Still more on vain imaginations..

Among the daily devotionals on Walter Starcke's site, I thought the following fit in with this conversation on vain imaginations....

From January 23rd. 

What you need now is instant obedience. You have come to the most difficult and liberating step in your life: instant obedience. Instant obedience is the ability to stop the first negative, judgmental, or discouraging thought right in its track before it can take hold. Reasoning is addictive. If you allow the first poisonous thought to take hold, the next comes easier until you are drunk with self-concern. Instant refusal to play your mind’s game allows you to hear me. It ends self-centeredness. Instantly obey the spirit of love that is your true being and watch the miracles take place.

The griping fear and worry about what the 'morrow brings is surely what The Message refers to as loose thoughts, emotions and impulses.  Starcke refers to these thoughts as poisonous. It seems to be a universal trait of humanity...and Jesus addresses our tendency to fret about what the next day brings by telling us to give it no thought.  For a wise commentary on this verse (Matthew 6:34) check out Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible. (scroll down)

At the conference in Uniontown that Keith and I recently attended, during the sermon Lola Hiles preached, she mentioned the saying on a magnet her daughter had given to her. 

                   

Probably a good sentiment to remember when our minds start to do the "what if" tango....