I was watching
a British show about Sherlock Holmes the other day and noticed that in the
story a whole family was destroyed by one person with one evil thought that
turned into an obsession.
The story
was about three sisters who lived together. One of them got married and one of
them wanted her husband. It ended in murder of one sister and the other two
sisters estranged.
That day, I
also listened to a podcast called, Joyce Meyer’s Talk it Out. Three of
Joyce’s friends talk about a subject that affects their lives. It’s a lovely
podcast.
They talked
about “thoughts” and how when they were first Christians, they didn’t
understand that thoughts are not always our own, but many can come from God or
Satan. I had felt the same when I was first a Christian. I would have evil
thoughts and was horrified by them. I wondered if I was really a Christian. But
eventually I came to see that the thoughts were temptations from Satan.
I do know
the Bible supports this theory. I will share some Bible verses with you.
How
Satan speaks to us:
The evening meal was underway, and the
devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to
betray Jesus. John 13:2
Then
Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the
devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was
hungry.
The tempter came to
Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
But
Jesus answered, “It is written:
Man shall not live on
bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Matthew 4:1-4
“Finally, be strong
in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of
God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against
the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore,
take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be
able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm
then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of
righteousness arrayed, and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the
gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield
of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God. Ephesians
6:10-17
How God speaks to us:
And your ears shall hear a word behind
you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when
you turn to the left. Isaiah
30:21
But
he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me.
For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the
things of man.” Matthew 16:23
… some of the scribes
said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!”
But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk?’ But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...”
Then He said to the
paralytic, “Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.” And the man got up and went home.
Matthew 9:3-7
Jesus
said, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. “ Matthew 6:1
How
we speak to ourselves:
When
tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by
evil, nor does He tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires, he is lured away
and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to
sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. James 1:13-15
Like
the woman in the Sherlock Holmes story, she had a desire. She desired her
sister’s husband.
The
remedy to these temptations is easy: quote the Bible, as Jesus did, say to God
and yourself, “I will not think about this anymore”, and pray for God to help
you to throw that thought into the sea.
The
quotes I use the most are: “You are a shield around me, my glory and the lifter
of my head.” “May everything that
breathes, praise the Lord.” “The Lord is a strong tower I run to and am safe.” “The
Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.”
Evil
thoughts don’t hang around when the Lord is praised.
