Christ is concerned with the thoughts that I entertain.
I always knew HE was concerned with the condition of my heart—HE wants it pure. But recently, I have come to realize since my heart listens to my thoughts; then it only makes sense that my thought-life needs to be cleaned up.

If my thought life is pure—then my heart will be pure.

We humans have somewhere between 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts per day. That is 35-48 thoughts per minute. Talk about scattered brained. UGH!! Of these thousands of thoughts we think, each one has the potential to help in the pursuit of purity, and unfortunately, each one can cause impurity as well. Every thought can either be nurtured and explored, or expelled and banished.
FATHER, HELP MY THOUGHTS BE LIKE CHIRST’S THOUGHTS TODAY! FULL OF COMPASSION, SELFLESS-NESS, KINDNESS, SEEING YOUR FINGERPRINT ON EVERY SOUL, CONSIDERATE, FAIR, NON-JUDGMENTAL, MERCIFUL, PATIENT AND OBEDIENT!

I struggle to maintain a consistent attitude of Christ-like thoughts. When I get ticked off, I become someone I am ashamed of—a primeval monster who wants immediate revenge. I want victory for ME! I want to be right! I want the last word! But, thank GOD, He is helping me to change.
A few years ago I started an experiment. I decided that I was going to act like Jesus for one month’s time. So I started in the obvious place—with my actions—making sure they were Christ-like in nature. I decided to serve my family. As a mother, I did not find this challenge too difficult because for the most part I was doing it already.
But what I did find extremely difficult was making my thoughts pure—like Christ’s thoughts are pure. For example: one day as I was shopping for groceries—a loud and somewhat obnoxious family walked in front of me and rudely cut me off. And since I was raised to be polite, I just smiled at them, but in my head I was saying some very ugly things. In my head, I may have even called their baby ugly (In my defense, not all babies are adorable).

The Holy Spirit admonished me right there and then by pointing out my ugliness. HE reminded me that even if I didn’t say it, thinking it was still wrong! It is not good enough to not say the bad thing—He wants me to not even think the bad thing. He showed me that GOD is interested in what’s going on in my head, because what is going on in my head WILL affect the purity of my heart, and when it is bad, it will come out in bad actions or bad words.
When I got home from shopping, still feeling very convicted and repentant, I knew I had to make a change. I decided to put a filter on my thoughts. I would start to be conscious of my thoughts by asking myself, “Are these thoughts Christ-like or not? Should I keep them or get rid of them? Would Christ think thoughts like these or not?”
This filter worked! It really helped me to conquer my thought life. It helped me look more like Christ—from the inside out. It helped me be a better Disciple of Jesus Christ the Messiah of the Universe! It has helped to improve my attitudes towards my family. It has helped to create a better environment in my marriage. It quite literally has changed my life. It can help you as well.

I challenge you dear reader to make a commitment to be like Christ in every area of your life for the next four weeks; but especially in your thought life. Put a ‘Jesus filter’ on your brain. You will be changed for the better.

I PROMISE!