PT-6 "Keeping a Pure Mind"

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/17/2025 8:44 AM

 

“KEEPING A PURE MIND”

           

            In this SD I begin looking at the sub-point “Sins of Scheming” which is a part of John MacArthur’s booklet entitled “KEEPING A PURE MIND”

 

Sins of Scheming

 

            “A second way the mind can sin is by plotting sins of the future.  Scripture is full of strong condemnations of those whose minds are engaged in this kind of activity:

 

1)               ‘Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes.  For it flatters him in his own eyes concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it.  The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; he has ceased to be wise and to do good.  He plans wickedness upon his bed; he sets himself on a path that is not good; he does not despise evil’ (Ps. 36:1-4)

 

2)               ‘Hide me from the secret counsel of evildoers, from the tumult of those who do iniquity, who have sharpened their tongues like a sword.  They aimed bitter speech as their arrows, to shoot from concealment at the blameless; suddenly they shoot at him, and do not fear.  They hold fast to themselves an evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly; they say, ‘Who can see them?’  They devise inijustices, saying, ‘We are ready with a well-conceived plot’; for the inward thought and the eheart of a man are deep; But God will shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly they will be wounded’ (Ps. 64:2-7).

 

3)               ‘A good man will obtain favor from the Lord, but He will condemn a man who devises evil’ (Prov. 12:2).

 

4)               ‘Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil’ (Prov. 12:20).

 

5)               ‘Will they not go astray who devise evil?  But kindness and truth will be to those who devise good’ (Prov. 14:22).

 

6)               ‘Evil plans are an abomination to the Lord, but pleasant words are pure’ (Prov. 15:26).

 

7)               ‘The Lord hates… a heart that devises wicked plans (Prov. 6:16, 18).

 

8)               ‘Do not be envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them; for their minds devise violence, and their lips talk of trouble’ (Prov. 24:1-2).

 

9)               ‘One who plans to do evil, men will call a schemer.  The devising of folly is sin, and the scoffer is an abomination to men’ (Prov. 24:8-9).

 

10)           ‘A fool speaks nonsense, and his heart inclines toward wickedness to practice ungodliness and to speak error against the Lord, to keep the hungry person unsatisfied and to withhold drink from the thirsty.  As for a rogue, his weapons are evil; he devises wicked schemes to destroy the afflicted with slander, even though the needy one speaks whot is right.  But the noble man devises noble plans; and the noble plans he stands’ (Isa. 32:6-8).

 

“Some people love to dream of sins they will commit, evil they long to do, and sinister plots they want to tatch.  Their thoughts vent their anger, hatred, lust, greed, envy, pride, and every evil desire.  Their minds and hearts are full of wickedness, and God condemns them for it.

 

“But even Christians can fall into this habit if they are not careful.  This is what Paul was warning against when he wrote, ‘Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts’ (Rom. 13:14).  We are not to make plans that will cater to our fleshly desires.  We are not to devise evil plans in our minds.”

 

            Lord willing we will be looking at “Sins of Imagining” in tomorrow’s SD.  I have been mentioning that my dear wife has cancer and we are praying that the Lord will give us His plans on how to attack this awful disease, and so if you desire to, please pray along with us so we can understand what the Lord wants us to do to have this cancer taken from her body.  We are pretty sure that surgery will be the first step, but then after that we desire  to use some homeopathic means, as there are places like that in our country.  To understand which one to go to is our request from the Lord.

 

Spiritual Meaning for my Life Today:  Having to deal with the flesh everyday is a battle, and so my prayer is that I will use the tools of the Spiritual Armor and other parts of God’s Word to help in this battle.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust the Lord to answer our prayers as to how He desires us to fight the cancer that my wife has.

 

3/17/2025 9:13 AM