“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14 BSB, letter M in Keep on Track).

Those are weighty words, aren’t they?

What we say and what we think have so much impact on ourselves and others. To tell God that we want our words and thoughts to be pleasing to him is a tall task! It’s a lot to maintain godly thoughts when our self is front and center. We tend to hold within what has impacted us, good or bad, and that affects our motives and actions.

We have an internal treasure box – our heart. Over time, we fill it with what has been important to us. We have thoughts of people who have loved us and we have loved. We keep memories that are special and some that are hurtful. We include moments of success that seemed to define us at various stages in life.

As believers, do we fill our treasure box with how Christ, our Creator and Redeemer, defines us? Do we choose to include what honors him? Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34 NIV, letter F in Keep on Track). As we grow our relationship with God, through praise and prayer, learning and applying his truths, we practice putting on his thoughts until they become what we, too, desire.

A challenging teaching of Jesus says that a follower of Jesus can be identified by what he or she says and does. “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45b BSB). Just like it’s hard to swallow ‘you are what you eat,’ it can be hard to admit ‘you are what is in your heart.‘ To grow in our faith, we must examine our heart and our mind, to see how they align with God’s teachings (Psalm 26:2, 2 Corinthians 13:5).

Sometimes we can fake a good output. Perhaps we say something nice out loud but know our motives aren’t pure. Do we recognize the Holy Spirit pricking our conscience about this? Having a malleable and humble heart helps us recognize our need for a deep cleaning. When we allow the Holy Spirit to convict us and bring us to repentance, we can grow in godliness. As our loving Father, God wants us to be attuned to keeping in step with him. We are to remain in Jesus – like a branch on a vine – so that we produce the fruit of a life connected with him (John 15:4).  

May our thoughts, words, and actions glorify our heavenly Father. “… whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8 ESV).

Are you ready to memorize verses to help guide your thoughts, words, and actions? Try using Keep on Track!