, You are my guide, my shepherd and my teacher."

And... this evening, strange but not so strange, God taught me what to do.

"Suppose I ask you to take care of my house while I am out of town. You pledge to keep everything in great shape. But when I return, I find the place in shambles. The carpet is torn, walls are smeared, furniture is broken. Your explanation is not impressive: some bikers came by and needed a place to stay. Then the rugby team called, looking for a place for their party. And of course there was the fraternity-they wanted a place to hold their initiation ceremony. As the owner I have one question: "Don't you know how to say no? This is not your house. You don't have the right to let in everyone who wants to enter.
Ever think God wants to say the same to us?

GUARDING OUR HEARTS

You've got to admit some of our hearts are thrashed out. Let any riffraff knock on the door, and we throw it open. Anger shows up, and we let him in, Revenge needs a place to stay, so we have him pull up a chair. Pity wants to have a party, so we show him the kitchen. Lust rings the bell, and we change the sheets on the bed. Don't we know how to say no? Many don't. We think much about time management, weight management, personnel management, even scalp management, but what about thought management?

The answer is surprisingly simple.
We can be transformed if we make one decision: I will submit my thoughts to the authority of Jesus.

To have a pure heart, we must submit all thoughts to the authority of Christ. What I mean about authority? Here's how it works.

A GUARD AT THE DOORWAY
The Holy Spirit is ready to help you manage and filter the thoughts that try to enter. He can help you guard your heart. He stands with you on the threshold. A thought approaches, a questionable thought. Do you throw open the door and let it enter? Of course not. You 'fight to capture every thought until it acknowledges the authority of Christ' (2 Cor 10:5) You don't leave the door unguarded. You stand equipped with handcuffs and leg irons, ready to capture any thought not fit to enter. For the sake of discussion, let's say a thought regarding your personal value approaches. With all the cockiness of a neighbourhood bully, the thought swaggers up to the door and says, "You're a loser. All your life you've blown relationships and jobs. LOSER." So rather than let the thought in, you take it captive and march it down before the judgement of Christ. "Jesus, this thought says I'm a loser and will never amount to anything. What do You think?"
See what you are doing? You are submitting the thought to the authority of Jesus. If Jesus agrees with the thought, then let it in. If not, kick it out."

See? If we ask God, God will be faithful to answer. How? Some may ask. How would I know that it is Jesus who is talkin to me?

1) Walk close with Him
To understand someone really well, you communicate with the person a lot. Dwell with the person. So, same with God. Talk to Him, sing to Him, dwell and bask in His presence. Feel His love and let Him surround you everyday; Spend time.

2) Read the word
The Word is God.
How can we know God without reading the word? 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.' (John 1:1)

3) Be sensitive to Him
If a voice within your heart is tellin you something and you think it is God and you want to be sure, confirm it with Him. Ask Him and He will be faithful to answer. Or talk to someone about it; Ask an elder, for 'in the multitude of counselors there is safety' (Prov 24:6)

Amen.

"Y'know, God I love Your voice, I love when You speak to me cos You teach me so much and most of all, You teach me to be more like Jesus. I love You. You bring joy to my heart. You bring water when it is dry, You bring peace where there is noise. You are love. I can love You because You first loved me. You teach me how to love You. Oops, I'm blabbering as I speak to You. I love You so. Words are not enough. Thank You Lord. I love You. I want to walk in righteousness."

'If you love me, you will obey what I command.' (John 14:15)

Amen.