Daily Thoughts

In the Old Testament a gross wickedness of the people is described. Jeremiah was called by God to cry repentance to the people. If they would listen they would be allowed to dwell in the land that the Lord gave to their fathers. But they insisted of lying, stealing, committing adulery, and worshipping idols. The temple became a den of robbers. Because of all this wickedness, the Lord would not hear them and He would cast them out. Jer. 7: 1-16 "The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Stand in the gate of the Lord's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these.5 For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever. Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the Lord. But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not; Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim. Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee."

In the Book of Mormon I read about how Jesus perceived that the people did not understand His words. So He told them to go home and ponder on the things He'd said and pray for help to understand. This is good advice to all of us when we don't understand spiritual things--ponder and pray about them. 3 Ne. 17: 1-3 "Behold, now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he looked round about again on the multitude, and he said unto them: Behold, my time is at hand. I perceive that ye are weak, that ye cannot understand all my words which I am commanded of the Father to speak unto you at this time. Therefore, go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow, and I come unto you again."

A verse from a thought booklet tells us that whether we turn to the right or to the left, our ears will hear a voice behind us saying, "This is the way; walk in it." We need to be sensitive to the Spirit so we can receive guidance in knowing which path to take in our lives. The thought that went with this, written by Jewell Johnson from Fountain Hills, Arizona says: I became angry when my son, Dan called and told me, "People at work have made some serious accusations about me. None are true." After that conversation I made a trip to the grocery store. I was still angry as I thought about his situation, and my anger increased when I got a wobbly cart. In the produce section, I glanced at the price of apples, and my blood boiled. In aisle 10, two carts blocked my way, and neither person noticed me. Can't these people see I'm in a hurry? A woman smiled and moved her cart. I didn't smile back. As I reached the freezer case, I sensed God's voice say to me, "Let all your anger go. That's not my way." Shoppers maneuvered carts around me as I confessed, "God, I am so sorry. I give my angry, hurting heart to you." By the time I reached the checkout line, I was a changed person. When it was my turn, the cashier greeted me, and I asked, "How's your day going?" My anger turned over to God, I truly cared how a total stranger was feeling about her day. Lord, I truly need to hear your voice today. Help me to turn over to you any anger that I am holding on to. Please guide me this day. Isa. 30: 21 "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left."
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