Daily Thoughts

In the Old Testament a list of things the Lord hates are named and we're told to keep the commandments. Prov. 6: 16-20 "These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh blies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:"

In the Book of Mormon I read that God has shown great mercy and patience in giving us every opportunity to repent and come unto Him. But if we are stiffnecked and harden our hearts, quenching the Spriit, rejecting the words of the prophets, and rejecting the word of Christ, we'll end up in a lake of fire and brimstone in endless torment. We need to be wise and repent so that we can obtain eternal life. Jacob 6: 4-12 "And how merciful is our God unto us, for he remembereth the house of Israel, both roots and branches; and he stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long; and they are a stiffnecked and a gainsaying people; but as many as will not harden their hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of God. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. And while his arm of mercy is extended towards you in the light of the day, harden not your hearts. Yea, today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts; for why will ye die? For behold, after ye have been nourished by the good word of God all the day long, will ye bring forth evil fruit, that ye must be hewn down and cast into the fire? Behold, will ye reject these words? Will ye reject the words of the prophets; and will ye reject all the words which have been spoken concerning Christ, after so many have spoken concerning him; and deny the good word of Christ, and the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and quench the Holy Spirit, and make a mock of the great plan of redemption, which hath been laid for you? Know ye not that if ye will do these things, that the power of the redemption and the resurrection, which is in Christ, will bring you to stand with shame and awful guilt before the bar of God? And according to the power of justice, for justice cannot be denied, ye must go away into that lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever, which lake of fire and brimstone is endless torment. O then, my beloved brethren, repent ye, and enter in at the strait gate, and continue in the way which is narrow, until ye shall obtain eternal life. O be wise; what can I say more?"

A verse with a thought booklet reminds us that sometimes a way will seem right to us, but in the end it is the way to death. Have you ever prayed for something that seemed really good for you but God didn't seem to answer your prayers? Maybe years later you looked back on it and realized that God was right all along. Maybe if he'd given you the job you prayed for or the companion you wanted, it would have turned out to be a disaster. If He'd healed us of an illness when we wanted to be healed, we would have missed out on all the lessons and growth we gained from struggling through it. We need to trust in the Lord and His eternal perspective and know that when he answers our prayers with "no" there is a reason for it and it is for our best good in the long run. Prov. 16: 25 "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."