Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become your character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny. ~unknown authors
Sunday, July 24th, 2011 w/ Pastor Paul
Our Word for this week is: “being prudent”
Scripture Text: Proverbs 14:18 (NIV)
“The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways.”
Our Focus:
Isn’t prudent a great word? Not always understood, nor fully appreciated, but a great word. It means to have “wisdom in practical matters; an advised carefulness.” Solomon of the Old Testament suggests that people who are prudent are people careful about their thought processes, and the thought is given to life and its objectives and direction. Life is lived best when we take time to think clearly, think purposefully, and act only after careful forethought, resisting the seeming urgency to react at the moment. Rash actions often come from rushed decisions, and they misdirect people who do not “give thought to their ways.”
Life is too important for anything less than our careful deliberation. In the book As a Man Thinketh, author James Allen writes, “All that a man achieves or fails to achieve is the direct result of his thoughts.” That being true, is it not prudent to give careful thought before moving forward in any endeavor? Solomon wrote, “As (a man) thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). This verse is about more than a few idle thoughts; it is thought that is birthed in the single focus of our heart. The source of such powerful thought is much more than from our head. It is conviction from our core - deep within our heart (Philippians 4:7-9).
It has been said that a thought is the seed from which our conduct originates; habit is the repetition of conduct; character is the outgrowth of habits; and destiny is the summation of character!
Whatever our endeavor, the better our thinking the better our prospects for success. Original thinking seems currently neither a popular pastime nor a high priority for many. We can easily be persuaded to let others think for us. The daily blitz of entertainment and media lulls us into settling for second hand opinions.
There will always be those eager to do our thinking for us, and then package it for our acceptance without the demanding task of knowing what we think. They will try to convince us that we don’t know enough about the real issues, whether that be fashion, politics, finances, or morals. They urge us to trust and follow . . . and many do. We may be well read and well versed, but if we are not given to careful thought we will merely parrot second hand ideas and mirror someone else’s opinions.
Today, God speaks to individuals mainly through thoughts. Those may be triggered by something we hear, or read, and are told, but if we listen in our heart we will hear God speaking into our thoughts and giving us ideas beyond our present knowledge. Ideas give us influence! And ideas come from thought.
For those interested in receiving Pastor Paul's messages, please e-mail Pastor Paul (pastorpaul@willmarag.org) and mention you would like to be included.
Our prayer for this week is that our thoughts are grounded in Truth. ~Amen
Sara Lester
Wings of Hope
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