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Evil thoughts |
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We who are
children of God must love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all
our strength, and with all our mind; for when Jesus was asked which is the
first commandment of all He answered saying: “The first of all the
commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all
thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment” (Mark
12:29-30). Therefore, our mind also must serve righteousness. For this reason
you must not think evil thoughts, brothers, because God dislikes evil
thoughts, as Wisdom says: “The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to
the Lord” (Proverbs |
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What
should you do then when you are tempted to think evil thoughts? You must
bring them into captivity to the obedience of Christ, as Paul said: “Casting
down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the
knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience
of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). |
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If you
don’t do this, evil thoughts will spread like cancer and will lead you to act
sinfully. Therefore, make every effort to keep also your mind pure by
observing the following commandment of Paul: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever
things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just,
whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things
are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think
on these things” (Philippians 4:8). Among the things to think about, which
impart grace to the believer, I mention these: your new birth; the purpose of
God according to election; your water baptism, the baptism with the Holy
Spirit (whether you have received it or not); paradise, as it is described by
the Word of God, and the day of your death when at last, if you stand firm in
the faith till the end, you will enter this marvellous place; the judgements
of God, so that you may walk in the fear of God; the way God has guided you
till now; how He protected you from many dangers; how God answered your
prayers when you called on Him; the story of Jesus of Nazareth, above all His
death and His resurrection, but also His glorious return as it is described
by the Scripture. Also think about how God all of a sudden can manifest Himself
to you by giving you a dream or a vision or by sending an holy angel to you
to reveal to you some secrets; the spiritual gifts given by the Holy Spirit
for the edifying of the Church; think of doing good to all, both believers
and unbelievers, whether in word or in deed; think about the love of God, His
goodness, His righteousness; think about His invisible attributes which are
clearly seen being understood by His works; think about all the things which
are written in the Bible. |