Tag Archives: books

Morning Musings

My Study.

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      The next  room we went into was the study, and the library. I likened this room to my mind, after all, it was where I did all my serious thinking as well as relaxing. This room is quite a small room and has very thick walls. It’s  a very important room to me. It was actually like the control room of the whole house. Jesus came in with me and looked around at the books in the bookcase, and saw the magazines lying on the table, and  the pictures on the walls.

    As I watched Him looking around I started to feel very uncomfortable. Strangely, I hadn’t felt self-conscious about this before, but now that He was there looking at these things I was embarrassed. Some books were there that His eyes were too pure to look at. On the table were a few magazines that a Christian had no business reading. As for the pictures on the walls – the imaginations and thoughts of the mind – some of these were shameful.

     Red-faced, I turned to Him and said, “Master, I know that this room needs to be cleaned up and made over. Will You help me make it what it ought to be?”

“Sure!” He said. “I’m glad to help you. First of all, take all the things that you are reading and looking at which are not helpful, pure, good and true, and throw them out! Now put on the empty shelves the books of the Bible. Fill the library with Scripture and think about it day and night. As for the pictures on the walls, you will find it hard to control these things, but I have something that will help.” He gave me a full-size picture of Himself. “Hang this in the centre of the  wall of your mind,” He said.

    I did, and I have discovered through the years that when my thoughts are centred upon Christ Himself, His purity and power cause impure thoughts to back away. So He has helped me to bring my thoughts under His control. In fact whenever my mind is drawn to these things now, I have found that repeating out loud, “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses me from ALL sin!” immediately chases those thoughts away (1 John 1:9). Truly, God’s  Word will immediately put one’s mind back on the right track and send the enemy fleeing from bringing  you further temptation.

Stories for Teens

Books!

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Sarah was curled up on the couch doing chld259what she liked best…. reading!  It didn’t matter to her if all her Christmas presents were square parcels, every book she got was a friend! It didn’t matter if it was an old fashioned book like Anne of Green Gables or if it was a modern one written by Rosie Boom. She loved them all and would read them over and over again.

Bobby couldn’t have cared less about books. “Books!” he would say scornfully, “Who wants to read a book!  We have enough of them at school!”

Uncle Jeff came into the room one day in time to hear him say this. “What’s this you are saying Bobby?” he asked, “What do you think is better than a book, hey?”

“I like doing things,” Bobby said, “Things like pressing buttons and watching a screen. There are so many things you can do with an I-Pad!”  He heaved a big sigh.

“But you are allowed to use Mum’s I-Pad for a bit every day, aren’t you?” asked Uncle Jeff, “What’s wrong with that?”                                  “But that’s only if we have earned good points”, said Bobby, “It’s so hard to earn good points. You have to be good ALL the time or you lose some! If I had my own I-Pad, I could play with it all the time!”

“Do you think that playing with the I-Pad all the time would make you good?” asked Uncle Jeff.                                                                              “Well, I wouldn’t have time to be naughty”, said Bobby, “I’d be too busy playing with it. Bang,bang, shoot ‘em all dead!”

“Do you think that it’s a good idea to fill your mind with those sort of things?” asked Uncle Jeff.

Bobby wriggled uncomfortably. “Well, no, I s’pose not”, he said.

“You know it wouldn’t hurt you to read a book now and then”, said Uncle Jeff, “It’s surprising what you learn from reading a good story!  Did you know that God has books too?”

“No, does He really?” asked Bobby.

“Yes, He does, and everything we say, do, or think is written down in one of His books!”

“Ooh, that’s scary!” Bobby said, “You mean EVERYTHING that we say or think is written down?”

“Yes, and there’s another book called the Book of Life that God has written in too…He writes in the names of everyone who loves the Lord Jesus”.   (Revelation 20:12)

“I love Jesus!” Betty piped up.

Sarah stirred herself on the couch, and sat up. “Yes”, she said, “and that book was written before the world was made wasn’t it Uncle Jeff!”

“That is true Sarah,” Uncle Jeff said, “So you see Bobby, books are very  important, not only to read, but also to write. We each one have to make sure  that our names are written in God’s book. Just being good  isn’t enough.  We have to tell God we are sorry for the naughty things we’ve done, and then we’ll know our names are there. So you see  Bobby, books are very important!”