390. Thoughts

The Lord searches the ways and thoughts of a man. If anyone desires to walk on slippery paths, He lets him do so. The Lord judges the secrets of men; therefore be very conscious of the counsel of your heart.

Come to Him, as to a living stone, and be made into a living stone yourself. 1 Pet. 2:4-5. A stone is hard, cold, and dead; but we are to be living.

It went well with King Joash as long as the priest Jehoiada instructed him, but after the priest died, King Joash was at a loss as to what to do. Israel’s leaders came and bowed down to him and asked for permission to serve Asherim and the hosts of heaven on the high places. King Joash, who was a king but not a priest, gave in. By doing this he received the same ungodly spirit as was in the idolators. Jehoiada’s son warned the king, but he refused to take heed to the warning. Instead he had the son of Jehoiada stoned, and because of his guilt in this matter he himself was killed. Had Joash been hard as a stone when Israel’s leaders came to him and chased them out rather than bowing to them, then the “living stone” nature within him would have been nourished, and he would have become both king and priest in truth. To be only a king is not a perfect state, but a person who is a king and a priest has power with God and with man. This was why Christ was both king and priest. David was king and prophet. Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of the Most High God.

This is why God is making us a royal priesthood for the coming world.

Treasures of eternal value grow up where earthly treasures have been reduced to rubble. The rich man received his good things in his lifetime, and Lazarus the evil. Then one entered into torment and the other to the bosom of Abraham.

The way forward into eternal happiness always goes through denying our own will. Who can believe that when he is standing in his full strength? Therefore, humble yourself and bow down while you still have strength to exalt yourself!

A dead lion and a dead dog have many things in common, including the fact that neither of them snarls or shows their claws. This is certainly a good thing in the eyes of anyone who loves peace on earth.

Wealth up there and poverty down here are of great benefit to him who seeks first the kingdom of God; for the promise stands eternally firm that he will lack nothing.

Sooner or later what you have sown will become evident by the way things turn out. One person sails and another rows; both expend the days of their lives.

A little more flexibility will quickly double your strength. A man’s works follow him all the days of his life and far into eternity.

What is “having fun” other than enjoying to a greater or lesser degree the lusts of the flesh, and sacrificing time and strength to do so? This also is an expenditure of your life.

Whoever spends his free time on useful work will soon be a repairer of the breach.

It is better to find the one single cause than the thousands of effects.

Faithfulness and patience cannot be separated.

Between the cradle and the grave lies a path—either to life or death.

The Spirit of God works to convict. That is why it is written, “When He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.”

“My Father has been working, and I have been working,” says Jesus Christ. When the Father and the Son are working, and the Word effectively works in each one who believes, then it is no easy matter to “take a vacation” in a human way.

There is a huge gulf between the believer and the unbeliever, just as great as between the rich man and Lazarus. That is why it is written: “The natural man cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God.”

Finally, rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and you will experience that our faith is the victory that has overcome the world, and that it is by faith that the just shall live.