By way of encouraging me to continue posting articles on my blog, someone recently said to me,”I like to know what you’re thinking.” That got me to thinking!

What if everyone knew exactly what we’re thinking? We would surely and shortly find ourself in an embarrassing situation, for our thoughts are not always of the most noble sort. Are we not sometimes angry, covetous, foolish, etc.? There are times when we all would rather keep our thoughts secret. And that is wise, because “a fool uttereth all his mind”(Proverbs 29:11). But, with that being said, our thoughts are very important–“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he—“(Proverbs 23:7). That’s why Solomon said,”Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”(Proverbs 4:23)

The attitude of our heart affects our entire being–our speech, our sight, and our steps. That’s why we must always be on guard to protect our heart. It is the center of our thoughts and feelings, things that determine our conduct. Since we are responsible for what is in our heart we must do what is necessary to control its content. If we don’t disaster is sure to follow. As Oswald Chambers said,”The Bible term ‘heart’ is best understood if we simply say ‘me’, it is the central citadel of a man’s personality.” Since that’s true, if we are wrong here we’re wrong everywhere. The scary part of this is that even when others don’t know what we’re thinking God does! That should motivate us to keep our thoughts pure. Paul gives us the key to doing this in Philippians 4:8. THINK ABOUT IT!

There is a price to pay for taking a stand for what is right. The following article from The Associated Press is an example of what I’m talking about:

The Army says it’s considering whether to rescind an invitation to evangelist Franklin Graham to appear at the Pentagon on the National Day of Prayer after a religious liberty group complained about his description of Islam as “evil.”

Col. Tom Collins says Army leaders were meeting Wednesday and that withdrawing the invitation “is on the table.”

Collins says Graham was invited by the Colorado-based National Day of Prayer Task Force, which works with the Pentagon chaplain’s office on the prayer event.

A spokesman for the task force didn’t immediately return a call.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation raised the issue, saying Muslim employees at the Pentagon were offended by the invitation.

Although we don’t know what the out-come will be, it’s obvious that speaking the truth isn’t popular. I wouldn’t agree with Franklin Graham on many things, but I thank God that he was brave enough to tell the truth. If you have to compromise to win the approval of others the price is too high. We need more preachers who will speak the truth and let the chips fall where they may!

I had a few extra minutes so I picked up a book written by one of the most famous preachers in American history, a man known for having had a brilliant mind. The cover of the book said it was “an exposition” of the book of Ephesians. I opened it with great expectation, but I soon discovered two sad things.

Sadly, this highly educated and respected preacher was not at all certain as to which version of the Bible is best. He quoted first from one and then from another. The second thing that troubled me deeply was this. Instead of being an exposition of the scriptures the book was more of a collection of stories, one after another. I’ve got to admit that it was pleasurable reading and many of the stories made great illustrations, but that is not an “exposition” of God’s Word.

This experience served to remind me that much of the so-called preaching today is far from an exposition of God’s Word, which it should be. Most modern day preachers are more concerned about entertaining people than they are about educating and edifying them. Listening to them might be highly enjoyable, but God didn’t call His messengers into the entertainment business. When Paul instructed Timothy to “Preach the word”(2 Timothy 4:2) that’s exactly what he meant. He did not have in mind using a few scriptures as a jumping off place for their stories. Nor did he tell him to preach about the Word. The command is to “Preach the word”, not about it. We need to remember that it’s what the Word says, not what we say about it that is most important.

If you are a preacher I hope you will give serious consideration to this very important matter. If you aren’t a preacher, it is my prayer that you will understand the importance of hearing good solid expository preaching. You owe it to yourself, and your family, to make sure your soul is being fed the pure Word of God. Nothing short of that can meet your needs. Do what you’ve got to do to make it happen. Don’t waste your time and subject your family to listening to some liberal preacher tell their stories. Think about it!