Daily Thoughts

In the Old Testament I read that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Judah and delivered them into their hands. Judah prevailed becausde they relied upon the Lord. Jeroboam's rebellion against the Lord (that we read about yesterday) did not go unpunished. The Lord struck him and he died. 2 Chr. 13: 15-20 "Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. And the children of Israel fled before Judah: and God delivered them into their hand. And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men. Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers. And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Beth-el with the towns thereof, and Jeshanah with the towns thereof, and Ephrain with the towns thereof. Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah: and the Lord struck him, and he died."

In the D&C we're told to seek learning by study and also by faith. We should teach one another words of wisdom and study the best books. We need to make our houses houses of prayer, fasting, faith, learning glory, and order--houses of God. D&C 88: 118-119 "And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith. Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house , even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;"

A verse with a thought booklet tells us that it's not enough to just hear the word of God--we also need to act on what we hear. If we merely listen but don't do what the word of God says to do, we're deceiving ourselves. The thought that went with this, written by Rev. Arthur J. Schoonveld from Holland, Michigan says: Once upon a time, according to an old legend, Satan called a special meeting with several of his demonic agents to decide on the best way to turn people away from God. During the meeting several suggestions were made. One devil suggested all-out persecution, while another wanted to try to turn as many believers as possible into atheists. Several others spoke up, until an older agent rose to say that the best way to turn people away from God is to try to convince them that their faith does not have to make a difference in their everyday lives. Let them sit in church on Sunday, sing their songs, confess their creeds, repeat their prayers, and listen to their sermons. But convince them that their faith does not have to show in the way they live, and you'll turn them into lukewarm Christians. And once they have become lukewarm, they will be of no use to God. Though this story is fictional, we know that throughout history Satan and his agents have spread the lie that we can have our faith without putting it into practice. To expose that lie, James wrote his letter. It's not enough to be hearers; hearers have to become doers. James 1: 22 "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."

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